Just when we thought our love for Jonathan Bailey couldn't get any stronger after Fellow Travelers and with Wicked on the horizon, he’s lining up another role that feels close to our hearts. He's set to star alongside the one and only Bill Nighy in a new film called Insomniac City, and it’s based on a beautiful, real-life queer love story.
The film will tell the story of writer and photographer Bill Hayes, who will be played by Bailey. After moving to New York City to start over from a big loss, he finds himself falling in love not just with the city, but with the brilliant and celebrated neurologist Oliver Sacks, who Nighy will portray. The story is adapted from Hayes's own 2017 memoir, which promises an intimate and personal look into their lives together.
A Love Story Decades in the Making
What makes this story particularly special is who Oliver Sacks was. Many know him from his fascinating books about the brain, like The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, or the movie Awakenings starring Robin Williams. But for much of his life, Sacks was a deeply private, closeted gay man. It was only in his 2015 autobiography, On the Move, published shortly before his death, that he wrote openly about his life, his relationships, and his sexuality after decades of celibacy and struggle.
His relationship with Bill Hayes was a significant and joyful part of his later years, a love he found when he was in his seventies. The film promises to be a moving look at finding connection and a second chance at happiness, no matter your age. It's a poignant piece of queer history that deserves to be told.
The perfect pairing
Pairing our Jonny with a legend like Bill Nighy (Love, Actually, About Time) feels like a perfect match to bring this gentle, intellectual romance to life. The film will be directed by Dominic Cooke, who has a strong background in theatre and also directed the film On Chesil Beach. He described the project as “an intimate and uplifting portrait of grief, hope, community and second chances.”
There's no release date just yet as the project is just being introduced to buyers, but we'll be keeping a very close eye on this one. A tender, real-life queer story with this level of talent? Yes, please.
