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Josh O'Connor leads multiple movies this fall, including Rebuilding and The Mastermind
Filming a scene in The Mastermind, the actor discovered his frequent hay fever is in fact a hay allergy, he recalls to PEOPLE
O'Connor is also allergic to horses, cats and some dogs, he says
Josh O'Connorhas overcome plenty of hurdles as an actor, but little compared to his on-set discovery that he has debilitating allergies.
"I'm allergic to horses. I'm allergic to cats. I love horses, I love cats. I'm allergic to some dogs and they're my passion," the British star, 35, tells PEOPLE exclusively. "And recently — and this is really dumb — onMastermind, Kelly Reichardt's movie, I discovered I'm allergic to hay."
The latter came into play on two of O'Connor's recent independent movies: portraying a rancher displaced by wildfires in Max Walker-Silverman'sRebuilding(in theaters now) and art art thief in Reichardt'sThe Mastermindwho, at one point, hides his stolen wares in a hay barn.
"I remember saying to Kelly, 'I never knew I was allergic to hay.' And she was like, 'Really?'" recalls the actor with a laugh. "'Yeah. I mean, I knew I had hay fever' … and then it clicked. Yeah, of course I'm allergic to hay."
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Set in 1970 suburban Massachusetts, Reichardt's take on the heist genre saw O'Connor laboriously heaving art through a hay barn to comedic effect. But the filmmaking team was "only able to do two takes because I nearly had an asthma attack," he explains.
"You have to nail it," says theChallengersstar, who took "lots of antihistamine" to cope. "If you don't have, failing antihistamine, you only have a take or two [takes]."
It's been a busy fall for O'Connor, who in addition to the back-to-back releases ofThe MastermindandRebuilding, costarred withPaul Mescalin September'sThe History of Soundand joinsDaniel CraiginRian Johnson's upcomingWake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery(in select theaters Nov. 26 and streaming on Netflix Dec. 12).
The Emmy winner may have overstretched himself, he tells PEOPLE with a smile: "I think I've got a cold." Either that, or it's another dreaded allergic reaction. "I'm wondering if I'm having one now."
The Mastermind, costarring Alana Haim, Hope Davis, John Magaro, Gaby Hoffmann and Bill Camp, hit theaters on Oct. 17.
Read the original article onPeople