Josh O’Connor has told how he was haunted by the killing of Lord Mountbatten during the filming of the new season of The Crown.
The actor, who plays Prince Charles in the drama, said it was emotional when the murder was covered in the show.
Lord Mountbatten died when the IRA blew up his fishing boat in Mullaghmore, Co Sligo, in 1979.
The 30-year-old English actor, whose parents were originally from Cork, told how, with the exception of his great-uncle, Charles did not have much love in his life as a young man.
He added: “The two men were very close in real life. When Mountbatten died in the show, I found it really haunting.
“There’s a scene where Charles is reading a letter he received from him after he died and there I am, sat on a plane, reading the letter and I didn’t just cry, I sobbed.
“It was one of those moments on The Crown that are kind of ethereal, almost mythological in their specialness.
“I was completely surprised at how strongly I felt. Some of the most beautiful characters I’ve played have been to do with father figures.
“Don’t get me wrong, I have a great relationship with my own father, but in the show Mountbatten became that for me.
“I kept asking myself, ‘Who is Charles’ father figure?’ I wrote out a list of the family and asked, ‘Who did he get love from?’”
Josh said his great-uncle was critical in this regard “so it’s truly devastating for him when Mountbatten dies”.
The actor describes himself as a republican in that he is not a supporter of monarchy.
He told the Irish Mirror: “I am a republican and a big old liberal and I think if you want a classless society, it’s very hard to square having a royal family and an equal society.
“As individuals, I have respect for the Queen and for individual members of the royal family, though not for the institution.
“The Crown isn’t really made for royalists, well it sort of is, but it’s also made for people who are sceptical about the power of the royal family.
“I’ve always been attracted to the idea of telling the story of them as humans.
“If I was struggling with a scene I would try to think, ‘Charles is a boy who just wants a hug from his mother’.
“Materially he might have everything he could need, but emotionally there are huge sacrifices.” Josh’s family emigrated to England from Cork so long ago he doesn’t know much about his Irish heritage.
He added: “I heard there was an O’Connor who was an Irish king, so maybe I’m related to him.”
Josh is close friends with several leading Irish actors in London, including Andrew Scott who he greatly admires.
He said: “Paul Mescal is astonishing also, as is Jessie Buckley. So much amazing Irish talent.”
Season four of The Crown deals with the Thatcher era, the wedding of Charles and Diana, the Falklands War and the miner’s strike in Wales. It will be released on November 15 on Netflix.
