Josh O’Connor heard a quote once that said that Steven Spielberg was like “the director of every child’s imagination.”
The British actor may not have grown up in a moviegoing family, but he was still very aware the Spielberg thing as a ’90s kid. It’s just in our psyche, O’Connor said in a recent interview.
There were Blockbuster nights, of course, with viewings of “E.T.” and he’s since caught up with the classics. But even he was taken aback by just how ingrained those quintessential Spielberg images were on his first day shooting “Disclosure Day.” They were on a backlot, he said, and there were dripping pipes and big beams of light and smoke and mist. It was an environment he recognized so vividly. All he could think was, “Wow, I’m in a Steven Spielberg movie.”
While very little is known about the plot of “Disclosure Day,” which opens in theaters on June 12, it’s territory that Spielberg knows well. And it has been suggested by Emily Blunt, and confirmed by O’Connor, that it answers some questions raised by “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” O’Connor plays a cybersecurity expert who has a mysterious connection with Blunt’s meteorologist. He holds some truths that the men in suits don’t want the world to know.
O’Connor spoke about the film, the secrecy, the awe of watching it for the first time and having “the greatest Steven Spielberg story.” Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: Have you been able to take stock of this whole experience?
O’CONNOR: It’s sort of still quite surreal. There have been many directors for me where it’s felt like kind of intensely surreal in the lead up to going and doing a movie with a person and then once you start, it sort of settles down and then the next thing you know you’re best friends with that director and it’s all just very normal. I do feel very close to Steven, but it still feels surreal having shot it. And every aspect of making this film was like a pinch-me moment, including seeing it for the first time. It’s sort of a dream for anyone.
AP: Was he what you expected?
O’CONNOR: He was more than I expected. He’s got this energy about him. He’s still so excited. He’s still like a child. He’s inquisitive. He is excited about performance. You know, there’s nothing better in the universe than hearing Steven by a monitor, crying or laughing or shouting with joy. He’s still, I imagine, that same director he was when he made “Jaws” or “E.T.” or any of those other classics. So yeah, he’s still got it. I can confirm he’s still got it
Q: What can you tell us about your character?
O’CONNOR: Daniel’s got some special powers. I’m resistant to saying that because I think it sort of overplays him in some ways. He and Emily’s character have this special bond between them and they’re not even aware of it. And the film really is pulling these two characters together. That’s sort of like the drive for these two, even if they’re unaware of it for half the movie.
Daniel has never really computed it and that’s sort of bubbling away underneath Daniel’s character. But he’s sort of an unglamorous hero. He’s your everyday guy and he’s found himself in this situation and he has to adapt and he is able to adapt, but, you know, he’s not a natural Tom Cruise.
Q: There’s a lot of secrecy around “Disclosure Day.” Was it like that on your end too?
O’CONNOR: There was, of course, a level of secrecy. When I received the script I was filming “Knives Out” and I was in a hotel and a motorbike turned up with the script, and a motorbike turned up to take away the script the next morning. That’s the first time that’s happened for me. It’s a very strange experience but it makes sense. You know, anytime you hear that Steven’s got a film coming out, everyone, myself included, wants to know what it is, so I totally understand why.
Q: What was the setup for watching it? Did it involve a guy showing up on a motorcycle again?
O’CONNOR: No, actually, not this time. It was just me and Emily and we sat in a screening room. You know, seeing any movie you’re in for the first time is a nightmare. It’s impossible to enjoy it fully because all you’re seeing is like, “Why do my ears look so big” or “Why do I stand like that I’m such a freak.” All those things are natural and so there is a little bit of competing with that, but this experience was unlike any other I’ve ever had. Emily and I were just in awe.
Q: You’ve been able to work with such a varied group of filmmakers and in all these different forms in your career.
O’CONNOR: That’s the thing I’m most proud of, I think … Getting to work with diverse artists and people like Alice (Rohrwacher) and Kelly (Reichardt) and Steven and Rian Johnson. They all work in very different ways and make very different films and tell different stories and ultimately that was my dream. I looked up to people like Gene Wilder, or like Robin Williams who’s able to make us roar with laughter and then have us in tears. I think that flexibility, that versatility is what I’ve always wanted in my career.
Q: Do you have a favorite Spielberg story?
O’CONNOR: I have the greatest, in my opinion, the greatest Steven Spielberg story. When it happened, I was sort of like punching the air for this very reason, knowing that when it comes to doing press for this film, I can tell the story, which is that I was halfway through the shoot and we had a scene coming up, which is quite an emotional scene and I was struggling with it. I was in my hotel room trying to prep it, as Steven does so brilliantly, and it’s extraordinary he’s so available to talk about these things.
I reached out to Steven, we discussed the scene, we talked about the emotion of the scene and how to access that and what we’re ultimately aiming to show in the story. And I felt quite satisfied, but not completely with it. And then I got a text from him quite late at night, just saying ,”The door is on the latch, just push.” And it made so much sense. I was like, “of course.” The character’s kind of got all this emotion, it’s built up and it’s like a door on the latch and you just push and it all comes out and it’s an emotional release. I was so thrilled with that note and I came in the next day and said, “Steven, you totally unlocked it for me that was amazing.” And he was like, “What are you talking about?”
I said, “The text about ‘the door on the latch just push’ it’s incredible.” And he laughed and said that that text was supposed to be for his wife. It became a very big joke for all of us. But it did unlock the scene for me, so, fair play.
Q: It’s so good, I almost don’t believe it.
O’CONNOR: I know. It’s ridiculous.
