With Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Josh O’Connor may have just toppled Andrew Scott from his Hot Priest podium.
From Conclave to Father Stu to The Two Popes, religious men have become a niche cinematic staple, with some of the finest acting talent taking on clergymen characters. It’s often an intense role, one of introspection on religion and morality. But it’s also one that can get hot around the clerical collar.
Still, none have reached the heady heights of Andrew Scott in Fleabag.
For almost a decade, Scott has held the title of Hot Priest, thanks to his attentive listening and “kneel” commands. But now that crown is being passed to O’Connor in the third whodunnit Knives Out instalment.
In Wake Up Dead Man, the charismatic British actor plays “young, dumb and full of Christ” Father Jud Duplenticy. He may be a soft-spoken priest, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t felt the flames of fury.
An ex-boxer who turned to Christ, Jud is sent to the quiet town of Chimney Rock after he lashed out and punched a deacon. This is the first hint that there’s something different under his cassock. His punishment is shadowing the Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude’s ferocious clergyman, Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). It’s here, before a devout congregation, that a seemingly impossible locked-room murder takes place. Enter Daniel Craig’s Detective Benoit Blanc to untangle this mystery plaguing the community.
Though this is another Blanc showcase, Wake Up Dead Man is undoubtedly a two-hander between Craig and O’Connor. The latter offered accomplished turns this year in Kelly Reichardt’s art heist drama The Mastermind and Oliver Hermanus’ queer period romance The History of Sound. Still, in Wake Up Dead Man, O’Connor brings an original angle to an established character. It’s clear in a key sequence involving Jud and all of the village’s suspicious believers, including Kerry Washington, Glenn Close, Cailee Spaeny, Mila Kunis, Daryl McCormack, and Jeremy Renner. As if he knew he’d be passing the baton, Scott is also in the whodunnit as a best-selling conspiracy author.
After holding confession with Monsignor Wicks, in which he goes into explicit details about his masturbatory fantasies and witnessing his cruel preaching wrath, Jud rallies the flock for reflection. He hosts a prayer meeting in the rectory, it’s a cozy atmosphere by the crackling fire and assorted vegetable platter; the warmth also emanates from Jud. It’s easy to be enamoured by his attentiveness, a responsibility in his role, but also a character facet O’Connor accentuates with his attentive listening and welcoming grin.
However, Jud’s wholesomeness comes into question when the young man of the cloth is implicated in the deadly crime, as he’s the first to find the deceased’s body. Jud turns to face the congregation with blood rolling down his fingers, and yet, he maintains his innocence.
In a later scene that replicates the prayer meeting, the warm atmosphere is plunged into ice as it becomes an interrogation. “Here’s what’s going to happen,” he declares, standing beside Blanc. “Benoit fricken’ Blanc and I are gonna ask you all some questions, and you’re going to answer them, and we’re gonna get to the bottom [of the murder] and then… that’s it!”
O’Connor’s gaze is sharp, his voice raised, unlocking a determined side to the Priest, a feistiness that has been lurking. However, the actor still ensures his character is lovable even when all fingers point to him being the prime murder suspect.
This is where O’Connor shows his versatility; he’s fantastic at intense drama and also has excellent comedic flair. His fiery declaration is punctuated with a soft confusion about what exactly he’s looking for. He emanates an unthreatening aura as he attentively surveys the room and each suspect for a hint of a clue. Again, O’Connor shows Jud as an unconventional priest, one willing to hunt down a confession rather than wait for someone to enter the confessional booth to admit their sins.
This prayer meeting and interrogation culminate in one of Wake Up Dead Man’s most memorable and impactful moments, proving that O’Connor is deserving of placement on the altar of forbidden priests alongside Scott. This scene has really nothing to do with writer-director Rian Johnson’s central plot, nor does it exonerate Jud as the prime suspect; it’s a poignant scene that re-establishes his quiet empathy.
A breadcrumb trail leads him to calling a funeral home, desperately seeking information about the recently deceased. However, he quickly grows frustrated at the secretary on the other end of the line, who is unable to provide him with solid information. Then, the woman on the phone confesses she’s wracked with forboding grief. O’Connor’s tense shoulders drop and his exasperated expression softens; the scene breaks down into a heartrending exchange of emotional vulnerability between two strangers.
Jud abandons Blanc’s investigation, returning to his priestly duties without a second thought, and prays with the women on speaker. The now-empty prayer group space becomes his sanctuary for soft-spoken condolences.
This is what O’Connor nails in every aspect of Jud on-screen. Even when he’s furious with rage or disappointed in an empty theory, his compass returns to caring for his fellow human. With his smouldering charm, confident leadership, bad boy past, and sweet grin, O’Connor’s Jud is certainly set for the Hot Priest Hall of Fame.
