Meet Josh O'Connor — Actor Who Portrayed a Young Prince Charles in Season 4 of 'The Crown'

Meet the 30-year-old English actor Josh O'Connor who is now famous for his playing the Prince Charles character in the Netflix drama series, "The Crown."

Before portraying Prince Charles in the Netflix series, "The Crown," English actor Josh O'Connor played the character of John Saxby in the 2017 movie, "God's Own Country," which earned him a British Independent Film Award for Best Actor.

He also portrayed the character Lawrence Durrell in the ITV series, "The Durrells." Get to meet the 30-year-old actor who has earned reviews for his "Prince Charles" role.

O'CONNOR'S RICH HERITAGE

O'Connor was brought up in Cheltenham. He is of English and Irish ancestry. He was born as the middle son in a family of three boys. O'Connor is the grandson of the British sculptor, John Bunting.

His aunt, Madeleine Bunting, is a British writer and commentator. O'Connor's mother, Emily, was a midwife, while his father, John, was an English teacher. The actor describes his childhood as sweet and believes he is very fortunate with that.

HE WAS NOT A BRIGHT STUDENT

O'Connor was educated privately at Cheltenham's St. Edward's School. However, in an interview with Esquire, he revealed that he was not a brilliant student at school but was more of a class jester.

He discovered acting when he was 14 years old. The arrival of a new drama teacher, Jerry Strachan, at the school helped O'Connor find his hidden talent and piqued his interest in drama.

O'Connor further said that, like Shakespeare's villains, he did not want to play the character of Charles as a villain.

HE WANTED TO BE A FOOTBALLER

Although O'Connor was interested in drama at 14, that interest was only secondary to his dream of becoming a footballer. However, with Strachan's guidance, which the actor described as revelatory, he discovered his true calling.

Hence, while his schoolmates applied to go to Universities, O'Connor auditioned for and won a place at the Bristol Old Vic Theater School, where he graduated in 2011 at the age of 21.

A BANANA SPECIALIST

Before making it big as an actor, O'Connor worked in a supermarket's fruit and vegetable section. He was called the banana specialist for how he advised people on which banana to choose.

LOVER OF ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY

O'Connor has a verified Instagram account, where he has 70 posts and 185,000 followers. His posts show his love for art and photography, which further endears him to art lovers.

"THE CROWN"

O'Connor joined the cast of "The Crown" in season 3 and will play his role once more in the newly released season 4. However, he will not return for season 5 because the series usually recasts new actors after every two seasons.

PRINCE CHARLES IS NOT THE VILLAIN

Speaking about his portrayal of Prince Charles in the new season 4, O'Connor bore his mind on whether the monarch is the villain in the new season. He explained that he learned, through his father, that all Shakespeare's villains do not believe themselves to be villains.

Instead, they believed themselves to be doing their life's work, which was for the greater good and always made sense to them. O'Connor further said that, like Shakespeare's villains, he did not want to play the character of Charles as a villain.

The actor said he did not believe Charles is a villain, but someone who is very lost, as seen in season 3 of the series, needing something he could not get. Fans can catch up with O'Connor as he portrays Prince Charles in "The Crown's" season 4, which premiered on November 15, and check out his awesome art posts on Instagram.