Josh O’Connor talks mastering Midwestern accent for ‘Rebuilding’

Josh O’Connor opened up about his efforts to master the Midwestern accent for his new film.

The Crown actor joined the Variety Studio at Sundance Film Festival to discuss the process behind filming Rebuilding.

"I spent a bit of time out there before we started filming, not much time but a little bit," O’Connor told the outlet. "That was just to hear some of the voices."

Max Walker-Silverman, the film's writer and director, chimed in explaining their process of nailing the accent.

"We also spent some time going through YouTube and I was looking for people from the right part of Colorado." 

The director also recalled hearing the first voice message sent by O'Connor, saying, “he sent me and that was a beautiful great feeling.”

Praising the beauty of Walker-Silverman film, O’Connor said that other than having "brilliant and incredible actors" on set "there’s also non-professional actors that were local to where we shot."

"There are all sorts of people who came together and it lives in the community of the making of the movie as well as the story of the film," he added.

O’Connor further revealed that by living in "each other’s pocket the whole time" and being in the same environment helped "the accent to settle in."

The story of the film delves into themes of resilience as Dusty (O’Connor’s character) grapples with his losses and finds solace in FEMA camp.

The movie is slated for release on January 26th, 2025.