With each new role, Josh O’Connor makes a curated scrapbook that acts as a multi-textural mood board he can immerse himself within to fully develop his character. For his breakthrough role as Yorkshire farmer Johnny Saxby in God’s Own Country, this included cow dung, hay rope and prose about the Moors, while his recent role in Harry Wootliff’s cinematic debut Only One focused on the strains placed on a couple undergoing IVF treatment, and for O’Connor’s upcoming role as Prince Charles in The Crown, it was far more regal.

It’s a level of attention to detail and commitment to truly understanding a role that has roots in O’Connor’s childhood. Growing up around a sculptor grandfather and ceramicist grandmother, the actor’s own love of nature, art and craft stems from here, and applying these traits to his acting is yielding special results.

Alex James Taylor: Whereabouts in Spain are you at the moment?
Josh O’Connor: A place called Sotogrande, there’s a lot of ex-pats and I’m here to do some polo-playing, apparently [Josh is on location for The Crown]. I’m not really a hot weather person, I prefer cold, so I’m missing that a bit.

AJT: Yeah, after a few weeks of hot weather I get fed up of being gross and sticky.
JOC: [laughs] I’m totally the same.

AJT: Before this interview I watched Only You and God’s Own Country again, and after that I was an emotional wreck basically [both laugh]. They’re interesting films to watch side-by-side as they both examine the nuances of a relationship in such raw detail. Do you find that experiencing these stories within your acting broadens your own understanding of similar situations you may go through? What effect does playing those roles have on your own life?
JOC: On a practical level, sometimes as an actor you can become a jack of all trades and a master of none. I can learn a little bit of polo-playing here, and have a bit of an understanding of how IVF works, or of how it might be to work on a farm. On an emotional level, I think it’s sort of similar. You draw what you can from your own experiences, and then, more often than not, you have to exaggerate that and think about what kind of manifestation is right for the specific character. How can we bend the truth of our own lives into that? After God’s Own Country, I was exhausted, emotionally and physically, and after Only You, I was pretty emotionally drained too. I think it’s always just because you care so much about the characters and invest so much in them. The biggest impact in your personal life is more just like a kind of departure from this character that you live with for the period of the shoot. It’s taken me years to acknowledge that, but I think that’s what it is. I go through a little bit of a downward spiral after a job, because I just miss it so much.

AJT: I can imagine. To inhabit that character and mindset must take it out of you. Do you see similarities between Only You and God’s Own Country? Both pick apart the idea of a relationship and detail two people figuring each other out.
JOC: I often look back at projects and sometimes it’s helpful to see if there’s a subconscious curation of the work you’re doing. Sometimes it is conscious too, for me, with any kind of artistic endeavour, there’s a conscious interest in the form of masculinity and how to navigate masculinity in our lives. I think ultimately relationships seem to be the most dramatic moments in life and they tend to provide a really good structure to either give a message about society or about how we exist in this world. So relationship dramas seem to keep popping up, but I think that’s also true of my age and where I am in that casting bracket right now. But in terms of an ongoing theme for me, I’d say it’s masculinity and what shape that can take.

AJT: It’s a topic which is currently being discussed within society and independent filmmaking, however I do feel like it’s being ignored, or sidelined, in Hollywood when it comes to majors. I think that within big- budget films, depictions and definitions of masculinity really haven’t changed that much. I mean, there’s another new Rambo film in cinemas at the moment [both laugh].
JOC: Hollywood is making a very publicised effort in changing casting for women – rightly so and it hasn’t come soon enough – but I would agree with what you say. In some ways I think it’s because masculinity is a subject that still isn’t quite accessible or popular. It’s not really something that’s easy to pin down. If God’s Own Country was a Hollywood flick, I don’t know if you’d necessarily come out and say that it’s a film about masculinity, likewise with Only You, and certainly not with The Crown. So maybe that’s part of it, we don’t know how to access that.

AJT: I think it’s easy to put your finger on a subject and say that we need to address it without actually scratching at the surface. During the filming of God’s Own Country, you actually worked on the farm, where was that?
JOC: It’s just above Keighley, which is surrounded by hills. The first day I walked in, I guess John’s [the farmer] house and lifestyle was a bit of a shock to the system. We worked together every day for just over two weeks and we’d get up every morning at like 5:30, we wouldn’t eat anything, just get straight in the Land Rover and drive up to feed the sheep and then we’d come down to do other tasks, we’d stop for a bacon sandwich, then go out and do more jobs. And these tasks could be anything from fixing a fence to building a wall or cleaning out shit from the yard. It’s brutal and John hasn’t had a holiday for so many years. He’s stayed a friend of mine and I’ve seen him many times since. I think experiencing his lifestyle was so necessary for the film because I was existing in that space. While it was just over two weeks that I worked there before we started shooting, as we were filming we’d do a take, they’d yell ‘cut’, and then John would shout me over and I’d deliver a lamb. Then I’d clean my hands and shoot the next scene. It was full-on.

AJT: So you learnt how to properly deliver a lamb?
JOC: I think I delivered over 40 lambs or something during my time at John’s farm.

AJT: To what extent did working on the farm help you get into character?
JOC: As an example of why I think it helps, the early scene with the cow, where I lubricate my arm and then put it in the cow’s arse, that’s something you do when you have a pregnant cow to check the position of the calf, to see where the head’s placed and whether you need to manipulate the delivery of the calf in order for it to be safe. Francis [Lee, director] is so dedicated to making these things seem so unglamorous and uneventful, that in order for something to feel this way, it has to be perfunctory and it has to be every day. So things like that had to be common for me, which is very hard to do unless you’re doing it every single day. It doesn’t take long to fit into that system, it’s not long until you feel comfortable in that lifestyle. A week after we finished filming I went back to my hometown in Gloucester and I was on a walk through the countryside with my mum, we were walking through a field and a sheep was in my way so I just picked it up and put it to the side. It was an automatic reaction. My mum was horrified [laughs]. Obviously I wouldn’t do that now, but it does become normalised, which has a direct effect on the quality of the film. That’s what Francis was aiming for.

“On a practical level, sometimes as an actor you can become a jack of all trades and a master of none.”

AJT: Farming is a lifestyle we’re all very aware of yet very few of us actually understand the day-to-day workings and the struggles that farmers face.
JOC: I totally agree. Interestingly, I also spent quite a bit of time on a commercial farm while I was up there to see the difference. It was a total contrast: it was sterile, machined, a very slick operation. You have to remember that 40 years ago it was a different landscape, and 100 years ago it was an entirely different landscape. In John’s life, agriculture has changed ten-fold, so his father – it’s fourth generation or something this farm – would have sold his lamb to the local butcher in Keighley, who would’ve provided meat for his local area. That was a classless system, that was where you got your meat. Then as soon as supermarkets changed and the working classes couldn’t afford butchered meat – and the middle-classes to an extent too – suddenly John has been outsold because of commercial farming. A lot of his meat is going to kebab houses now or wherever, it’s not going to the butcher, the butcher doesn’t exist in Keighley anymore. So seeing those changes and differences between the farms was fascinating.

AJT: Yeah, it’s a real struggle for local farmers. If you go down the M62 in West Yorkshire the motorway lanes split and there’s a farm directly in the middle because the owner refused to sell when they tried to buy him out. It’s that amazing determination towards a lifestyle and family history.
JOC: Oh wow, that’s great. There’s definitely an aspect of putting their foot down and a reluctance towards change, and I can totally see why. I mean, John’s had to change and it’s been good for him, like putting a wind turbine on his land. It’s the only way he can make money, by adapting a little.

AJT: Did you know Yorkshire well before God’s Own Country? I read that your grandad was a sculptor who lived there for many years.
JOC: I knew Yorkshire a bit but I didn’t know that area. My mum grew up on the North York Moors, my grandfather taught there as a sculptor and my grandmother is a ceramist, so my mum’s side of the family are all North Yorkshire. Growing up I spent a lot of time on the Moors there, Oswaldkirk area and Thirsk. My grandfather lived in a small cottage in a village around there and I guess I knew that community quite well. Again, it seems like a different time now.

AJT: Do you enjoy escaping to the countryside, I know that I have to get away from London every few months to take a breather and detox.
JOC: I don’t know if I’m built for London to be honest, so I take any chance I have to get out. I’m like you, I have to get away.

AJT: Can you see yourself moving back one day, maybe not somewhere as remote as that?
JOC: Well, actually maybe as remote as that. But I don’t know. I can 100 percent see myself moving out and finding some space that feels more connected to landscape and nature, I feel so distant from it now. My folks live in the countryside and whenever I go home it is a detox, you sip in the air.

AJT: You breathe deeper.
JOC: And you feel far more relaxed. Then when I come back, driving or on the train, I get anxious. So for sure, I can see myself getting out there one day.

AJT: Going back to your grandad’s work as a sculptor, you did some drawings for our HERO Summer Zine, and I’ve seen other drawings you’ve done and images of ceramics and artworks on your Instagram. Did you ever have aspirations of going down the artistic route?
JOC: I always had an interest in being an artist. I have a specific fascination at the moment with craft. I have lots of very vivid memories as a kid of going to Yorkshire and sitting in my grandfather’s studio and workshop and he’d be chipping away at a big piece of stone or wood, creating these extraordinary images and figures. So I’ve always been interested in that. I’ve drawn since I can remember, my grandmother always encouraged that. I find it therapeutic, the flow and being in your own space. Instagram’s a funny thing though, I realised about two years ago… I was thinking, am I receiving any happiness from Instagram? Am I receiving anything that I can’t find elsewhere? And I decided that I absolutely wasn’t [laughs], or any kind of proper happiness as such. But I do find it a helpful aesthetic for showcasing things of interest. When I was a kid I used to have a white wall in my bedroom, or a cork noticeboard, and I used to weirdly curate it. It’d be like a picture of Dylan, or some lines I liked from a book, or whatever. Instagram can be a space for curated ideas and images, it can also be a successful campaigning space, not that I’m necessarily doing that. But basically I made a conscious decision that if I have to have Instagram, which it feels more and more that I do as an actor so that when projects are coming up I can give a little heads- up to people who want to support, which I really appreciate, then why not also use it to showcase your own work away from acting, or work of other people that you appreciate and is satisfying to the eye.

AJT: I think it’s nice to see the things you’re doing away from acting, like the drawings and images of artwork, I always love learning about things from people I admire. So if someone mentions a book, or a musician, I enjoy doing my own research from that. I think it also gives a more meaningful insight into you as a person.
JOC: I’m sure people get messages all the time on Instagram thanking them for sharing a picture of them cooking or whatever, but the messages I get are from people saying thank you for posting about a certain artist because they’ve then gone and looked them up and become interested in them. In a time where I feel like we’ve lost touch with craft and using our hands, I enjoy showcasing that and making it appealing.

AJT: In terms of craft, have you created pieces yourself?
JOC: I haven’t made things before. I’ve started the very early stages of having some ceramic lessons, but that’s probably a pipe- dream of one day having a little studio and making stuff. I think it’s a combination of things that have happened in the past few years that have made me re-evaluate and feel like inevitably we need to refocus our minds on using natural materials to create either functional or pleasurable items. I think that comes from a combination of things but mainly from growing up with a ceramist grandmother who I’m very close with, and a sculptor grandfather who had a big influence on me. Also as I’ve started doing more work with Jonathan Anderson at Loewe, he’s a friend and he’s big on craft. I’ve really enjoyed that aspect of what Loewe are doing for craft.

“With any kind of artistic endeavour, there’s a conscious interest in the form of masculinity and how to navigate masculinity in our lives.”

AJT: It all ties back to that need for something tangible and making use of materials available to you. I think many people are leaning this way lately. Your next project coming out is The Crown, in which you play Prince Charles. How was it joining the show in its third season, I imagine it’s a bit like joining a new family?
JOC: Yeah, for sure. I knew a couple of people from the first two series, so that helped a little. It’s a strange one because, in our world, Prince Charles is a bit of a lone ranger in his story. So first of all I came in sort of halfway through shooting, so Olivia [Colman] and Tobias [Menzies], who play the Queen and [Prince] Phillip, and Helena [Bonham Carter], who plays [Princess] Margaret, they’d already started. But initially, my first episode was on my own essentially, with Mark Lewis Jones who plays my Welsh tutor, so there was definitely a distance actually. I guess I didn’t get to know them all that well at the start, I have since. When you ask about feeling part of a family, I didn’t at first, but I do now. It’s one of the happiest jobs I’ve ever been on, everyone’s on their A-game and extremely proud and supportive of each other.

AJT: Did you find it interesting learning about the Royal Family and exploring their stories?
JOC: Pre-Crown, I would’ve described myself as a Republican [in the UK, republicanism is the idea of replacing the monarchy with a republic] and not having a huge interest in the crown, Prince Charles or anyone. I’m almost inclined to say that I’ve done a full U-turn. That’s not to say I’m not sceptical about the monarchy, but in some ways I sort of think that they are too. I think they all have the sense of, “Is this right? Can a monarchy exist and still have an equal society?” I still struggle with that as a notion and if I’m pressed I’d probably say no, you can’t have both. But the U-turn I’ve done is that being on the show has allowed me to humanise these characters and I’ve fully fallen in love and have the utmost respect for the Queen, Charles and the entire family. I think they’re remarkable and the way they deal with this extraordinary weight that’s put on them by their birth is very special, and that amazes me.

AJT: That’s a good point about them being aware of their privilege and position in society, when it’s something you’re brought up within, it must be the strangest viewpoint. I always consider the fact that they can’t do normal things like nip to the shop or get drunk in a bar, and as much as you might resent their privilege, I’d never be envious of their lifestyle.
JOC: What I’ve learned is that it’s worth separating the two if you want to have an interesting discussion about it. Right now, for instance, I think it’d be an absolute disaster if we were to all rebel and bring down the monarchy. For the anxiety of a nation, it feels like we need the Queen more than ever. But also, as a liberal-left-leaning person, I do really struggle with the idea of a monarchy existing in the first place. So I think you can think both, and I think that’s fair.

AJT: Are you interested to know whether Prince Charles sees your performance, or does that not bother you?
JOC: It does bother me, it bothers me quite a lot because of this affection I have for him now. I suspect he won’t want to watch it, I think I’d find it hard to watch anything about me. In fact I wouldn’t watch that, it’d be horrible [laughs]. If he did, of course I’d love to know how he felt. But then again, I’m not playing the real Prince Charles, I’m playing a fictitious character that’s based in some truth, we’re making a choice about what we think this character is.

AJT: We were talking earlier about you doing a challenge to swim 30 wild pools before your 30th, can you tell me more about that?
JOC: Yeah, so the idea started back in May, near my birthday, when I had a day off from filming Emma and I was feeling very agitated being in London – as we were talking about earlier – feeling very locked in. So on a whim, I got in the car and drove south, without really knowing where I was heading. About halfway down the motorway I decided to go to the Hampshire coast to a place I spent a lot of my childhood holidays. I drove to this little town, parked the car and without a swimming costume I walked over some shingles and into the sea. It was cold, it was raining, the water was freezing, and it was the best thing I’d ever done. It was like a weird, reset button. Then I became obsessed, I was fascinated by the mental health benefits of cold water swimming and open, wild swimming. I asked around, did some research and a friend of mine gave me a book called Waterlog by Roger Deakin, who is a brilliant travel writer and writer of place. The book is about scaling the whole of the UK through rivers and ponds and lakes, going from Land’s End to John O’Groats. It’s this incredible journey. So, inspired by that, and also my mum had done 60 wild swims for her 60th the year before, I decided that this is what I’ll do for Mind charity.

AJT: How many have you done so far?
JOC: So I’m now on fifteen. It has to be the UK unfortunately because I’m in Spain right now thinking I could rack them up.

AJT: That’d definitely be cheating.
JOC: [laughs] Very much so. I’m conscious that we’re getting into winter now. I’ve got a few planned over the next few months, where it’s going to get colder and colder. My birthday is 20th May so I’ve got time.

AJT: Can you still do it in the coldest months or will you freeze?
JOC: I’ve got five very cold swims planned, one of which is on Christmas Day in my hometown. There are a few in January and February, which I suspect will be the coldest.

AJT: Do you find it invigorating? I’ve heard a lot about the benefits of wild swimming, both mentally and physically.
JOC: It definitely is. It’s a really practical way of releasing endorphins into your body. If you’re nowhere near open water, even just an unheated lido can be amazing. You don’t have to be a good swimmer, I’m not, you can just jump in, experience it, splash around, get out. But even just having a cold shower in the morning sounds mental and horrible, but it’s the best way ever to start the day.

AJT: I’ll take your word for that [laughs]. Finally, I read that you create a scrapbook for each acting job you work on in order to create a sort of moodboard for your character. I think that’s a really interesting way to approach character development, and in some ways it goes back to what you were saying about creating something physical that you can add to and go back to. What do you tend to put in them?
JOC: Yeah, I still make them. I try to do it on every job. They’re very private things, so I have them at home and maybe one day I’ll think of sharing them, but for now I like them being a private thing for me. I’ve got a Prince Charles one, which is slightly more glamorous than Johnny Saxby’s, his literally had cow dung in it, bits of hay, smells, textures from the farming word, also bits of writing. It can be anything that helps me go into a place in my memory, or as a character. I find it incredibly helpful and if you go back to the crafting aspect, it’s about creating something with your hands and not getting too much in your own head about a character.

AJT: It must also be nice to revisit after a job as a memory of the experience. Stick your nose in some cow shit and remember the good times [both laugh].
JOC: Definitely, I don’t look through them enough actually and really should do. I’m a very nostalgic person and creating these scrapbooks really helps me collect those memories.

“Relationships seem to be the most dramatic moments in life and they tend to provide a really good structure to either give a message about society or about how we exist in this world”

Feature originally published in The HERO Winter Annual 2019. 

GROOMING KOTA SUIZU AT CAREN USING TOM FORD;
FASHION ASSISTANT ALLEGRA BARTOLI