Josh O’Connor’s range evident across four films in 2025

Manohla Dargis wrote that British actor Josh O’Connor quietly enriched a quartet of films in 2025, appearing in The History of Sound, The Mastermind, Rebuilding and Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.

Dargis praised O’Connor’s nuance, slow‑gathering emotional power and natural charisma, saying the specificity of his screen presence makes it hard to imagine anyone else in these roles. Between September and November he starred in the four dissimilar films; Dargis highlighted his work as Dusty, a loner in Max Walker‑Silverman’s Rebuilding, and as a pugilist‑turned‑priest in Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man, and noted his quieter, tamped‑down turn in Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind. She also placed those performances alongside earlier roles in The Crown, Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers and Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera to underline his expressive range.

Dargis pointed out that O’Connor is next set to star in Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day in June and in a Joel Coen film that was shooting in Scotland, but cautioned that such projects "are no guarantee of a thriving, wide‑open future." She added, "I don't know if O'Connor will get to kiss another guy in either movie or be able to demonstrate his soft‑boy appeal in all its depth. I imagine that his talent will be undeniable; I hope his softness is, too."

Key Topics

Culture, Josh O'connor, Rebuilding, The Mastermind, Manohla Dargis, Rian Johnson