Josh O’Connor was impressed by Steven Spielberg’s incredible child-like energy on the set of their top-secret new movie.

The Challengers actor is currently filming the famed director’s mysterious movie alongside Emily Blunt, Colman Domingo and Colin Firth.

Opening up about working with the Jurassic Park filmmaker, O’Connor told Deadline, “He’s just the most special person. He seems to have the most incredible amount of energy I’ve ever witnessed. He comes up to you, he whispers in your ear like an excited child about an idea, a thought, and it’s truly inspiring.”

Explaining how the part came about, the British star shared that he was in New York attending the 2024 Met Gala when he got a text from his agent asking if he’d be willing to meet with Spielberg, 78, the following day.

“I was like, ‘Yes!’ And I went to his office, Amblin,” he continued. “He told me he didn’t have a script, but he told me the story of the movie and he said, ‘Would you like to do it?’ And I sort of feigned, ‘Let me think about it.’ But obviously… It was kind of straightforward.”

The plot is currently being kept under wraps, however, O’Connor teased that it was an “old-school Spielberg” along the lines of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

He also shared that he plays an American, has most of his scenes with Blunt, and their characters are related “in some way”.

The film, which is currently untitled, is expected to be released in June 2026.

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