Listening to Jonathan Bailey as Dracula in a New Audiobook Will Change Your Life—And No, We’re Not Exaggerating
There’s something special about Jonathan Bailey. The award-winning English actor does it all: singing, dancing, comedy, drama—and in every single role, a certain “spark” comes shining through. As my colleague said the other day: “That man could have chemistry with a wall.”
And he’s always thrown himself into his craft. As a child, he acted in Royal Shakespeare Company productions, and by the time he turned 8, he had a key role in Les Misérables in London’s West End. But on this side of the pond, he’s probably best known for starring as the rakish Anthony Bridgerton in Bridgerton and the charming Prince Fiyero Tigelaar in Wicked.
Well, now he’s in a new adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and even though the role is voice only, his natural charisma is on full display. This full-cast adaptation of the horror masterpiece has Bailey working that accent—and that go-for-it attitude … in a way you have to hear to believe. (We also have a behind-the-scenes visual peek too.)
Read on to get all the details on the buzziest adaptation of the vampire classic to hit the scene in years, starring the world’s most versatile Brit. Everyone, grab your Victorian-era fan, because it’s about to get hot in here.
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Why are people losing their minds over this Audible version of Dracula?
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I mean, have you seen the clip? It’s pretty self-explanatory, but just in case you’re shy: Bailey is extremely committed to the role of the blood-sucking vamp. He seduces Mina Murray, the prim yet resourceful Victorian-ideal schoolteacher and protagonist voiced by Ella Purnell, with lusty, breathy vengeance, imploring her to drink his blood.
Which she does, of course. And who could blame her? Dracula has always been a study in longing and desire, but Bailey’s Dracula takes it to another level—his deep voice is simultaneously smooth, calm and demanding. Plus, he has his shirt unbuttoned and is busying his hands on his chest in a pretty distracting way.
The internet definitely has thoughts, and some of them can even be printed here!
- “This was not what Dracula sounded like when I read it in junior high, I’ll just say that,” said one Redditor.
- “It’s things like this where I REALLY admire an actor’s confidence,” said another.
- “We all need cigarettes after this … and I don’t even smoke,” an Instagram user quipped.
What’s unique about this Dracula audiobook?
This full-cast reading of Dracula reimagines the hunt for the Transylvanian killer as a fast-paced psychological thriller, according to multiple reviews. It’s described as similar to an old-fashioned “radio play” rather than a traditional audiobook narration, with Mina taking a central role in piecing together what happened to her fiancé, Jonathan Harker.
The adaptation, an Audible Original, is one of dozens of narrative readings of Dracula over the years, the most famous probably being 2013’s version starring Tim Curry as Professor Van Helsing, the famed vampire slayer. Here, Maggie Gyllenhaal steps into the role after nearly 10 years away from acting. Additional stars include The White Lotus‘s Amiee Lou Wood and Tony Award winner Lesley Manville.
Another difference is that there’s a person playing Dracula at all. If you’ve read the book, you know that Dracula is an epistolary novel, meaning it’s told through letters, journals and other characters’ recollections. In some previous audiobook adaptations, including the 2013 version, Dracula did not have a voice actor. But Bailey’s Dracula is a fully fleshed out character—and he really throws himself into the role.
What is Jonathan Bailey really tapping into here?
If you haven’t noticed, yearning is the buzzword of the year, and Bailey’s take on the seductive count really has a line on this urgency. The slow-burn yearn particularly resonates with Gen Z, who have grown up in an era of instant gratification. Young people are looking for romance and longing, and everything from Hollywood to Google Trends data reflects that.
Searches for “yearning TV” are up 5,000% (not a typo) this year, and we have no doubt that mega hits Heated Rivalry and Sterling Point were added to many a must-watch list because of this trend. Then there’s the Jacob Elordi/Margot Robbie weeper Wuthering Heights, which got a revamp in February, and the new Sense and Sensibility adaptation out in October.
Bailey talks about yearning as a key inspiration for his portrayal. “[There’s] so much desire, yearning and fear,” he told Bustle. “Anything perceived as disallowed or unavailable becomes so much sweeter.” Humans are “innately curious beings, and the curiosity—if straitjacketed and harnessed—has to go somewhere,” he added, saying horror is a logical outlet for pent-up desires and just as cathartic as joy or euphoria.
“No matter where you are in the world and whatever your life experience is, there’s always something we’re craving that we can’t have,” he said.
When can we get our hands on Dracula?
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Just point your cursor to your browser’s search bar and head over to Audible. The new Dracula is out now and can be yours to keep for $15.99. You can also sign up for an Audible subscription, which comes with a free 30-day trial. Amazon Prime members get two months to try it out for free.
The new adaptation is six hours long, which is actually much shorter than the average Audible book, so you can probably finish it over a weekend. But we won’t tell anyone if you speed-listen in a single day—with a voice like Bailey’s, why wouldn’t you?
Sources:
- Audible: “Bram Stoker’s Dracula“
- Bustle: “In Dracula, Jonathan Bailey Consumes You”
- Center for Scholars & Storytellers: “Yearning for Yearning: What Teens Want From On-Screen Romance”
- New Yorker: “Learning to Yearn with Georgia Oakley”
- @radiotimes on Instagram
- Reddit: “First Look at Jonathan Bailey as Dracula and Ella Purnell as Mina Murray for the all-new Audible Original, ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula'”
- Google Trends: “Yearning TV”
The post Listening to Jonathan Bailey as Dracula in a New Audiobook Will Change Your Life—And No, We’re Not Exaggerating appeared first on Reader's Digest.
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