:Josh O'Connor
{{for|the Scottish football player|Josh O'Connor (footballer)}}
{{Short description|British actor (born 1990)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Josh O'Connor
| image = Josh O'Connor at the 6th Odessa International Film Festival (4).jpg
| caption = O'Connor in 2015
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1990|05|20|df=y}}
| birth_place = Southampton, England
| education = Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BA)
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 2012–present
| relatives = John Bunting (grandfather)
Madeleine Bunting (aunt)
}}
Joshua O'Connor (born 20 May 1990){{Cite web |title=Josh O'Connor |url=https://goldenglobes.com/person/josh-oconnor/ |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=Golden Globes |language=en-US |archive-date=1 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240401200213/https://goldenglobes.com/person/josh-oconnor/ |url-status=live}} is a British actor. After training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, he had supporting roles in television series such as Doctor Who in 2013 and Peaky Blinders in 2014. From 2016 to 2019 he had a major role portraying Larry Durrell in ITV's The Durrells. He had his breakthrough playing the lead role of a closeted sheep farmer in Francis Lee's romantic drama God's Own Country (2017), for which he won a BIFA Award.
In 2021, O'Connor won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his role as Charles, Prince of Wales, in the Netflix drama series The Crown (2019–2020). He has since starred in the period drama Emma (2020), the comedy-drama La chimera (2023) and the romantic sports film Challengers (2024).
Early life and education
O'Connor was born to John, a teacher, and Emily, a midwife.{{cite web|date=28 November 2020|title=Josh O'Connor: 'I had to advocate for Prince Charles on set. He's always told: shut up'|url=http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/nov/28/josh-oconnor-the-crown-beyond-prince-charles-being-very-rich-and-posh-wheres-the-juice-to-him-wheres-the-stuff|access-date=8 December 2020|website=The Guardian|archive-date=7 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207192922/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/nov/28/josh-oconnor-the-crown-beyond-prince-charles-being-very-rich-and-posh-wheres-the-juice-to-him-wheres-the-stuff|url-status=live}} He grew up in Newbury until he was five, when his family moved to Cheltenham, Gloucestershire where he was brought up.{{cite web|title=Josh O'Connor|url=https://www.enprimeur.ca/actorBio/english/53368|access-date=2021-09-02|website=En Primeur|archive-date=2 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902090112/https://www.enprimeur.ca/actorBio/english/53368|url-status=live}} He is the middle son in a family of three boys.
O'Connor's grandfather was sculptor John Bunting, his grandmother is a ceramicist, and his maternal aunt is British writer and commentator Madeleine Bunting.{{cite web|url=http://www.verge.is/article/josh-oconnor/|title=Verge List: Sundance 2017 – Josh O'Connor|first=James Patrick|last=Herman|access-date=12 March 2018|work=Verge|archive-date=2 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202123511/http://www.verge.is/article/josh-oconnor/|url-status=live}} His ancestry is Irish, English, Scottish and, through his matrilineal great-grandmother, Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jewish.{{cite book|last=Bunting|first=Madeleine|author-link=Madeleine Bunting|date=2016|title=Love of Country: A Journey Through the Hebrides|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U5YtDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Madeleine+Bunting%22+Irish,+English,+Scottish,+Jewish&pg=PA16|publisher=Granta Books|page=16|isbn=978-1847085177|access-date=28 November 2020|archive-date=3 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903204342/https://books.google.com/books?id=U5YtDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Madeleine+Bunting%22+Irish%2C+English%2C+Scottish%2C+Jewish&pg=PA16|url-status=live}}
He wanted to be a professional artist when he was younger, but he did not think he was good enough, so he switched to rugby and then discovered acting. His first major role was at age seven as the scarecrow in a school production of The Wizard of Oz, followed by a minor role in a school production of Bugsy Malone. O'Connor went to a private co-ed school, St Edward's School, Cheltenham,{{cn|date = February 2025}} during the week and spent a lot of time on weekends at the Axiom, a local arts centre. He grew up in a Labour-supporting household, but he traces his political awakening to the arts centre's closure when he was eleven, feeling the deep sense of loss in the community. He is proud to have grown up outside London, in a town with a strong tradition of regional theatre.
The production of Bugsy Malone at St Edward's also featured his classmate Tahliah Barnett, who later became a singer under the stage name FKA Twigs.{{cite web|publisher=GQ|url=https://www.gq.com/story/gq-hype-josh-oconnor|title=Josh O'Connor on Working with Zendaya and Living Out of a Van|last=Pym|first=Olivia|date=30 August 2023|access-date=30 August 2023|archive-date=30 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830162344/https://www.gq.com/story/gq-hype-josh-oconnor|url-status=live}} O'Connor has cited his school's drama programme as having helped him live with his dyslexia for many years, especially when preparing for his GCSEs. He then trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, from which he graduated in 2011, and then moved to London.{{cite web|url=https://www.screendaily.com/josh-oconnor-stars-of-tomorrow-2016/5109615.article|title=Josh O'Connor, Stars of Tomorrow 2016|first=Ian|last=Sandwell|work=Screendaily|access-date=12 March 2018|archive-date=17 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117140900/https://www.screendaily.com/josh-oconnor-stars-of-tomorrow-2016/5109615.article|url-status=live}} During his third year of theatre school, he signed with an agent.
Career
=2012–2018: Early work and breakthrough=
In 2012, O'Connor first appeared on television as Charlie Stephenson in Lewis and on film as a zombie in The Eschatrilogy: Book of the Dead. In 2013, he appeared in Doctor Who as Piotr, in The Magnificent Eleven as Andy, in Law & Order: UK as Rob Fellows, in The Wiper Times as Dodd and in London Irish as James.
On stage in 2013, he was cast as Ben Fowles in his first professional play, Farragut North by Beau Willimon at the Southwark Playhouse.{{cite web|title=Farragut North|url=https://www.judeobermuller.com/farragut-north-1|access-date=2021-09-02|website=Jude Obermüller|language=en-US|archive-date=2 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902095840/https://www.judeobermuller.com/farragut-north-1|url-status=live}} The Independent remarked: "O’Connor delivers a comic gem of a performance."{{cite web|date=4 September 2013|title=Farragut North|url=https://www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/archives/farragut-north-2/|access-date=2021-09-02|website=Southwark Playhouse {{!}} Theatre and Bar|language=en-GB|archive-date=3 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903204342/https://www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/archives/farragut-north-2/|url-status=live}} This led to a role as young returning soldier Hugh in Peter Gill's 2014 play Versailles at the Donmar Warehouse in Covent Garden, London.{{cite web|date=7 March 2013|title=REVIEW: Versailles, Donmar Warehouse ✭✭✭✭|url=https://britishtheatre.com/review-versailles-donmar-warehouse-4stars/|access-date=2021-09-02|website=British Theatre|language=en-GB|archive-date=3 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903204347/https://britishtheatre.com/review-versailles-donmar-warehouse-4stars/|url-status=live}}
In the same year, he played Max in Hide and Seek, James in Peaky Blinders and PC Bobby Grace in Ripper Street. After a year and a half of auditioning, he landed the role of a Bullingdon toff{{what?|reason=What is "a Bullingdon toff"?|date=December 2024}} named Ed in The Riot Club (2014), Lone Scherfig's adaptation of Laura Wade's play Posh, appearing alongside up-and-coming British actors Sam Claflin, Douglas Booth, Max Irons, Freddie Fox, Ben Schnetzer and Olly Alexander.
In 2015, he played Leo Beresford in Father Brown, a ballroom palace guard in Cinderella and Charlie in the short film Holding on for a Good Time. He starred opposite his then-girlfriend Hannah Murray in Bridgend, Jeppe Rønde's dark, fictional portrayal of a real town in Wales with an alarmingly high teen suicide rate. O'Connor played Rich in the biographical drama film The Program about the cyclist Lance Armstrong, directed by Stephen Frears.
He also played in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Thomas Dekker's The Shoemaker's Holiday as Rowland Lacy and Tom Morton-Smith's Oppenheimer as Luis Alvarez at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.{{cite web|date=23 January 2015|title=Oppenheimer five-star review – father of atomic bomb becomes tragic hero at RSC|url=http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/jan/23/oppenheimer-review-rsc-atomic-bomb-drama-tom-morton-smith|access-date=2021-09-02|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=2 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902212513/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/jan/23/oppenheimer-review-rsc-atomic-bomb-drama-tom-morton-smith|url-status=live}}{{cite web|date=19 December 2014|title=The Shoemaker's Holiday review – cobblers drama gets a first-rate revival|url=http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/dec/19/the-shoemakers-holiday-review-rsc-stratford|access-date=2021-09-02|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=2 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902232210/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/dec/19/the-shoemakers-holiday-review-rsc-stratford|url-status=live}} The following year, he took over the role of Donaghy in Florence Foster Jenkins, starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant, and starred as Donald in the short film Best Man. From 2016 to 2019, he played the role of Lawrence "Larry" Durrell in the ITV comedy-drama The Durrells.
In 2017, he starred as the young sheep farmer Johnny Saxby in the British drama film God's Own Country directed by Francis Lee. In preparation for his role, he worked with a Yorkshire farmer, labouring in the fields in between takes to learn the proper techniques and get the right physicality, and eventually birthed over 150 lambs.{{cite web|date=1 January 1970|title=BIFA 2017: Meet the Leads · BIFA · British Independent Film Awards|url=https://www.bifa.film/news/bifa-2017-meet-the-leads/|access-date=2021-09-01|website=BIFA · British Independent Film Awards|language=en-GB|archive-date=12 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812203031/https://www.bifa.film/news/bifa-2017-meet-the-leads/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=5 Facts About Josh O'Connor|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/specialfeatures/5-facts-about-josh-oconnor/|access-date=2021-09-01|website=Masterpiece|language=en-US|archive-date=17 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117102710/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/specialfeatures/5-facts-about-josh-oconnor/|url-status=live}} The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim.{{cite web|title=Shudder Films' First Completed Feature Selected for Premiere at Sundance ‹ News and Opportunities ‹ Homepage|url=http://northernmedia.org/news/shudder-films-first-completed-feature-selected-for-premiere-at-sundance|website=NFM|access-date=11 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118052040/http://northernmedia.org/news/shudder-films-first-completed-feature-selected-for-premiere-at-sundance|archive-date=18 January 2017|url-status=dead}} For his performance, he received multiple recognition including the British Independent Film Award for Best Actor and the Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer, and was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award.{{cite web|url=https://www.bifa.film/awards/nominations|title=God's Own Country · BIFA · British Independent Film Awards|publisher=British Independent Film Awards|access-date=19 March 2020|archive-date=17 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117075153/https://www.bifa.film/awards/nominations|url-status=live}}
In 2018, O'Connor starred as Peter in the segment The Colour of His Hair in Boys on film 18: Heroes, and starred alongside Laia Costa in Harry Wootliff's directorial debut Only You,{{cite web|last=Kermode|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Kermode|date=14 July 2019|title=Only You review – a perfectly realised story of love and longing|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jul/14/only-you-review-harry-wootliff-laia-costa-josh-oconnor-mark-kermode|access-date=19 May 2020|work=The Observer|publisher=Guardian Media Group|archive-date=26 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226105919/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jul/14/only-you-review-harry-wootliff-laia-costa-josh-oconnor-mark-kermode|url-status=live}} which premiered in competition at the London Film Festival. For his performance, he received his second British Independent Film Award for Best Actor.{{cite web|title=Only You · BIFA · British Independent Film Awards|date=30 October 2019 |url=https://www.bifa.film/film/only-you/|access-date=19 May 2020|publisher=British Independent Film Awards|archive-date=19 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200119134013/https://www.bifa.film/film/only-you/|url-status=live}} In 2019, he portrayed Marius Pontmercy in the British television adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. He also starred as Jamie in Hope Gap, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, earning the Best Actor award at the Barcelona-Sant Jordi International Film Festival. It had a limited release in theaters, before dropping digitally in May 2020.
=2019–present: Critical acclaim and ''The Crown''=
In the same year, O'Connor began portraying Charles, Prince of Wales, in Season 3 of the award-winning Netflix historical drama The Crown (2019), starring alongside Olivia Colman, Tobias Menzies and Helena Bonham Carter. In 2020, he was nominated for a British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role, while the cast won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.{{cite news|date=31 July 2020|title=Bafta TV Awards 2020: Winners in full|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-52917661|access-date=8 December 2020|archive-date=24 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124033606/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-52917661|url-status=live}} He revealed that the role did not initially interest him and that he had to be persuaded to audition. Creator Peter Morgan asked him to read a scene in which Charles compares himself to a character in Saul Bellow's 1944 novel Dangling Man, in which the character waits to be drafted into war because the war will give his life meaning. It was the "aimlessness and purposelessness of Charles's life as heir to the throne" that ultimately sparked O'Connor's interest in the character.
He reprised the role for Season 4 of The Crown, and admitted that his character is "horrible" in that season. Still, he said he understood the source of Charles' discontent, saying that it all boils down to the fact that Charles has spent his entire life being overlooked.{{cite web|last=Singh-Kurtz|first=Sangeeta|date=17 November 2020|title=The Passion of Prince Charles|url=https://www.thecut.com/2020/11/the-crowns-josh-oconnor-on-playing-evil-prince-charles.html|access-date=2021-09-02|website=The Cut|language=en-us|archive-date=29 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129054344/https://www.thecut.com/2020/11/the-crowns-josh-oconnor-on-playing-evil-prince-charles.html|url-status=live}} O'Connor's performance received universal acclaim and earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama, and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series, in addition to nominations for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series. The cast also won its second Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. He described the culmination of his journey as Prince Charles as "the experience of a lifetime."
File:Cast of Challengers 2024.jpg and Zendaya in 2024]]
O'Connor also played Mr. Elton in the period comedy-drama film Emma based on Jane Austen's 1815 novel of the same name. In 2021, he portrayed Romeo in the Royal National Theatre's television film adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. He also played Paul Sheringham in Mothering Sunday, which explores class divides and postwar survivor's guilt in 1924, starring alongside Olivia Colman and Colin Firth. In the same year, it was announced that he would be working with Francis Lee again on a horror film with themes of "class and queerness".{{cite web |url=https://attitude.co.uk/article/josh-oconnor-reuniting-with-gods-own-country-director-for-queer-horror-film-1/24806/ |title=Josh O'Connor to star in queer horror film by Francis Lee |first=Jamie |last=Tabberer |website=Attitude.co.uk |date=13 April 2021 |access-date=27 April 2021 |archive-date=27 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427143954/https://attitude.co.uk/article/josh-oconnor-reuniting-with-gods-own-country-director-for-queer-horror-film-1/24806/ |url-status=live}} O'Connor was seen in the drama film Lee, starring Kate Winslet, which is set during World War II and directed by Ellen Kuras.{{cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2021/10/kate-winslet-lee-miller-wwii-film-marion-cotillard-jude-law-andrea-riseborough-josh-oconnor-1234859103/|title=Kate Winslet Joined By Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Andrea Riseborough & Josh O'Connor For Film On Model-Turned-WWII Photographer Lee Miller|last=Fleming|first=Mike Jr.|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=14 February 2022|archive-date=21 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021185235/https://deadline.com/2021/10/kate-winslet-lee-miller-wwii-film-marion-cotillard-jude-law-andrea-riseborough-josh-oconnor-1234859103/|url-status=live}} That film premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. O'Connor also starred opposite Zendaya in Challengers, directed by Luca Guadagnino. Initially due to premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, the film was postponed and released in 2024, due to the 2023 writers' and actors' strike.{{cite web|website=Digital Spy|date=21 July 2023|access-date=8 August 2023|first=Jamie|last=Body|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a44613326/zendaya-new-movie-challengers-delayed-2024/|title=Zendaya's new movie Challengers delayed until 2024: Challengers misses its serve.|archive-date=10 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810160256/https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a44613326/zendaya-new-movie-challengers-delayed-2024/|url-status=live}}
In 2024, it was announced that O'Connor had joined the cast of Wake Up Dead Man, the third instalment of the Knives Out trilogy directed by Rian Johnson. The film is scheduled to be released in 2025.{{Cite web |last=Kroll |first=Justin |date=2024-05-24 |title=Rian Johnson Unveils Title For Next 'Knives Out' Installment; Movie To Bow In 2025 |url=https://deadline.com/2024/05/rian-johnson-next-knives-out-installment-1235937714/ |access-date=2024-06-06 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Kroll |first=Justin |date=2024-05-28 |title=Josh O'Connor And Cailee Spaeny Join Daniel Craig In 'Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery' |url=https://deadline.com/2024/05/josh-oconnor-cailee-spaeny-daniel-craig-wake-up-dead-man-a-knives-out-mystery-1235942121/ |access-date=2024-06-06 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}} O'Connor will also star opposite Paul Mescal in The History of Sound, a World War I love story film to be directed by Oliver Hermanus.{{cite news |last=Hipes |first=Patrick |title=Josh O'Connor And Paul Mescal To Star In The History Of Sound; Oliver Hermanus To Direct WWI Love Story – AFM |url=https://deadline.com/2021/10/josh-oconnor-paul-mescal-the-history-of-sound-movie-gay-romance-1234864906/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101131308/https://deadline.com/2021/10/josh-oconnor-paul-mescal-the-history-of-sound-movie-gay-romance-1234864906/ |archive-date=1 November 2021 |access-date=1 November 2021 |website=Deadline Hollywood}}{{cite web |last=Rude |first=Mey |date=23 May 2023 |title=Paul Mescal & Josh O'Connor's Delayed Gay Romance Film Is Finally Being Made |url=https://www.out.com/film/paul-mescal-josh-o-connor |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810230230/https://www.out.com/film/paul-mescal-josh-o-connor |archive-date=10 August 2023 |access-date=8 August 2023 |website=Out Magazine}}
Artistry
Francis Lee, director of God's Own Country, has described O'Connor as "one of those rare actors that is a real shape-shifter".{{cite news|last=Shattuck|first=Kathryn|date=18 November 2020|title=Josh O'Connor Didn't Care About the Crown Until He Became a Prince|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/18/arts/television/josh-oconnor-the-crown-prince-charles.html|access-date=2021-09-02|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=30 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830145449/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/18/arts/television/josh-oconnor-the-crown-prince-charles.html|url-status=live}} His performance in the movie "confirmed his place on casting agents' scouting radar as one of those subtle, humble chameleons who can disappear into parts and are dubbed 'actor's actors'."
O'Connor experimented with method acting for his role in God's Own Country. He described his experience for Interview magazine:
I had my own book of senses—paintings and drawings that I'd done and ideas I had. From there, I worked physically with Francis about how this guy would look. By the end of the film I was so skinny; I was gaunt. It was horrific. I was in character the whole way through. It was really lonely and hard. I don't think I'd do it again. You isolate yourself from all your friends.The Crown creator Peter Morgan has compared O'Connor to former Barcelona midfielder Andrés Iniesta, a footballer with massive but unobtrusive skill. "I was drawn to his sensitivity and the fact that he was complex but likable," Morgan said on casting O'Connor as Prince Charles. Olivia Colman praised him for the tenderness he displayed on-screen, as well as his ability to inhabit the role: "Fragility, sparkle, strength, doubt: It’s all there in a second. Every scene we had together became my favorite scene."{{Cite web|last=Schneider|first=Michael|date=22 September 2021|title='The Crown' Star Josh O'Connor on His Emmy Win and Why He's Eager to Shed Prince Charles|url=https://variety.com/2021/tv/awards/josh-oconnor-the-crown-emmys-mothering-sunday-1235070500/|access-date=2021-09-22|website=Variety|language=en-US|archive-date=22 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922224132/https://variety.com/2021/tv/awards/josh-oconnor-the-crown-emmys-mothering-sunday-1235070500/|url-status=live}}
Other ventures
O'Connor created the Waterlogged initiative to raise funds for Mind, a mental health charity working across England and Wales. Inspired by his mother who swam 60 times in her 60th year and by Roger Deakin's Waterlog, he attempted 30 swims around the UK and Ireland in his 30th year.{{cite web|title=WATERLOGGED|url=https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/waterlogged|access-date=2021-09-03|website=JustGiving|language=en|archive-date=24 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224204249/https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/waterlogged|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Hodgkin|first=Beatrice|date=3 January 2020|title=Josh O'Connor on life beyond The Crown|url=https://www.ft.com/content/5c8f7bcd-843c-468c-a988-4589353ab1dd|access-date=2021-09-03|website=ft.com|language=en-GB|archive-date=24 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124075326/https://www.ft.com/content/5c8f7bcd-843c-468c-a988-4589353ab1dd|url-status=live}} In January 2020, he and Olivia Colman visited the Stars Appeal, which aims to enhance the patient experience at the Salisbury District Hospital.{{cite web|date=18 January 2020|title=Olivia Colman and Josh O'Connor Visit the Stars Appeal|url=https://starsappeal.org/news/olivia-colman-and-josh-oconnor-visit-the-stars-appeal/|access-date=2021-09-03|website=Stars Appeal|language=en-US|archive-date=3 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903204345/https://starsappeal.org/news/olivia-colman-and-josh-oconnor-visit-the-stars-appeal/|url-status=live}} In December 2020, he and Emma Corrin offered their company for tea as part of a series of prize draws in support for War Child UK's Torn From Home appeal.{{cite web|date=7 December 2020|title=Your chance to have tea with Charles & Di|url=https://www.granthammatters.co.uk/your-chance-to-have-tea-with-charles-di/|access-date=2021-09-03|website=Grantham Matters|language=en-GB|archive-date=3 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903020019/https://www.granthammatters.co.uk/your-chance-to-have-tea-with-charles-di/|url-status=live}}
In March 2021, he starred in Loewe's campaign shot in the Baja California desert for the Eye/Loewe/Nature collection made with sustainable thinking and recycling ethos. It pledged 15 euros of every sale to Fundación Global Nature, a charity for the protection of wildlife species in danger of extinction.{{cite web|last=AnOther|date=24 March 2021|title=Josh O'Connor Heads to the Desert for Loewe's New Campaign|url=https://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/13202/josh-oconnor-heads-to-the-desert-for-loewes-new-campaign|access-date=2021-09-03|website=AnOther|language=en|archive-date=3 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903014500/https://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/13202/josh-oconnor-heads-to-the-desert-for-loewes-new-campaign|url-status=live}}
Personal life
O'Connor lived in a Victorian house in Shoreditch and briefly relocated to New York for "a spell" with his former partner before moving back to Gloucestershire in 2023,{{Cite journal|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/josh-oconnor-interview-september-2023|title=Josh O'Connor's Big Swing|journal=Vogue|first=Gaby|last=Wood|date=17 August 2023|accessdate=6 March 2024|archive-date=5 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240405151037/https://www.vogue.com/article/josh-oconnor-interview-september-2023|url-status=live}} where he bought a house in Woodchester, a village outside Stroud.{{Cite journal|url=https://stroudtimes.com/award-winning-actor-backs-campaign-to-save-historic-field/|title=Award-winning actor backs campaign to save historic field|journal=Stroud Times|first=Ashley|last=Lovedidge|date=10 November 2023|accessdate=6 March 2024|archive-date=12 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312115530/https://stroudtimes.com/award-winning-actor-backs-campaign-to-save-historic-field/|url-status=live}} In his spare time, O'Connor enjoys reading, drawing, camping, swimming, embroidering, making ceramics and gardening. He is a supporter of Southampton Football Club.
=Political views=
O'Connor is a supporter of the Labour Party, campaigned for Jeremy Corbyn in the 2019 general election, and has described himself as a "liberal left-winger". He said of his views on the monarchy: "I'm a republican, although not in any kind of fist-waving, campaigning way. I was always mostly uninterested in them."{{cite tweet|last=O'Connor|first=Josh|user=JoshOConnor15|number=1203962078136078336|date=9 December 2019|title=Morning. Vote Labour.|access-date=8 December 2020}}
{{cite news|last=Shattuck|first=Kathryn|title=The Crown's Josh O'Connor: 'I'm a republican. I'm not interested in the royal family'|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/the-crown-s-josh-o-connor-i-m-a-republican-i-m-not-interested-in-the-royal-family-1.4416771|access-date=8 December 2020|newspaper=The Irish Times|archive-date=5 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205190933/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/the-crown-s-josh-o-connor-i-m-a-republican-i-m-not-interested-in-the-royal-family-1.4416771|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a34379874/the-crowns-josh-oconnor-doesnt-even-want-a-royal-family-really/|title=The Crown's Josh O'Connor Doesn't Even Want a Royal Family, Really|work=Esquire|date=16 October 2020|access-date=27 February 2021|archive-date=15 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115090425/https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a34379874/the-crowns-josh-oconnor-doesnt-even-want-a-royal-family-really/|url-status=live}} In an interview with The New York Times he said: "I think the Queen was an extraordinary woman. Time after time, lots of men have failed, and this one woman in power has been consistent and remained dutiful and generally apolitical. In that sense, I have huge respect for her — and for Charles [who] is another level of someone who's literally been waiting his entire life for this moment that still hasn't come."
Filmography
{{Pending films key}}
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2012
| The Eschatrilogy: Book of the Dead | Zombie | |
| 2013
| Andy | |
| rowspan="2"|2014
| Max | |
| The Riot Club
| Ed | |
| rowspan="3"|2015
| Bridgend | Jamie | |
| Cinderella
| Ballroom Palace Guard | |
| The Program
| Rich | |
| 2016
| Donaghy | |
| 2017
| Johnny Saxby | |
| 2018
| Only You | Jake | |
| 2019
| Hope Gap | Jamie | |
| 2020
| Emma | Mr. Elton | |
| 2021
| Paul Sheringham | |
| 2022
| Aisha | Conor Healy | |
| rowspan="3"|2023
| Arthur | |
| Lee
| |
| Bonus Track
| Jonno | Also story writer |
| 2024
| Patrick Zweig | |
| rowspan="4" | 2025
| Dusty | |
| {{Pending film|The History of Sound}}
| David | rowspan="3" | Post-production |
| {{Pending film|The Mastermind}}[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/alana-haim-josh-oconnor-zendaya-1236032592/ Alana Haim Lands Back-to-Back Movies: ‘The Mastermind’ with Josh O’Connor, ‘The Drama’ With Zendaya (Exclusive)]
| James Blaine Mooney |
| {{Pending film|Wake Up Dead Man}}
| {{TableTBA}} |
| 2026
| {{Pending film|italic=no|Untitled Steven Spielberg film}} | {{TableTBA}} | Filming |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2012
| Lewis | Charlie Stephenson | Episode: "Generation of Vipers" |
| rowspan="4"|2013
| Piotr | Episode: "Cold War" |
| Law & Order: UK
| Rob Fellows | Episode: "Dependent" |
| The Wipers Times
| Dodd | Television film |
| London Irish
| James | Episode: "1.2" |
| rowspan="2"|2014
| James | 3 episodes |
| Ripper Street
| PC Bobby Grace | 8 episodes |
| 2015
| Leo Beresford | Episode: "The Curse of Amenhotep" |
| 2016–2019
| 26 episodes |
| 2019
| 3 episodes |
| 2019–2020 |
| 2021
| Romeo | Television play |
=Theatre=
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Director ! Playwright ! Theatre |
|---|
| 2013
| Ben Fowles | Guy Unsworth |
| 2014
| Hugh Skidmore | Peter Gill |
| rowspan="2"|2015
| Rowland Lacy | Philip Breen |
| Oppenheimer
| Luis Alvarez | Angus Jackson |
| 2021
| Filmed at the Royal National Theatre |
Awards and nominations
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
External links
{{Commons category|Josh O'Connor}}
- {{IMDb name|nm4853066}}
- {{Instagram|joshographee}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes person|josh_oconnor|Josh O'Connor}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Josh O'Connor
|list =
{{BIFA Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a British Independent Film}}
{{Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Drama Actor}}
{{EmmyAward DramaLeadActor}}
{{Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer}}
{{Golden Globe Award Best Actor TV Drama}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Josh}}
Category:Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
Category:British male film actors
Category:British male television actors
Category:British male voice actors
Category:English people of Irish descent
Category:English people of Scottish descent
Category:English people of Jewish descent
Category:Labour Party (UK) people
Category:Male actors from Southampton
Category:Male actors from Cheltenham
Category:21st-century British male actors
Category:Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (television) winners
Category:British male stage actors
Category:Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Drama Series Primetime Emmy Award winners
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:People of Sephardic-Jewish descent
Category:People from Newbury, Berkshire