Durrells star Josh O’Connor on playing Prince Charles, telling the Diana and Camilla story and the pelican that upstaged Keeley Hawes
HE bears more than a passing resemblance to Prince Charles, thanks to his distinctive ears, so it’s no surprise that Josh O’Connor was cast as the heir to the throne in The Crown. The actor, who played Lawrence in The Durrells, is set to appear alongside Olivia Colman’s Queen in the third season of the Netflix drama later this year. And while the role of HRH required extensive research, Josh, 29, has never actually met him. But if he did, the subject of ears would be top of his agenda.
“If I met him, I am sure it would be lovely, although it would be a bit weird,” he says. I would definitely, almost immediately, compare ears. I think his are definitely bigger.
“I would want to know how that has been for him. For me, it has been great [although he was called Dumbo at secondary school].”
Although Josh has spent the past 12 months immersing himself in the role and perfecting that cut-glass royal accent, he knew from the outset that it was futile trying to fully impersonate Charles.
He says: “I realised that there is no point actually trying to recreate Prince Charles because I will do it wrong and we also don’t know who he is.
“Someone kept asking me on set to do the voice of Prince Charles and I kept saying, ‘I can’t’.” Because Josh felt he was already doing it.
“I was thinking, ‘Well, if you can’t see it, you are never going to be happy and my performance is seriously flawed’.”
Olivia Buxton
WHILE he was not particularly interested in the Royal Family or the part they played in British 20th century history when he was growing up near Cheltenham with his English teacher father, midwife mother and two brothers, Josh is now an expert on the subject.
He says: “There is so much I didn’t know and it’s actually weird because with The Crown, the research has been really helpful.
“Ultimately, everyone can go on to YouTube and find any interview with Prince Charles from that period.
“But what is interesting about The Crown and why I think it touches audiences is that [writer] Peter Morgan doesn’t just present us with what we can see on YouTube.
“He goes behind closed doors and shows the conversations.
“There is a lot about Prince Charles talking about the environment, which is brilliant, but I can imagine behind closed doors that him and Camilla aren’t talking about the environment all the time.
“It’s more likely they’re having cups of tea and talking about other stuff.”
Portraying Charles through his 20s and 30s, involved his relationships with Camilla, who is played by Killing Eve writer Emerald Fennell, and Princess Diana played by newcomer
Emma Corrin. But Josh says that if The Crown’s viewers are expecting raunchy sex scenes, they will be left disappointed.
“In my career, I have done a lot of sex scenes,” he admits. “But it’s not going to get too raunchy. I think that would be a bit much for everyone.”
Working on the third series of the Netflix drama also meant filming some “very tense” scenes alongside Helena Bonham Carter (Princess Margaret), Charles Dance (Lord Mountbatten) and Oscar winner Olivia Colman, who plays the Queen. And Josh couldn’t help but be starstruck.
He reveals: “It’s been such a nice job. But it’s kind of bizarre when you have got all your idols like Olivia Colman and Charles Dance and Tobias Menzies [Prince Philip] working with you. They are all brilliant actors, who I grew up with and idolised, and that is really exciting.
“Helena Bonham Carter is one of the warmest people you are likely to meet and I felt this real sense of guidance from her. She is this incredible actress but also really wise.”
In his relatively short career as an actor – Josh graduated from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 2011 – he has already worked on films such as The Riot Club and The Program, but his big break came with God’s Own Country in 2017, a gay love story set in rural Yorkshire.
Screen roles in Peaky Blinders, Les Miserables and The Durrells, starring Keeley Hawes as his character’s mother, followed.
Filming the Durrells in Corfu over the last few years has meant all of the cast have forged a close bond and now the series has come to an end, Josh feels bereft.
He says: “We all hang out anyway but I miss the times that we’ve had in Corfu.When I was there, I had my family come and stay with me. But I am going back this summer for a holiday. I will keep going back.”
However, there is one “co-star” Josh won’t be missing – a pelican that was a pet belonging to his onscreen little brother Gerald, played by Milo Jared F. Parker.
“All the animals were so well trained – and Keeley would be livid if I shared this, but I