Josh O’Connor’s new stage role as a boxer is coming to cinemas worldwide
The Challengers and The Crown star plays a young violinist who turns to professional boxing in the Almeida’s revival of Clifford Odets’ Golden Boy, which will be screened in cinemas from November.
Josh O’Connor’s latest stage role will reach audiences far beyond the Almeida Theatre, with the actor’s revival of Golden Boy set to be screened in cinemas worldwide through National Theatre Live from 5 November 2026.
O’Connor plays Joe Bonaparte, a talented young violinist in 1930s New York whose hopes of a career in music are overtaken by the lure of professional boxing. The choice brings him into a world of managers, money and violence, while putting him at odds with his Italian-American family and the life he might otherwise have led.
The production, directed by Sam Yates, runs at the Almeida from 9 September to 31 October. The cinema release will give audiences outside London the chance to see the production after its limited theatre run.
Odets’ Golden Boy, first staged in 1937, centres on a young man caught between artistic ambition and the promise of money and fame. In this revival, that tension is accompanied by a live string quartet, keeping Joe’s musical ambitions present even as he moves towards the boxing ring.
O’Connor is joined by Jason Barnett, Richard Fleeshman, David Ganly, Patrick Martins, Daniel Mays, Oliver Ryan, Hayley Squires, Stanley Townsend, Zubin Varla and Nicholas Woodeson.
The creative team includes set and costume designer Rosanna Vize, lighting designer James Farncombe, sound designer Dan Balfour, composer Isobel Waller-Bridge and fight director Kate Waters.
For O’Connor, the role marks another move between screen and stage. He became internationally known as Prince Charles in The Crown and has since appeared in films including Challengers and La Chimera. At the Almeida, he takes on a character whose ambition carries a very different kind of physical and emotional cost.
National Theatre Live will capture the Almeida production for cinema audiences from 5 November. Specific release dates for some international territories will follow.
Golden Boy runs at the Almeida Theatre from 9 September to 31 October 2026. The National Theatre Live cinema release begins on 5 November.
Audiences can find their nearest screening at NTLive.com with tickets for all titles on sale now.
Elena Leo is the Culture & Lifestyle Editor of Ikon London Magazine.
