Josh O'Connor

Josh O'Connor (born 20 May 1990) is an English actor. He is known for his portrayal of Prince Charles in seasons 3 and 4 of the Netflix drama The Crown, for which he was nominated for a BAFTA. He is also known for his portrayal of Johnny Saxby in the 2017 film God's Own Country, directed by Francis Lee, for which he won a British Independent Film Award for Best Actor, and for his portrayal of Lawrence Durrell in the ITV series The Durrells. He also appeared as Marius in BBC One's miniseries of Victor Hugo's novel Les Misérables.

Josh O'Connor
Born (1990-05-20) 20 May 1990
Southampton, England
NationalityEnglish
Alma materBristol Old Vic Theatre School
OccupationActor
Years active2012–present
RelativesJohn Bunting (grandfather)
Madeleine Bunting (aunt)

Early life and education

O'Connor was born in 1990 to John, a teacher, and Emily, a midwife.[1] The middle son in a family of three boys, his older brother is an artist and his younger brother Seb is an ecological economist.

O'Connor was brought up in Cheltenham, England. He comes from an artistic family, telling Interview, "I wanted to be an artist; it was be an artist or be an actor. This seems to be working right now." He is a grandson of the British sculptor John Bunting. His maternal aunt is British writer and commentator Madeleine Bunting.[2] His ancestry is Irish, English, Scottish and, through his matrilineal great-grandmother, Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jewish.[3]

He attended St Edward's School, Cheltenham, and then trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, from which he graduated in 2011.[4]

Career

In 2012, O'Connor appeared in Lewis. In 2015, he played Rich in the biographical drama film The Program about the cyclist Lance Armstrong, directed by Stephen Frears. The following year, he took over the role of Donaghy in Florence Foster Jenkins, starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant.

From 2016 to 2019, he played the role of Lawrence "Larry" Durrell in the ITV comedy-drama The Durrells.

In 2017, he starred as Johnny Saxby in the British drama film God's Own Country, directed by Francis Lee. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 23 January 2017.[5] For his performance, he received a British Independent Film Award for Best Actor.[6]

On the stage, he has appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company in The Shoemaker's Holiday and Oppenheimer, at the Donmar Warehouse in Versailles and at Southwark Playhouse in Farragut North.

O'Connor starred alongside Laia Costa in Harry Wootliff's critically acclaimed directorial debut Only You,[7] which premiered in competition at The London Film Festival on 19 October 2018. For his performance, he received his second British Independent Film Award for Best Actor.[8]

In 2019, O'Connor played the role of Charles, Prince of Wales in Season 3 of the Netflix programme The Crown. In 2020, he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor BAFTA for his role as the Prince, losing out to Will Sharpe.[9] O'Connor revealed in 2020 that the role did not initially interest him and that he had to be persuaded to audition, telling The Guardian “I didn’t want to do the audition. It didn’t excite me.” However, it was the "essential aimlessness and purposelessness of Charles’s life as heir to the throne" that ultimately sparked his interest.[10] He reprised the role for Season 4 which premiered in November 2020.

Personal life

O'Connor lives in London with his partner Margot Hauer-King, the daughter of restauranteur Jeremy King and sister of actor Jonah Hauer-King.[11][12] She is the former Partnerships Director at communications behemoth, WPP,[13] and currently works as an Account Director at digital start-up BeenThereDoneThat.[14]

O'Connor is a Southampton FC supporter.[15][16] He is a supporter of the Labour Party and has described himself as a "liberal left-winger".[17][18]

Filmography

Films
Title Year Role Notes
Michael Myers in Love 2011 None Composer
Short film
The Eschatrilogy: Book of the Dead 2012 Zombie
The Magnificent Eleven 2013 Andy
Hide and Seek 2014 Max
The Riot Club 2014 Ed
Bridgend 2015 Jamie
Cinderella 2015 Ballroom Palace Guard
Holding on for a Good Time 2015 Charlie Short film
The Program 2015 Rich
Florence Foster Jenkins 2016 Donaghy
Best Man 2016 Donald Short film
God's Own Country 2017 Johnny Saxby
The Colour of His Hair 2017 Peter Short film
Documentary film
Only You 2018 Jake
Hope Gap 2019 Jamie
Emma. 2020 Mr. Elton
Mothering Sunday TBA Paul Sheringham Post-production

Television
Title Year Role Notes
Lewis 2012 Charlie Stephenson Episode: "Generation of Vipers"
Doctor Who 2013 Piotr Episode: "Cold War"
Law & Order: UK 2013 Rob Fellows Episode: "Dependent"
The Wipers Times 2013 Dodd Television film
London Irish 2013 James Episode: "1.2"
Peaky Blinders 2014 James 3 episodes
Ripper Street 2014 PC Bobby Grace 8 episodes
Father Brown 2015 Leo Beresford Episode: "The Curse of Amenhotep"
The Durrells 2016–19 Lawrence Durrell 26 episodes
Les Misérables 2019 Marius Pontmercy 3 episodes
The Crown 2019–20 Prince Charles Main role, Seasons 3 & 4

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work Result
2017 LesGaiCineMad Best Actor God's Own Country Won
Stockholm Film Festival Best Actor Won
British Independent Film Awards Best Actor Won
2018 London Film Critics Circle Awards British/Irish Actor of the Year Nominated
Evening Standard British Film Awards Best Actor Nominated
Breakthrough of the Year Nominated
Empire Awards Best Male Newcomer God's Own Country Won
British Academy Film Awards Rising Star Award Himself Nominated
Faroe Islands International Film Festival Golden Carp Film Awards Favorite Actor – International God's Own Country Nominated
2019 British Independent Film Awards Best Actor Only You Won
2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast in a Drama Series The Crown Won
2020 British Academy Television Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
2021 Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Actor in a Drama Series Pending
Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Television Series Drama Pending
Satellite Awards Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Pending
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Pending
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Pending

References
  1. "Josh O'Connor: 'I had to advocate for Prince Charles on set. He's always told: shut up'". The Guardian. 28 November 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  2. Herman, James Patrick. "Verge List: Sundance 2017 – Josh O'Connor". Verge. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  3. Bunting, Madeleine (2016). Love of Country: A Journey Through the Hebrides. Granta Books. p. 16. ISBN 978-1847085177.
  4. Sandwell, Ian. "Josh O'Connor, Stars of Tomorrow 2016". Screendaily. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  5. "Shudder Films' First Completed Feature Selected for Premiere at Sundance ‹ News and Opportunities ‹ Homepage". NFM. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  6. "God's Own Country · BIFA · British Independent Film Awards". British Independent Film Awards. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  7. Kermode, Mark (14 July 2019). "Only You review – a perfectly realised story of love and longing". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  8. "Only You · BIFA · British Independent Film Awards". British Independent Film Awards. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  9. "Bafta TV Awards 2020: Winners in full". BBC News. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  10. "Josh O'Connor: 'I had to advocate for Prince Charles on set. He's always told: shut up'". the Guardian. 28 November 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  11. "Cute Details About 'The Crown' Star Josh O'Connor's Relationship With Girlfriend, Margot Hauer-King". YourTango. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  12. Hardington, Brooke (30 November 2020). "The truth about Josh O'Connor's girlfriend". NickiSwift.com. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  13. "The Drum's 50 Under 30: outstanding women in creative and digital, part 2". The Drum. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  14. "Petite amie de Josh O'Connor: Qui est Margot Hauer-King?". 45secondes.fr. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  15. Jocelyn Silver (13 November 2019). "The Little Mermaid Remake Finally Has Its Prince Eric". W Magazine. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  16. Tom Lamont (28 November 2019). "Josh O'Connor: 'I had to advocate for Prince Charles on set. He's always told: shut up'". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  17. O'Connor, Josh [@JoshOConnor15] (9 December 2019). "Morning. Vote Labour" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 December 2020 – via Twitter.
  18. Shattuck, Kathryn. "The Crown's Josh O'Connor: 'I'm a republican. I'm not interested in the royal family'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
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