Josh O'Connor's Secret Obsession with Ceramics

Hey, I'm Josh O'Connor,

and my healthy obsession is with ceramics.

My grandmother was a ceramicist

and my grandfather was a sculptor,

and so I've always been around that.

I love it.

It's like you've taken from the ground,

and you've created something that is functional.

The warmth of your hand affects

the texture of the material you're working with.

I think it's the most pure form of creativity.

My favorite ceramicist is Ian Godfrey,

who is a British ceramicist,

and this is one of his ceramics here.

So this one is a cityscape,

and it's like a vessel that you can open,

and often there's like a surprise inside.

My one has seven little birds in clay,

and they're perched inside the bowl,

so that's pretty cool.

I have a teapot, an Ian Godfrey teapot,

which is incredibly ornate,

and there's little pieces that you can take out and put in,

but I imagine it would work as a teapot.

I never would

for fear that something went wrong with it,

but it is technically a functional teapot.

For me, I get very upset if I see a broken ceramic.

Now, I've never thrown a plate in a fit of rage,

but if you go to Greece,

there are certain restaurants

where they actively encourage it.

So anyone who is into that, if that's your kink,

go to Greece.

I've taken many classes, yeah.

I've done lots of courses, and I love it.

I am interested in making things around,

but I guess, I'm also an actor.

You have to use your hands quite a lot acting.

I guess humans do use their hands, what am I talking about?

This has nothing to do with ceramics, but yeah, yeah.

Like right now,

I don't really know what to do with my hands.

I guess I'll hold onto this clay or something.

There's so many contemporary ceramicists that I love.

One in particular is a Akiko Hirai.

She's incredible and creates these things called moon jars,

that are big vessels and they have huge slabs

and chunks of porcelain sticking out of them.

She does it in a process in the kiln,

which is in this kind of insanely high heat,

and it melts this porcelain and it comes out like chunks.

It looks like an alien life form.

It's mad, it's very good.

Some of my favorite ceramicists

came from monasteries and they were monks,

and they would take the clay

from the ground within the monastery,

and they'd put these things together,

and they're really rough,

often using very basic materials and tools,

and they're kinda chunky bowls and plates,

and I love them.

So, it doesn't have to be refined at all.

So a priceless piece of art for me

would be my ceramic by my grandmother.

That is a man and a woman entwined,

and it's beautiful.