Every Gay Story Josh O’Connor Has Played is Sexy and With a Heart That Moves You
 |
| "Challengers" |
Josh O’Connor has played several gay TV and film roles. (Getty/ Andreas Rentz)
- (This Post is Written by Marcus Wratten, PinkNews)
If the rumors are to be believed, Challengers star Josh O’Connor is in talks to star in Luca Guadagnino’s next gay romance film, Separate Rooms.
Variety has reported that the 33-year-old actor will take on the lead role in the latest queer film from the Call Me By Your Name director, which is adapted from the eponymous novel by late Italian writer Pier Vittorio Tondelli.
Separate Rooms follows Leo, an Italian writer who meets pianist Thomas while travelling through Paris. The pair start a love affair that lasts several years, and while they continue their separate lives in different countries, they meet frequently in cities across Europe.
Eventually, tragedy strikes and Leo is left mourning the loss of his true love. O’Connor is reportedly in final talks to take on the role of Leo, while it’s not known who will star as Thomas.
If O’Connor’s role in Separate Rooms does come to fruition, it will be one of several LGBTQ+ roles taken on by the The Crown actor, despite publicly identifying as straight.
 |
Way back in 2019, he addressed the age-old question of whether straight actors should play gay roles, simply saying: “I don’t know.”
“I have been asked, a few times, should a straight actor play a gay part?” he told GQ. “And every time I have been honest and said… I don’t know.
“I’d always be really open about it. Sexuality… is more complicated than we realize. Just as [The Descent of Man author] Grayson [Perry] talks about masculinity not being this steel rod, it’s true of queerness, too; it’s fluid and elastic, but we often don’t really have the tools to articulate that in our culture.”
Here are all the LGBTQ+ roles Josh O’Connor has played so far, and those he’s taking on in future.
Hide & Seek (2014)
 |
One of Josh O’Connor’s earliest roles was in the not-so-critically-acclaimed romantic drama Hide & Seek, in which O’Connor plays Max, one of four friends who move from London to the countryside to eschew all social conventions around being in a relationship.
The film follows couples Max and Charlotte (Hannah Arterton), and Leah (Rea Mole) and Jack (Daniel Metz) as they engage in scheduled partner-swapping – and yes, that includes Leah getting with Charlotte, and Max and Jack being intimate, too.
Hide & Seek is available to rent or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
Peaky Blinders (2014)
 |
One of Josh O’Connor’s earlier TV roles was in Cillian Murphy’s famed period crime drama Peaky Blinders. He played the small role of James, friend and housemate of Ada Thorne (Sophie Rundle) in season two.
When Murphy’s character Tommy Shelby confronts James, suspecting him of being Ada’s new boyfriend, Ada confirms that James is actually gay – despite it being illegal during the early 20th Century, when Peaky Blinders is set.
Peaky Blinders is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
God’s Own Country (2017)
 |
For the queer community, God’s Own Country was the film that put Josh O’Connor on the map. Francis Lee’s multi-award-nominated romantic drama saw O’Connor play Johnny Saxby, a young, lonely, and struggling farmer who slowly falls for Gheorghe (Alec Secăreanu), a migrant worker hired to help out with lambing season on the farm.
Their relationship starts precariously, but before long, they’re having secret sex in the farm’s muddy fields.
O’Connor previously told Attitude magazine that he had “dated the Johnny type in the past – emotionally inarticulate, unable to love and be loved,” types.
God’s Own Country was critically acclaimed upon its release and led to O’Connor being nominated for a BAFTA Rising Star award.
God’s Own Country is available to rent on Prime Video, YouTube, and Apple TV.
Comments