Jonathan Bailey leans into the microphone, closes his eyes and delivers a rather persuasive invitation: “Drink from me.”
The recording-booth footage promoting Audible’s new Bram Stoker’s Dracula makes one thing clear: Bailey is giving the vampire a full performance, even when listeners can only hear him.
For fans of the openly gay Bridgerton and Wicked star, it is an appealing introduction to his latest role. The production arrived on October 1, just as Halloween season began.
Bailey plays Count Dracula alongside Ella Purnell as Mina, Aimee Lou Wood as Lucy, Louis Partridge as Jonathan Harker and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Professor Van Helsing. The ensemble also includes David Jonsson, Johnny Flynn and Lesley Manville.
This is a full-cast audio drama, with music and sound design accompanying the performances. Directed by Pet Sematary filmmaker Mary Lambert, it was adapted by Robyn Ahern, with an original score by Ilan Eshkeri.
The story places Mina at the heart of the struggle against Dracula. When her fiancé disappears in Transylvania, she follows letters, diary entries and testimony, trying to understand the threat closing in on the people she loves.
Bailey’s part requires both the charm that draws people toward the Count and the danger beneath it.
In a new interview with Bustle, he discusses the story through desire, fear and the restrictions placed on people’s identities. He connects its Victorian setting with the enduring pressure to suppress what people want and who they are.
He also describes shame as an important part of Dracula’s appeal, and says the intimacy of audio offers a way to reach listeners directly.
That is an interesting perspective from an openly gay actor whose work has often explored longing and the cost of hiding it.
There is also a practical pleasure in the behind-the-scenes material. Bailey tells Bustle that performing without being seen allowed him to commit completely. The promotional footage gives fans a glimpse of that physical commitment: the closed eyes, the movement, the concentration.
A microphone may be the only thing in front of him, but he is clearly doing more than reading words from a page.
For anyone looking for an atmospheric October listen, this Count comes with quite a cast—and a voice that might make you hesitate before reaching for the pause button.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula is available on Audible.
📷 @audible
Watch more LGBTQ+ stories on B-Gay on YouTube.