He wowed audiences with his tortured – but sympathetic – portrayal of the young King Charles III in the third series of The Crown.
But now Josh O’Connor has audiences hot under the collar with upcoming roles, including a sultry tennis drama where he stars alongside Zendaya and Mike Faist in a sexually charged love triangle.
The 33-year-old actor from Southampton is also currently filming for another romantic role alongside Paul Mescal, in a First World War romance called The History of Sound.
It’s a far cry from the stiff, awkward and nervous Prince of Wales he got his big break in – with Josh set to once again demand the world’s attention in huge projects, having previously admitted he was struggling to become famous.
The latest trailer for erotic thriller Challengers sees Josh – who plays a tennis player called Patrick Zweigh – seductively kissing Zendaya’s neck at the same time as his co-star Mike, roughly eating a banana and sitting naked in a sauna with a towel barely visible.
Josh O’Connor now has audiences in the spotlight with upcoming roles including a sultry tennis drama where he stars alongside Zendaya and Mike Faist in a sexually charged love triangle.
On social media, people who were able to see an early screening of the film, which will be released later this month, admitted that they will “think forever about the Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor scenes.”
“Y’all, this movie is absolutely WILD,” @tamara_fuentes written on X.
“A tense and sexy relationship thriller, the chemistry between Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor will make you sweat”, user @flickchickdc wrote.
Talk to Vogue In August, the actor revealed he took inspiration from Australian athlete Nick Kyrgios, including incorporating his mannerisms after seeing the pro do “really rude things with his water bottle.”
And the actor also said Vanity Fair in March, director Luca Guadagnino had a “very clear idea” of what’s happening in the bed scene with the three-way kiss.
“The idea of me and Mike, with Zendaya in the middle – this idea that it’s a kiss, a kiss, and then it turns into this three-way kiss – and then all of a sudden, Mike and I are kissing. “It was very clear,” he explained.
“We all kind of figured out: How are we going to do this? How does this work?
“There is an element of improvisation in all of this. It was quite organic. We did little things, like when they were sitting on the floor and she was lying on the bed, I was up in a flash and didn’t hold back. This comes from knowing our characters and the dynamics between the three of us well.
It’s a far cry from the stiff, awkward, wiry Prince of Wales he got his big break in (left) – with Josh (right in 2021) set to once again demand the world’s attention in huge projects, after previously admitting he was struggling to become famous.
The latest trailer for erotic thriller Challengers sees Josh – who plays a tennis player called Patrick Zweigh – seductively kissing Zendaya’s neck at the same time as his co-star Mike, roughly eating a banana and sitting naked in a sauna with a towel barely visible.
Speaking to Vogue in August, the actor revealed he took inspiration from Australian athlete Nick Kyrgios – including incorporating his mannerisms after seeing the pro do “really rude things with his water bottle “.
And it looks like Josh is ready to bring out not only his sensual side, but also a more tender, emotionally charged chemistry in his latest roles.
Talk to Gay times Last month, The History of Sound director Oliver Hermanus revealed his chemistry with Paul Mescal was “on fire.”
“I mean, they’re really good friends and they get along well,” he explained.
“They love working together. It’s their first time…that seems about right.
“Going to work with them seems good to me because they love it and care.”
In the film, Lionel (Paul) and David (Josh), who meet at music school, embark on a project to record the lives, voices and music of their friends and compatriots, and thus forge a link prohibited.
The 33-year-old actor from Southampton is also currently filming for another romantic role alongside Paul Mescal, in a First World War romance called The History of Sound. The two were pictured filming for the project last month
Based on an award-winning short story, The History Of Sound, by American author Ben Shattuck, the film version is currently filming in New Jersey.
The projects are far from Josh’s first time as a romantic lead, but they propel him onto the world stage in a new light.
Josh wowed viewers in his performance as Charles in Peter Morgan’s The Crown, where he got his first major role outside of independent projects.
Speaking about the character he plays, Josh said in 2020 The Sunday Times magazine that he thought Charles felt “wronged” by Diana and felt she had “an addiction to the spotlight”.
He also believed that the monarch had difficulty expressing himself properly due to his upbringing.
Josh blew away viewers in his portrayal of Charles in Peter Morgan’s The Crown, where he got his first major role outside of independent projects.
Before that, he was best known for his performance in the 2017 film God’s Own Country, a gay romance set in Yorkshire.
The projects are far from Josh’s first time as a romantic lead, but they propel him onto the world stage in a new light. Photographed in 2021
“He comes from a family that has an intense inability to express emotion and he inherited that awkwardness,” he explained.
“In this series, there is a lot of Charles trying to explain himself without being allowed to.”
Josh, who touched the audience with his portrayal of the heir to the throne, added that he felt Charles was trying to say that if he could be with Camilla then at least two of the three people would be happy, as opposed to everyone is unhappy
Before that, he was best known for his performance in the 2017 film God’s Own Country, a gay romance set in Yorkshire.
The Cheltenham-born actor won a British Independent Film Award for his role as sheep farmer Johnny, who falls in love with a Romanian migrant worker.