Make It ReignAs a young Prince Charles, Josh O’Connor
is the latest jewel in The Crown.Moments before I am due to meet Josh O’Connor,
the skies over North London open with such
vengeance that we have no choice but to begin our interview
sheltering in his car. If the 29-year-old actor finds this
awkward, he doesn’t show it. “Let’s sit here until it calms
down,” he suggests cheerfully as he tries (and for several
minutes fails) to parallel park, then roots around for a spare
umbrella to lend me.
During a break in the rain, we make a dash for the nearest
pub. O’Connor is dressed for the weather in a green Loewe
parka (his slightly gawky, oversize good looks have made him
the face of the brand’s menswear line), which he’s paired with
department-store pants borrowed from his grandma. The
untraditional wardrobe choice feels appropriate coming from
an actor who describes the “fickleness of masculinity” as
the unifying thread running through his otherwise eclectic CV.
O’Connor grew up in the spa town of Cheltenham,
surrounded by an extended family of artists and writers.
“I have no memory of feeling strong and rugged at any point,”
he says. “I’ve been considering masculinity my whole life.”
Since graduating from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in
2011, he’s found increasingly high-profile roles through
which to further that investigation. His first big-box-office
appearance was in The Riot Club (2014), a film about the
violent and misogynistic culture of an all-male drinking
society. For four seasons on The Durrells in Corfu he played a
pompous writer obsessed with the trappings ofSENSE AND SENSIBILITY
O’CONNOR IS ALSO SET TO APPEAR IN A NEW ADAPTATION OF JANE AUSTEN’S
EMMA. MARGARET HOWELL SWEATER. ALBAM JEANS. HAIR, HIROSHI
MATSUSHITA; GROOMING, MIRJANA VASOVIC. DETAILS, SEE IN THIS ISSUE.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY OLIVIA ARTHUR. FASHION EDITOR: MOLLY HAYLOR.
V LI FE
FashionCultureBeauty