Jonathan Bailey said he was given “exact” instructions for *that* toe-sucking scene Matt Bomer into fellow travelers.
“It was written down very, very precisely — it was as precise as it needed to be,” Bailey, 35, told in an interview published on Thursday, December 28. “I saw it as an incredible opportunity to analyze power. I understood it when I read it and I wasn't intimidated by it.”
In the Showtime limited series, which premiered in October, the Bridgerton actor and Bomer, 46, play two political operatives who fall in love and hide their affair. Based on the 2007 novel of the same name Thomas MallonIt is set in the 1950s, a time when openly gay men were not allowed to hold positions in the federal government.
In addition to critical acclaim, Fellow Traveler has also garnered attention for the provocative love scenes between Bailey's character Tim Laughlin and Bomer's Hawkins Fuller.
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“I just thought, 'If we do this in the first episode, it'll be worth moving to Toronto for five months and it'll be a show I'd enjoy watching,'” Bomer recalls. “Because not only is it incredibly complicated, not only is it really hot, it's also something that masquerades as a provocation, but it's actually really psychologically powerful and the people who understand it, understand it.”
Bomer added that the fellow travelers' love scenes were “a real external representation of what was going on internally and emotionally with these characters.”
“It was really refreshing for me to see the gay love scenes brought to light in a really unflinching way,” he continued.
Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer in Fellow Travelers. Courtesy of SHOWTIME
Bailey's character also notably drinks milk throughout the series, a detail the actor described as an intentional and “brilliant way to show that naivety.” He continued: “You immediately notice that this is a character who is completely outside of the world that Hawk lives in and that he sees the world very differently.”
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“The milk was on the call sheet,” Bailey added. “It’s a character in itself. And the character of the milk is also more dramatic than any other. Give it a try, I say.”
In an interview with People earlier this month, Bailey discussed the personal significance of his role in Fellow Travelers. “I had been looking for these gay stories, a full-on gay love story, but I hadn’t really seen it,” he said. “It ticked all the boxes and I know I’ll be proud of it for the rest of my career.”
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“The superpower of being on the outside looking in means that as you get older you are drawn to storytelling and creative people who are unique and exciting,” he continued. “And I think queer people have a real strength that could be celebrated.”
Fellow Travelers airs Sundays at 9pm ET on Showtime.