Many of us have that one film that hit differently when we were young. For Jonathan Bailey, that film was Brokeback Mountain. The Fellow Travelers star, recently named People‘s Sexiest Man Alive, shared how the 2005 film impacted him deeply during his school days, long before Bridgerton made him a global name.
In a new interview with Esquire U.K., Bailey explained that watching the film as a teenager “completely activated” him. At the time, he was a student in Oxford working on a major essay, but the story of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal’s characters resonated strongly.
“For my dissertation, I started writing about the representation of Hutus and Tutsis in films about the Rwandan genocide,” Bailey recalled. “Then Brokeback Mountain came out.”
That viewing prompted a swift change of plans. “I can’t remember if I just wanted an excuse to go back ten more times to see it, but I was completely activated.” He promptly switched his academic focus to “the representation of homosexuality in the film.”
Finding support when it mattered.
Bailey wrote the essay at Magdalen College School in Oxford, under the guidance of a favourite teacher, Dr. David Brunton. He remembered the moment he pitched the new, very personal topic.
“I remember coming to him and saying, ‘I want to do this,’ and he said, ‘Do you know what? I think you’re on to something.’”
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That simple encouragement meant everything. “He saw me for who I was,” Bailey told Esquire U.K., describing Brunton as “the most incredible, inspiring person.” He also joked that his “fastidiously researched essay” ended up earning him a very good mark.
Brokeback Mountain was a significant moment for queer storytelling in mainstream movies. Nearly two decades later, seeing Bailey as an openly gay actor leading shows like Fellow Travelers shows how much has changed, and how important that visibility remains.
