Bowen Yang Reacts to His “Wicked” Costar Jonathan Bailey Being Crowned Sexiest Man Alive (Exclusive)

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From Left: Bowen Yang; Jonathan Bailey; and Matt Rogers

NEED TO KNOW

• On Nov. 3, Jonathan Bailey was officially named PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive of 2025

• In the weeks since, a number of Bailey’s Wicked costars have reacted to the news, with Bowen Yang telling PEOPLE, “You kind of crushed it”

• Yang’s Las Culturistas cohost, Matt Rogers, says that the actor “truly embodies” Fiyero

If there’s one person who is serving Fiyero energy, it’s Jonathan Bailey.

Not only has the actor scored rave reviews for his portrayal of the character in the movie musical adaptation of Wicked, but the Bridgerton star, 37, exudes charisma and sexiness — as seen on the cover of PEOPLE’s 2025 Sexiest Man Alive issue.

“I think he truly embodies Fiyero, and I think Fiyero would be just as excited to have that title,” Matt Rogers tells PEOPLE while he and his Las Culturistas podcast cohost and fellow Wicked star, Bowen Yang, discuss their holiday gift guide partnership with Marshalls.

Rogers, 35, adds, “It’s tough to argue with PEOPLE Magazine on this one.” 

Yang, 35, agrees. “I mean, you kind of crushed it,” the Saturday Night Live Emmy nominee says. “See what happens when you guys get it right? Everyone’s happy. Not to say you’ve gotten it wrong in the past.” 

“Johnny is perfect,” Yang continues, before reflecting on his costar’s photo shoot, which saw the English actor going shirtless, posing with his dog, Benson, and even diving into the frigid waters at a beach in East Sussex, England. “You got photos of him in a singlet and on gymnastic rings.”

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From Left: Bowen Yang and Jonathan Bailey in New York City on Nov. 17, 2025

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Yang, who portrays Glinda’s (Ariana Grande) friend Pfannee in Wicked and Wicked: For Good, adds that Bailey is “someone who gets to peacock and we’re all happy about it.”

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From Left: Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang in Hollywood, Calif. on March 2, 2025

By the time PEOPLE caught up with Yang, he says he secretly knew about Bailey’s SMA cover for about two weeks. “I had to keep it under lock and key,” he says, explaining that he was aware so that the Wicked ensemble could “record little videos congratulating him, where we all wore shirts of his — it was just so fun.”

On Nov. 3, the 2025 Sexiest Man Alive cover was officially revealed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, with the Jurassic World Rebirth star on hand to celebrate the news.

The following day, Yang, Grande, 32, as well as Cynthia Erivo, Ethan Slater, Jeff Goldblum, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh and director Jon M. Chu took to Instagram to share their excitement about the title. “Showing love to People’s Sexiest Man Alive, @jbayleaf 💛,” the official Wicked account posted.

“He’s the sexiest man, not only on this planet, but in the universe and multiverse,” Goldblum, 73, said in the accompanying video as the rest of the ensemble heaped praise on the actor. Of course, Yang also pointed out that Bailey “looks best in a singlet while doing gymnastics.”

Read the original article on People