Josh O’Connor: Romeo Role ‘Greatest Experience of My Career

Josh O’Connor and Jessie Buckley were delighted about leading the stage production of Romeo and Juliet. So when the play was canceled last year due to covid-19, the National Theatre Presented another suggestion – It involves making the film for TV? Josh O’Connor and Buckley nearly go against the idea but turns out to be the best for the duo.

Last summer makes itself appropriate for O’connor and Buckley to demonstrate their prowess and talent in a famous William Shakespeare at an effective medium.

Josh O’Connor’s already started his career with two roles: Larry in The Durrells for ITV followed by two seasons as The Crown as Prince Charles. (His successor has Charles has not been confirmed yet.)

In the highly-rated Chernobyl, Buckley then shows her worth in the biopic Judy, acting as the assistant assigned to keep Judy Garland on track in 1960s London.

The National’s schedule for 2020, its edition of Romeo and Juliet, was placed under threat as soon as the globe was hit with the coronavirus pandemic.

Josh O’Connor recalls “Friday therapy sessions when some of those involved got together to try to work out what lay beyond the fog of Lockdown One.”

“It would be Jessie and myself and the director Simon Godwin and sometimes Fisayo Akinade (who plays Mercutio) and Rufus Norris, who runs the National. They were brilliant at keeping us all involved and motivated,” he continued. “But when they first came to us about making it a film instead, I think for both of us the reaction was not – not a chance mate. It just didn’t seem the right idea. So thank goodness we followed through and engaged with it as a project.”

The film is precise, and it lasts for just 90 minutes. It took over 17 days for the shooting on and around the National’s Lyttelton stage. The auditorium was to accommodate an 890 audience, but the seats were empty due to the current situation.

Director Simon Godwin designs the stage and the areas around like a film studio, and the scene was skeptically furnished that it doesn’t feel like a play taped for TV. The production is fluid and well lit, and it works well.

Josh O’Connor said that when their Romeo and Juliet swerved into a film, they set up ideas on the tracks the production should follow.

“We brought in films to discuss, and we talked about how we could make it theatrical and yet not shy away from the cinematic nature of what we were doing,” he said. “We always knew we wanted to include the building in some way. It lends a texture and tapestry to what you see. There was a lot to think through, but once we got into it, it was the greatest experience of my career. I was having the time of my life.”