Josh O'Connormust think he's Santa Claus, because the British actor seems to be everywhere right now with a brand-new bag of four fresh movies.
You can catch him playing a World War I-era musician opposite Paul Mescal in "The History of Sound" (streaming on Mubi) and taking an emotional turn as a hard-luck rancher dad in the indie drama "Rebuilding" (in theaters now). Two more of his performances hit this weekend (both streaming Dec 12): a bumbling art thief in the Mubi crime flick"The Mastermind"and a feisty young priest in Rian Johnson'sNetflixmovie"Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery."
Phew, that's a bunch of characters. And for the 35-year-old Cheltenham native who's impressed on "The Crown" and in "Challengers," each is important because there's a significant amount of O'Connor in all of them.
Join our Watch Party!Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox
It's a "special alchemy," O'Connor says. "I often think that characters land with you at a time when you need them to land with you, that they answer a question that's somewhere in your mind left unanswered."
When O'Connor got the call from Johnson about the religion-themed "Dead Man," O'Connor happened to be undergoing "a crisis of faith and trying to understand the world in that way."
"Dead Man" teams up Blanc and Father Jud, who's accused of murdering his church's head holy man, the imperious Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). Jud starts off the film with a "blind optimism," O'Connor says, that quickly goes south.
"Watching him sort of deteriorate, that's a great gift," O'Connor adds. His character is burdened with baggage from his past – before he joined the church, Jud killed a man in a boxing match. He leads with his heart more than his fists, but one of Jud's lines really spoke to the actor: "God loves me when I'm guilty."
"That's something that I think is profound and true," he says. "Jud's great talent is that he sees past people's flaws and their histories, and rather than point the finger, it's about trying to understand.
"We often associate priests with confession and granting forgiveness. Jud's view might be that forgiveness is an offering and understanding has to come alongside that."
You are in fact seeing double. Michael B. Jordan plays twin brothers who return to their Mississippi hometown to open up a juke joint in Ryan Coogler's "Sinners." Here's how the horror movie ranks against the rest of the year's best movies." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
30. "Him": Franchise star Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans, left) tests rookie Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers) at his remote training camp to see if he's ready to be the next San Antonio Saviors quarterback in the bizarre and trippy football horror movie." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
29. "The Testament of Ann Lee": Amanda Seyfried (center) stars as Ann Lee, the charismatic founder of the Shakers religious movement and a somewhat controversial figure in 18th-century America, in the engrossing historical musical drama." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
28. "Sorry, Baby": Eva Victor writes, directs and stars in the funny, moving dramedy as a college literature professor still battling the psychological effects years after being sexually assaulted by her teacher." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
27. "Good Boy": The most innovative horror movie of the year stars, yes, a pooch. Indy the dog is a canine best friend whose owner is haunted by a dark spirit in a scary movie that's equally unsettling and thoughtful." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
26. "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning": Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) goes to extremes to battle a villainous AI and save the world, including hanging out of a plane, in the thrilling franchise installment wrapping up a 30-year storyline." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
25. "How to Train Your Dragon": Astrid (Nico Parker) and Hiccup (Mason Thames) ride high with their Night Fury friend Toothless in the live-action remake, a coming-of-age movie filled with great flying sequences and all the feels." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
24. "The Secret Agent": In the 1970s-set political thriller, Wagner Moura is terrific as a Brazilian researcher hunted by mercenary killers, who aims to escape the country's ruthless dictatorship with his son." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
23. "One Battle After Another": When an old enemy resurfaces for vengeful reasons, an ex-revolutionary (Leonardo DiCaprio) scrambles to find his daughter when she goes missing in Paul Thomas Anderson's timely action thriller." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
22. "In Your Dreams": The lively animated fantasy comedy centers on young girl Stevie and her little brother Elliot, who team up with snarky stuffed giraffe Baloney Tony to find the mythical Sandman and make a wish to save their parents' marriage." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
21. "Sentimental Value": Renate Reinsve (left) and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas star in Joachim Trier's moving French dramedy as sisters dealing with the emotional consequences of their estranged father making his comeback movie about their family." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
20. "Train Dreams": The absorbing period drama stars Joel Edgerton as a logger working on building the railroad in the Pacific Northwest whose job keeps him away for long periods from his wife and life." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
19. "Blue Moon": Richard Linklater's dishy 1940s-set dramedy centers on lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke) trying to save his pride and career at the premiere afterparty celebrating his former collaborator Richard Rodgers' musical "Oklahoma!"" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
18. "28 Years Later": Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes, left) shows Spike (Alfie Williams) how he honors the victims of the infected in a horror sequel that's a thoughtful exploration of family, tribalism and remembering the dead." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
17. "Magazine Dreams": In Elijah Bynum's intoxicating cautionary tale, Killian Maddox (Jonathan Majors) is a socially awkward bodybuilder dealing with past traumas and wanting to make a human connection who goes down an extraordinarily bad path." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
16. "Ballerina": As a newbie assassin, Ana de Armas is a one-woman wrecking crew – and shares screen time with John Wick himself, Keanu Reeves. It's an impressive franchise spinoff packed with stellar brawls, superb gunfights and a nifty flamethrower faceoff." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
15. "Left-Handed Girl": A 5-year-old Taiwanese girl (Nina Ye) and her older sister (Shih-Yuan Ma) move from the countryside back to Taipei with their mom, a return that brings financial and personal struggles in a touching slice-of-life drama." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
14. "The Perfect Neighbor": Told through police bodycam footage, the gripping, heartbreaking documentary chronicles hostilities between an older white woman and the Black parents and children living around her, leading to a tragedy that shakes their neighborhood." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
13. "Frankenstein": Elizabeth (Mia Goth) shares a moment with the newborn Creature (Jacob Elordi), who confronts his maker in epic fashion in Guillermo del Toro's gorgeous, thoughtful and moving adaptation of Mary Shelley's legendary work." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
12. "Nuremberg": Army psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek, left) and imprisoned Nazi leader Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe) match wits in James Vanderbilt's stirring combo of post-World War II historical thriller and courtroom drama." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
11. "Jay Kelly:" Movie legend Jay (George Clooney) has a heart-to-heart with his oldest daughter (Riley Keough) in Noah Baumbach's charming character study of a celebrity realizing that he's always put work ahead of loved ones." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
10. "Weapons": A schoolteacher (Julia Garner) becomes a local pariah when every kid but one in her class mysteriously disappears overnight in a provocative, genre-defying horror flick that boasts unhinged gore and a delightfully dark sense of humor." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
9. "Is This Thing On?": Will Arnett proves he's got dramatic chops as a middle-aged man on the cusp of a divorce when he finds a needed outlet with stand-up comedy in Bradley Cooper's film about creative catharsis and complicated relationships." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
8. "Superman": The Man of Steel (David Corenswet) isn't happy with his dog Krypto making a mess of the Fortress of Solitude in James Gunn's electric superhero adventure, which relaunched the DC universe and introduced a screen Superman worthy of the name." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
7. "Hamnet": Agnes (Jessie Buckley) comforts her husband, William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal), in director Chloé Zhao's drama, a heartfelt film about the Bard's family life, the creation of his play "Hamlet" and different ways of dealing with grief." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
6. "Marty Supreme": Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet) has big dreams of being a ping-pong champ, if his own selfish attitude doesn't derail him first. Josh Safdie's 1950s-set sports comedy is a masterful panic attack of a table-tennis movie." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
5. "It Was Just an Accident": Vahid Mobasseri plays a mechanic and former Iranian political prisoner who kidnaps his former torturer. Jafar Panahi's thriller is an unforgettable juggling of serious moral questions and clever screwball comedy." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
4. "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery": Ace detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig, left) helps young priest Father Jud (Josh O'Connor) when he's accused of murder in the Southern-fried super-sleuth's most personal and thoughtful case yet." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
3. "Rental Family": An American expat actor (Brendan Fraser) stands in as the groom for the wedding of a Japanese woman (Misato Morita). Fraser exudes compassion and awkward, earnest charm in director Hikari's fish-way-out-of-water dramedy." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
2. "Sinners": Southern gangster Smoke (Michael B. Jordan, left) and his guitar-playing cousin Sammie (Miles Caton) endure a horrific night dealing with vampires in Ryan Coogler's devilishly spectacular and absolutely mesmerizing fright fest." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
1. "The Life of Chuck": Chuck (Tom Hiddleston) suddenly feels the beat and shares an impromptu dance with a stranger (Annalise Basso) in Mike Flanagan's must-see Stephen King adaptation that warms hearts, captures minds and blows up convention." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Want to see a great movie? Here are the best films of 2025
You are in fact seeing double. Michael B. Jordan plays twin brothers who return to their Mississippi hometown to open up a juke joint in Ryan Coogler's "Sinners." Here's how the horror movie ranks against the rest of the year's best movies.
Craig finds O'Connor to be "a singular individual and actor. He's a rare breed: genuinely funny, genuinely nice. I'd never say this to his face," Craig says with a laugh. "He's got high standards, and it raises my game."
People often ask O'Connor if there's a connection between the roles he's played, and usually offer up "a theory about masculinity or troubled souls or regret," he says. For him, though, he looks more at where he was in his life. For example, when O'Connor played a tomb robber who's lost a love in 2013's "La Chimera," "I was exploring grief and trying to understand what happens to you when someone meaningful in your life is no longer there."
He tracks this mind-set back to being 10 and playing his first role, as the Scarecrow in a musical version of "The Wizard of Oz" in primary school. "The idea of being on stage with a group of people collectively trying to create something entertaining, that was I suppose the seedling of this desire to do what I do," O'Connor says. "Our music teacher at school wrote original songs (for the production), and my song was 'I Just Can't Think.' It was about a guy who couldn't think, which is ironic because it was about the same time I discovered I was dyslexic."
His latest big outing could mean a whole bunch of different characters: After spending "a little bit of time in my garden" back home in Gloucestershire – the man loves his plants – O'Connor hosts "Saturday Night Live" this weekend. And fingers crossed there's no singing or dancing in sketches. "I just don't want to trip over at all," admits the actor, who next stars in Steven Spielberg's as-yet-untitled mystery movie (in theaters June 12).
When it comes to those aforementioned "unanswered" questions that coincide with his roles, the answers aren't always satisfactory for O'Connor, but it's all part of "trying to figure myself out," he says. "Because I'm an actor, I choose to do it by a character rather than maybe some psychotherapy. Maybe do that as well."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Josh O'Connor finds faith in 'Knives Out 3' before hosting 'SNL'
