Say Hello to the New Hot Priest

“It’ll pass.” That’s what Andrew Scott’s hot priest told Phoebe Waller-Bridge after she admitted her love for him at the end of Fleabag. I’m here to report that it has not passed, and that seeing a hot guy in a clerical collar is still really doing it for me and a lot of other people.

Earlier this week, Josh O’Connor was photographed on the London set of the third Knives Out film, Wake Up Dead Man. While there are no plot details yet, we do know one thing: O’Connor appears to be playing a handsome priest. Look at him gazing upon the leaves in that photo. Is he also a sensitive priest attuned to the beauty of the natural world all around him? Or is that actually O’Connor off-camera, being the kind of guy who spends his birthday with his family at a garden show? I guess we’ll find out next year when Benoit Blanc gets to the bottom of it.

Real O’Connor stans know that this is not the first time the British actor has turned to religion in a role. In the 2020 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, he turned in a great comedic performance as Mr. Elton, the local vicar in love with Anya Taylor-Joy’s titular character. You could even argue that Challengers’ Patrick Zweig has kind of a Jesus thing going on (ineffable charm, people are obsessed with him, poor despite his powerful father). I’m glad to see that O’Connor has found his niche.

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