Alec Secăreanu makes attraction convincing without making it comfortable. His composure and physical commitment give God's Own Country much of its tenderness, even when the script leaves his character less fully drawn than his partner.
Fi1m perspective
In Francis Lee's God's Own Country (2017), Alec Secăreanu's Gheorghe Ionescu meets Johnny's hostility with a composure that makes it look exhausting. Josh O’Connor allows Johnny to be unpleasant, and Secăreanu never suggests that Gheorghe has failed to notice. His Romanian farm worker makes a convincing romantic lead because we believe he understands the difficulty of the company he is choosing. We rate the performance for that patience, and for how little it needs to explain aloud.
The international work followed God's Own Country, his first English-language role. Returning to Francis Lee for a supporting part in Ammonite (2020) kept that collaboration going, while Romola Garai's horror film Amulet (2020) offered a change of genre. Television then brought a leading role as Victor Godeanu in the thriller Spy/Master (2023). That is a welcome move beyond the patient romantic partner, though Gheorghe remains the performance on which our enthusiasm rests.
Secăreanu prepared for God's Own Country with two weeks of farm labour, learning to handle the animals and the work without doubles. He also develops detailed character backstories in discussion with directors. Here, the practical preparation suits a performance that conveys so much through gestures and physical contact. We were moved by the awkwardness of his physical intimacy with O’Connor, because accepting another person's touch seemed to take as much effort as expressing desire. The actors let it feel private.
The limitation is in Lee's script, which gives Johnny the more complicated inner life and too often expects Gheorghe to provide the patience their relationship needs. Secăreanu keeps the character credible, but we wanted to know more about what Gheorghe needed independently of Johnny. Even an actor this attentive cannot supply all the detail the writing leaves out. The tenderness still makes this a film we warmly recommend. Watch God's Own Country for the two actors, and allow it time.
Biography
Alec Secăreanu is a Romanian actor. Born in Bucharest, he graduated from the Caragiale Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography in 2007 and began his career in Romanian theatre and film.
Secăreanu gained international recognition for his role as Gheorghe Ionescu in the 2017 British film God's Own Country, directed by Francis Lee. His performance earned a nomination for Best Actor at the 2017 British Independent Film Awards. He has since appeared in films including Ammonite (2020) and Amulet (2020), and in television series such as Baptiste (2019) and Spy/Master (2023).
