O’Connor gives more insight into his “unglamorous hero” in Steven Spielberg’s highly anticipated sci-fi thriller.

Josh O’Connor reveals new clues about his Disclosure Day character: ‘He has this very special talent’ (exclusive)

O'Connor gives more insight into his "unglamorous hero" in Steven Spielberg's highly anticipated sci-fi thriller.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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April 30, 2026 9:00 a.m. ET

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Josh O'Connor in 'Disclosure Day'. Credit:

Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment

- Josh O'Connor describes his *Disclosure Day* protagonist as an "unglamorous hero."

- The *Challengers* actor was surprised to see how the film has grown more relevant since filming: "So much has changed in a year."

- O'Connor also opines that the film is "up there" among Steven Spielberg's best movies.

Josh O'Connor never expected to become an action star.

After breaking out with period projects like *The Crown*, *Emma*, and *The Durrells*, the English actor has solidified himself as one of his generation's most in-demand dramatic stars, leading buzzy films like *Challengers* and *Wake Up Dead Man* as well as quieter arthouse fare like *La Chimera* and *The Mastermind*.

In June, O'Connor is co-headlining Steven Spielberg's sci-fi thriller *Disclosure Day* alongside Emily Blunt — and he's the first to admit it's "quite surprising" to see him at the forefront of action spectacle.

"I don't know if that ever really tickled my fancy or anything," he tells ** of action set pieces, laughing. "I like movies like that sometimes, but I never imagined I'd be doing that sort of thing. But it was so much fun. I mean, jumping onto a moving train: cool, turns out!"

In the film, O'Connor plays Daniel Kellner, a young cybersecurity whiz who's on the run because he blew the whistle on…something. *Disclosure Day*'s marketing has remained tight-lipped about what that "something" is, but we know that the movie revolves around aliens and government secrets. In UFO circles, "disclosure" commonly refers to the government providing proof that we're not alone in the universe. In the film's trailer, O'Connor's character says that he wants "full disclosure to the whole world."

Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor in 'Disclosure Day'.

Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment

How does O'Connor view his character? "I think I used the term 'unglamorous hero,'" he says. "We were trying to create a character that was fairly everyday — sort of an average Joe in some respects."

However, Daniel isn't *completely* ordinary. "He has this very special talent or skill that he's almost unaware of — it's become part of him over time," O'Connor explains. "And as the film progresses, we start to see where that's come from."

O'Connor won't say what that talent is, but he admits that "part of it" is the character's ability to understand the otherworldly communication delivered by Margaret (Blunt).

"I think, actually, it's less about the skills that he has," the actor clarifies. "It's more about where they came from that's important."

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Beaming aboard

O'Connor didn't know much about *Disclosure Day* when he first met with Spielberg to discuss the project in the filmmaker's New York office. "We just had a conversation initially about the fact that he had this project that he'd wanted to make for a very long time," he says. "His description of the story was more to do with two characters who, for an unexplained reason, are being drawn to each other, and that the film is about them trying to find each other. And that was as much information as I had, really."

Eventually, Spielberg returned with a new draft from David Koepp, the screenwriter whom he'd previously worked with on *Jurassic Park*, *War of the Worlds*, and the fourth *Indiana Jones* movie. "Then I saw that while that character dynamic is a big part of it, there's so much more to it," O'Connor says. "And I fell in love with it."

Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor in 'Disclosure Day'.

Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment

O'Connor was immediately taken with the film's urgent pacing. "It feels to me like a gun has gone off at the beginning of the film as if it's the beginning of a 100-meter dash, and the film just zooms along," he explains. "So there's a great energy behind it. There's lots of action for people who are into that, and a lot of heart and a lot of hope."

*Disclosure Day* marks Spielberg's 35th directorial feature, and O'Connor says that the filmmaker hasn't lost a step over his six-decade career. "He's just extremely attentive, extremely kind, and still as passionate and inquisitive and curious as I imagine he was at the beginning of his career," the actor says. "We'd talk most days about the next day and the week, the weeks ahead, and we'd stay in touch about how we're feeling about a certain scene."

He adds, "For someone who's running a huge production like that, it's miraculous. It's like you've got Steven on speed dial. It's kind of crazy, but he really cares. Yeah, the relationship is very special."

Connections across time…and space?

Though O'Connor and his family weren't frequent moviegoers in his youth, he still found his way to *E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial* and *Jurassic Park* as a kid. Later, he came to appreciate more of Spielberg's films, including *Lincoln*, *Schindler's List*, and *Close Encounters of the Third Kind*.

"He's sort of the architect of all of our childhood memories and imagination," the actor reflects. "He's been ever-present in all of our [lives]. Even if you're not a big film fan, he's in our subconscious somewhere."

O'Connor sees certain connections between *Disclosure Day* and Spielberg's previous projects.

"Part of the reason I loved the script so much when I first read it is that I felt like I recognized some of his earlier work. And so hopefully that comes across," he says.

Case in point: his first day on set sounds like a scene straight out of *Close Encounters*. "We're in this sort of basement setting, and there was a sort of fog in the air and a massive light beam, and I was like, *Holy s---, I'm in a Spielberg movie!*" he remembers. "And there are little notations to his visual style and to his past films where you just — you feel safe watching a Spielberg movie, I think."

Other images, like the one below, tease an otherworldly force that's equally awe-inspiring and menacing, so we still don't know whether the film's visitors from the sky are closer to *E.T.* or to *War of the Worlds* in spirit.

'Disclosure Day'.

Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment

O'Connor says he and his castmates constantly questioned Spielberg about his prior work. "We're asking Steven on set every single day about every single movie," he recalls, laughing. "But that's just us as a film fan, you know? If you were stuck on set with Steven for a few months, you'd be doing the same. We're just so inquisitive, and he's so kind and generous, and he does respond! He's happy to talk about them, which is very nice for us."

However, the actor clarifies that the director's earlier films were never invoked as a point of comparison to *Disclosure Day*. "In terms of relating it to what we were doing, we'd never do that," O'Connor says.

How does the film stack up against masterpieces like *E.T.* or *Jaws*? "It's up there, in my opinion," O'Connor says. "I think it was Emily who said recently that there are questions from *Close Encounters* that are answered in this film. I think that that's true."

He adds, "It's hard to put anything against those films because they're so special. But I'm sure he is — and I am — very proud of the film."

A changing world

O'Connor and Blunt watched a cut of the completed film for the first time in March, and the actor says he was particularly struck by how much more thematically resonant the film has become since wrapping production in 2025.

"With everything that's going on in the world right now, the big surprise was the context of where we are in the world compared to when I was shooting the film," he explains. "It had always been there, but it was just that so much has changed in a year, that I think the relevance of it and the importance of a story like this [has grown]."

What has changed since he finished his work on the film? "I think we're in a far more dangerous world where it feels like there's so little understanding," O'Connor opines. "You know, it'd be easy for me to say that it's about Trump's tweet where he called the whole of Iran a bunch of f---ing bastards or whatever he called them. But that would be too simplistic. I think in a wider context, when the world is unsafe, and when wars are happening, and there is tension in the air, it is only ever *really* solved by communication."

That's ultimately what *Disclosure Day* is all about, in O'Connor's estimation. "It's so much to do with communication and understanding and listening, and it has a very uncynical view of hope and peace and redemption," he explains. "It felt so relevant and so needed right now."

He continues, "And if there's ever been a director or storyteller to kind of give us an injection of hope and clarity in these dark times, then it's Steven, who is such a hopeful, optimistic, concerned human being, you know?"

*Disclosure Day* hits theaters on June 12.

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