How Josh O'Connor went from playing a young King Charles to erotic love-triangle thriller Challengers opposite Zendaya - with gay World War I romance alongside Paul Mescal on the horizon

He blew audiences away with his tortured - but sympathetic - portrayal of a young King Charles III in series three of The Crown.

But now Josh O'Connor has audiences hot under the collar with upcoming roles, including a sultry tennis drama where he stars alongside Zendaya and Mike Faist in a sexually-charged love triangle.

The 33-year-old actor from Southampton is also currently shooting for yet another romantic lead opposite Paul Mescal, in a World War I romance titled The History of Sound.

It's a far cry from the stiff, bumbling and nervous Prince of Wales he got his big break as - with Josh set to once again demand global attention in huge projects, after previously admitting he struggled with fame.

The latest trailer for erotic thriller Challengers sees Josh - who plays a tennis player called Patrick Zweigh - seductively kissing Zendaya's neck at the same time as co-star Mike, crassly eating a banana and nakedly sitting in a sauna in a barely-there towel.

Now Josh O'Connor has audiences hot under the collar with upcoming roles, including a sultry tennis drama where he stars alongside Zendaya and Mike Faist in a sexually-charged love triangle

Taking to social media, people who got to see an early screening of the movie coming out later this month admitted they'll be 'thinking about Mike Faist's and Josh O'Connor's scenes forever'. 

'Y'all, this movie is absolutely WILD,' @tamara_fuentes penned on X.  

'A tense, sexy relationship thriller, the chemistry between Zendaya, Mike Faist & Josh O’Connor will leave you sweating,' user @flickchickdc wrote.

Speaking to Vogue in August, the actor revealed that he used Australian athlete Nick Kyrgios as inspiration - including incorporating his mannerisms after seeing the pro doing 'really crude things with his water bottle'.

And the actor also told Vanity Fair in March that director Luca Guadagnino had a 'very clear idea' of what happens on the bed scene with the three way kiss.

'The idea of me and Mike, with Zendaya in the middle - this idea that it’s kissing, kissing, and then it turns into this three-way kiss - and then suddenly Mike and I are kissing. That was very clear,' he explained.

'We all kind of figured out, how are we going to do this? How does this work?

'There is an element of improvisation with it. It was fairly organic. We did little things, like, when they’re sitting on the floor and she goes onto the bed, I was up in a flash and not holding back. That came from us knowing our characters well, and knowing the dynamics between the three of us.'

It's a far cry from the stiff, bumbling and nervous Prince of Wales he got his big break as (left) - with Josh (right in 2021) set to once again demand global attention in huge projects, after previously admitting he struggled with fame 

The latest trailer for erotic thriller Challengers sees Josh - who plays a tennis player called Patrick Zweigh - seductively kissing Zendaya's neck at the same time as co-star Mike, crassly eating a banana and nakedly sitting in a sauna in a barely-there towel 

Speaking to Vogue in August, the actor revealed that he used Australian athlete Nick Kyrgios as inspiration - including incorporating his mannerisms after seeing the pro doing 'really crude things with his water bottle

And it would seem Josh is set to not only bring out his sensual side but more tender, emotionally-charged chemistry to his latest roles too.

Speaking to Gay Times last month, The History of Sound director Oliver Hermanus revealed that his and Paul Mescal's chemistry is 'on fire'. 

'I mean, they’re great friends and they get on,' he explained.

'They love working together. This is their first time... it just feels right.

'Going to work with them feels right because they love and care about it.'

In the film, Lionel (Paul) and David (Josh), who meet at music college, embark on a project to record the lives, voices and music of their friends and countrymen, and in the process forge a forbidden bond.

The 33-year-old actor from Southampton is also currently shooting for yet another romantic lead opposite Paul Mescal , in a World War I romance titled The History of Sound. Both pictured filming for the project last month

Based on a prize-winning novella, The History Of Sound, by US author Ben Shattuck, the film version is currently being shot in New Jersey.

The projects are far from Josh's first times as a romantic lead, but charge him forth on the global stage in a fresh light. 

Josh blew viewers away in his performance as Charles in Peter Morgan's The Crown, where he got his first huge role outside of indie projects.

Speaking of the character he plays, Josh in 2020 told The Sunday Times Magazine that he believed Charles felt 'wronged' by Diana and felt she had 'an addiction to the spotlight.' 

He also believed the monarch struggled to express himself correctly due to his upbringing.  

Josh blew viewers away in his performance as Charles in Peter Morgan's The Crown, where he got his first huge role outside of indie projects

Before that, he was best known for his performance in 2017 film God's Own Country, a gay romance set in Yorkshire

The projects are far from Josh's first times as a romantic lead, but charge him forth on the global stage in a fresh light. Pictured in 2021

'This is a family who have an intense inability to be emotional and he has inherited that awkwardness,' he explained.

'In this series there's an awful lot of Charles trying to explain himself and not being allowed to.'

Josh, who touched audiences with his portrayal of the heir-to-the-throne, added he felt Charles was trying to say that if he could be with Camilla, then at least there would be two of the three people happy, as opposed to everyone being miserable 

Before that, he was best known for his performance in 2017 film God's Own Country, a gay romance set in Yorkshire. 

The Cheltenham-born actor won a British Independent Film Award for his role as sheep farmer Johnny, who falls in love with a Romanian migrant worker.