British actor JACK O’CONNELL speaks to Glass Man about his focus on portraying honest narratives in cinema, his return to playing a solider in SAS Rogue Heroes and showing a new side in Lady Chatterley’s Lover.
Much of Jack O’Connell’s career can be described as extreme. In the roles he has undertaken across nearly two decades, he has made a habit of transforming unsavoury characters into recognisable humanised figures. The 32-year-old British actor has gone from playing delinquents, such as Pukey Nicholls in This Is England and James Cook in Skins, to death-row inmate Cameron Todd Willingham in Trial by Fire, and army officer Louis Zamperini in Unbroken – by now you can tell that O’Connell isn’t shy of treading on unfamiliar territory.
But what’s more interesting than his ability to mould these two-dimensional characters into heroes is the noticeable emphasis on true stories. “Those are the performances I enjoy the most. They are the type of films that move me the most when I feel like there’s a real effort to portray an authentic human element in these stories,” he replies when I ask whether this is a conscious choice.
“But look I have to say a lot of it is dictated by what’s available to me. And as much as I believe you make your own luck and you’re responsible for carving out your own path, as a working- class actor I must say that some roles just aren’t available to me. You know and that’s not from a lack of trying”.
Photographer: Jack Grange
Born in Alvaston in the East Midlands, his love for acting didn’t spring from watching classics on the television but rather from his childhood at the local liberal Catholic school. “You had to do drama as part of the curriculum,” he explains, telling me his first role was a shepherd in his nursery’s nativity.
“And for the most part I just thought it was a really beneficial thing to be exposed to from an early age. From what I saw, that was at least an hour a week of not sitting at a desk copying from textbooks but actually focusing on all the skills that drama helps bring out. I was also a bit of a gobshite at school, so it was an hour of me taking the piss without being sent out”.
Photographer: Jack Grange
Staying out of trouble was not O’Connell’s strong suit during his childhood, but he began to weaponise his chameleon-like abilities, and at the age of 15 years old starred in Shane Meadow’s critically acclaimed film, This Is England. “I was naively confident because I was ignorant of how much [drama training] comes into sort of play” reflects O’Connell on those initial auditions.
“If anything, I’m probably more nervous now than ever before”. But with a steady accumulation of minor roles in British soaps and dramas, starring in the likes of The Bill, Holby City and Waterloo Road, his youthful self-assurance led him to establish himself in E4’s teen series, Skins as the troubled, bad-boy James Cook.
Photographer: Jack Grange
It was a character that was pivotal to his trajectory, as although he confessed the role related to certain areas of his personality, O’Connell’s performance transcended his outward appeal and showed audiences the first glimmers of an actor with grit.
Since then, his name has surpassed the title of supporting role and climbed the credit list, meticulously picking parts that prove he is nothing short of being a thoroughbred among the pack. I mention how in the process of us speaking I was either left emotionally wrecked or with heart palpitations after his films. “That’s a massive compliment” grins O’Connell.
Photographer: Jack Grange
Returning as a soldier in the new series, SAS Rogue Heroes, based on Ben Macintyre’s book about the formation of the famed Special Air Service during the Second World War, the six- part drama will focus on the opening chapters, set in Cairo. Playing British army officer, Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Mayne, O’Connell not only took on the pressure of reflecting historical accounts once again but also had to transform into one of this country’s most decorated soldiers.
“What he got up to is pretty well documented,” he explains referencing the heaps of published accounts he and his co-stars delved into for this show. “But [to determine] who they are personality wise and what their psychology is required you to do the research yourself and bring in those elements to steer you along”. But how precise did he think he had to be with this role?
“Generally speaking not a lot of people out there knew how this man sounded or how he spoke and conducted himself, so there was some room to manoeuvre and be entitled to add something”. While O’Connell’s preparation for these types of roles is impressive, previously pushing him to uncomfortable physical extents, his interest in the army runs deeper than film sets.
Photographer: Jack Grange
“I have fond memories of my time at the cadets as it was going to be one segue into joining the forces eventually,” explains O’Connell whose ambition as a teenager was to go to war, not Hollywood. “I would be ironing, polishing my shoes, making sure my beret was alright and doing all my marching and drills – it would keep me out of trouble. Doing this two evenings a week, it gave me different opportunities along the way – I got to fly a plane twice by the age of 15; not many 15-year-olds can say that especially from Alvaston”.
The novelty of being around barracks and putting on a uniform doesn’t seem to have lost its shine. “I mean, it probably isn’t a coincidence that I’ve ended up playing quite a lot of soldiers in my career and portraying the founding members of the SAS was an enormous honour”.
Though O’Connell may be on home ground with this series, he is embarking on showing an unseen side to him as he features in Netflix’s film adaption of Lady Chatterley’s Lover alongside Emma Corrin. So, what made this action hero decide to take up the role of Oliver Mellors in D.H. Lawrence’s infamous romance novel? “I didn’t realise that he came from up the road from me,” he explains talking about the author.
“I think it’s fair to say that the part of the country that I’m from isn’t exactly a literary hub. Then I started reading his book and he is quite enthusiastic about detailing it with the locality of that area and that’s a really easy entry point for me. It became personal”.
Photographer: Jack Grange
Meeting with the film’s director, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, O’Connell’s affinity with the character became his driving force and was a significant element he wanted to ensure was focused on. “I spoke with Laure about how important it was for me to get the regionality of my character correct, and she was on board with that, and it became a massive part of the overall target – to honour that Derbyshire slash Nottinghamshire area,” he says ruminating on the role. “There’s not a lot of coverage of that region within film so that’s very exciting for me”.
The dichotomy of his upcoming characters is just a small example of O’Connell’s acting polymath – one that is undeniably impressive. But what’s more contagious than his skill is his reassuring normality and fixation to showcase heartfelt realities in cinema, something especially rare in an industry saturated in fantasy and fame. And at a time when most are superficially searching for more, it’s nice to know that O’Connell is content at home.
by Imogen Clark
Photographer: Jack Grange
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