- Born:
- May 20, 1990, Southampton, England (age 36)
- Awards And Honors:
- Emmy Award
- Golden Globe Award
Josh O’Connor
Which role made Josh O’Connor famous?
What are some of Josh O’Connor’s notable film roles?
What awards did Josh O’Connor win for his performance in The Crown?
Who is Josh O’Connor dating?
Josh O’Connor (born May 20, 1990, Southampton, England) is an English film and television actor. He became an in-demand actor on the big screen following an award-winning turn as Prince Charles in the Netflix series The Crown (2016–23). He then starred in a variety of films, including Challengers (2024) and Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025). In addition to mainstream success, his work in smaller-budget, independent movies, such as God’s Own Country (2017) and La chimera (2023; “The Chimera”), showcases his range and the note of vulnerability that runs through his performances.
Early life and education
Josh O’Connor is the middle of three sons born to John O’Connor, a retired English teacher, and Emily O’Connor, a retired midwife. He spent the first five years of his life in Newbury, Berkshire, before moving with his family to Cheltenham, in England’s Gloucestershire county. Several members of the family have been noted personalities in arts and culture. John Bunting, Josh O’Connor’s maternal grandfather, was a sculptor who instructed Antony Gormley. His grandmother, Romola Jane Farquharson, was a noted ceramicist. His elder brother is also an artist.
Josh O’Connor attended St. Edward’s Cheltenham, the private school where his father taught. While his dyslexia made academics challenging, he did well in art and drama. With his heart set on acting, he enrolled in Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He took longer than many of his fellow students to read and memorize scripts, but he has said that his tedious and repetitive learning process sometimes uncovered subtleties that others may have missed.
Career
Breaking into the spotlight with God’s Own Country and The Crown
Among the first parts O’Connor bagged were fleeting appearances in TV shows, including the detective drama Lewis (2006–15), science-fiction staple Doctor Who (2005– ), gangster series Peaky Blinders (2013–22), and Victorian crime thriller Ripper Street (2012–16). In addition to bit parts in a couple of feature films, O’Connor made his professional stage debut in a 2013 production of Farragut North and a 2014 production of Versailles. In 2014 he appeared on the big screen in The Riot Club (based on the play Posh by Laura Wade), portraying one of a number of blue-blooded university students. The film’s ensemble cast included other rising stars such as Sam Claflin and Max Irons. O’Connor continued to play mostly supporting characters in films, television, and on the stage until he won a major role in the comedy-drama TV series The Durrells (2016–19), which he views as a turning point for his career.
In the mid-2010s O’Connor was cast as a closeted gay sheep farmer in Francis Lee’s debut film, God’s Own Country, after submitting a self-taped audition. He dived into grueling preparation, working with sheep on a farm, constructing stone walls, and helping deliver dozens of lambs. During the process—which he described as the closest he has come to method acting—he lost more than 22 pounds (10 kilograms) and was hospitalized for a week. While the performance became a career breakthrough, earning him a British Independent Film Award for best actor, he told The Times that he has since transitioned to an acting approach that is “kinder” to himself and those around him.
In 2018 he was cast as Prince Charles in seasons three and four of The Crown, which brought him international recognition. In his portrayal, the character becomes less sympathetic across seasons, and his inner life is examined against the backdrop of complex family dynamics. The performance won O’Connor an Emmy and a Golden Globe.
Dream run: Challengers, Knives Out, and Disclosure Day
O’Connor’s well-received performance in The Crown made him an in-demand leading man and sparked an enviable run of projects with high-profile directors. Set in Italy, Alice Rohrwacher’s La chimera cast him as a British archaeologist-turned-grave robber with the uncanny ability to divine the location of buried Etruscan relics—an understated role lauded by several critics. Shortly after, O’Connor shared the screen with Zendaya and Mike Faist in the Luca Guadagnino-directed Challengers, a high-octane drama about three tennis players involved in a love triangle. For the role, O’Connor had to develop his racket skills and a more muscular physique, splitting time between the tennis court and the gym.
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In the fall of 2025 O’Connor was a conspicuous presence in theaters, appearing in no fewer than four films. He played a gay conservatory student reuniting with his lover (Paul Mescal) after World War I in The History of Sound. In the melancholic comedy The Mastermind, helmed by director Kelly Reichardt, he took on the part of a family man on the run after stealing paintings from an art museum. The intimate drama Rebuilding had him portray an American cowboy who ends up in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) camp after wildfires destroy his ranch. His biggest mainstream role that year was in Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, in which he played a former boxer-turned-priest accused of murder. On the heels of this prolific string of releases, he also hosted Saturday Night Live in December 2025.
In 2026 O’Connor appeared as the lead opposite Emily Blunt in Steven Spielberg’s science-fiction film Disclosure Day. He is also set to star in Joel Coen’s upcoming gothic period drama titled Jack of Spades.
Personal life
Since 2023 O’Connor has lived in a house in a village in Gloucestershire, where he has a ceramics studio, a garden, and a pond he dug with his brother. As of 2026 he is reported to be dating actress Alison Oliver, though they have avoided discussing their relationship in the press.