‘Bridgerton’ star Jonathan Bailey to bring real-life love story to big screen alongside Bill Nighy

Jonathan Bailey (‘Bridgerton’) will play writer and photographer Bill Hayes alongside Bill Nighy (‘About Time’), who will portray neurologist Oliver Sacks in ‘Insomniac City,’ Deadline reports. Dominic Cooke (‘On Chesil Beach’) is directing the romance based on Hayes and Sacks’ real-life relationship. 

Altitude is reportedly presenting the film to buyers at the American Film Market, and they are handling worldwide sales as well. Bailey is also producing the film along with Troy Lum, Andrew Mason of Brouhaha Entertainment, Mike Goodridge, and Gabrielle Tana. The script was written by Hayes and Cooke. As per the publication, Cooke said he was “honoured” to be bringing the story to life with Bailey, Nighy and the production team. He previously directed his first feature film ‘On Chesil Beach,’ which was adapted from Ian McEwan’s novel and starred Saoirse Ronan. 

The upcoming film is an adaptation of Hayes’ 2017 memoir, ‘Insomniac City: New York, Oliver and Me.’ The book begins with the death of Steve, Hayes’ partner for 17 years, which is what causes him to leave San Francisco for New York City in 2009. Sacks wrote to him in 2008 about his book ‘The Anatomist,’ and the two had been corresponding even before Hayes set sail from the Bay Area. A compulsive insomniac, Hayes walked the city at night with his camera and chatted with strangers. These interactions comprise much of the pages. Sacks, who was also an insomniac, became a close friend, and then much more. He suggested that Hayes keep a journal, which runs beside his black-and-white photographs.

Hayes was 48 when he moved to New York. Sacks was almost 30 years older and had already written two books: ‘The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat’ and ‘Awakenings.’ The latter was adapted into a film in 1990 with Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Notably, Sacks also acknowledged their relationship in his 2015 memoir, ‘On the Move.’ This ends with the final chapter called ‘Home.’ Sacks died from cancer on August 30, 2015, at the age of 82, with Hayes at his bedside.

Meanwhile, Bailey starred in the Netflix series as Viscount Anthony Bridgerton, Fiyero in the 'Wicked' movies, and appeared in 'Jurassic World Rebirth.' He previously headlined a gay love story: ‘Fellow Travelers,’ the 2023 Showtime series that earned him an Emmy nod. He starred as Tim Laughlin opposite Matt Bomer in the story, which spans the 1950s Lavender Scare and the 1980s AIDS epidemic. Nighy, on the other hand, received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for ‘Living’ and a BAFTA Award for playing legendary rock star Billy Mack in ‘Love Actually.’ Bloomsbury published the memoir on February 14, 2017, and Amazon named it one of the best biographies and memoirs of the year.