Challengers star Josh O’Connor was hospitalised from filming God’s Own Country
Josh O’Connor has revealed that he was hospitalised during filming for God’s Own Country. In a recent interview with The Guardian, the British actor reflected on his breakout role, which was released in 2017.
Directed by Francis Lee, the romantic drama tells the story of sheep farmer Johnny (O’Connor), whose life changes with the arrival of Gheorghe (Alec Secăreanu), a Romanian migrant who is hired as extra help for the lambing season.
Partly based on the experiences of Lee (in his feature directorial debut), God’s Own Country was one of the decade’s most praised films, with critics highlighting the performances of O’Connor and Secăreanu and its depiction of loneliness and intimacy.
O’Connor told The Guardian that he lost “more than 10 kilos (22lb) in weight” for the role and ended up in hospital “for a week on a drip”, which he said was the “closest” he’ll get to method acting. “And I got very sick, which maybe highlights that.
