What makes a movie star? Josh O’Connor, the 33-year-old British actor best known until, well, last week as the thin-skinned, tight-lipped Prince Charles in seasons three and four of The Crown, has been mulling over this question of late. Earlier this year he completed a drama set in the first world war called The History of Sound, with Paul Mescal. “Paul’s a friend, and to watch him work was amazing,” says O’Connor. “I really can’t underplay how brilliant he is. Paul has that movie-star quality, whatever that is. I wish I could articulate it, but he’s just graceful about it all.”
Zendaya is another one. O’Connor is currently in cinemas alongside her in Challengers, Luca Guadagnino’s critically acclaimed psychosexual tennis romp, which topped the box offices in both the UK and US last weekend. They play two sides of a lascivious love triangle, with Mike Faist as the third, but it is clear that Zendaya’s Tashi Duncan is the one pulling the strings. “I’ve never done premieres like I’ve done with Challengers,” says O’Connor. “So that’s alien to me anyway, but to see how she breezes through them with such class and generosity. I’m a nervous wreck, I don’t think I’m helpful to anyone. And Mike as well, we’re both a bit like: ‘What the fuck? This is mad!’ But she’s just on the nail.
