Jack about his life since Skins

Recently we caught up with a young man going by the name of Jack O'Connell, the Derby lad currently streaking between the skyline and the silver screen as one of Britain's most promising young actors. Best known for his roles as Cook in Channel 4's 'Skins' and Pukey Nichols in Shane Meadows' 'This Is England', and having won the TV Choice award for Best Actor in 2010 at only 20 years of age, Jack is with us to chat on the subject of work, inspiration and the British Film Industry. But first thing's first, has the award made him think any differently of himself?

J: “Yeah, greatly, dramatically [different]. It’s clarification that I’m doing well at my job so I might as well continue. It’s a TV category though so certain actors are exempt - I wanna go against them all. BAFTAs, I wanna be in the BAFTA league”

And it is that kind of ambitious, positive attitude that makes Jack such an inspiring character to be around. Whether in the warm-hearted, modest haven of a local pub or in the astral surroundings of the metropolitan elite, Jack exudes a typically northern charm and confident positivity to any and all.
So what would satisfy this high-reaching young actor?
J: “I want to document some beautiful Britishness that has occurred. I’d like to character act… I’ve got a role as Bobby Charlton”
Very true, in fact Jack will be starring alongside David Tennant in the BBC’s TV film, ‘United: The Busby Babes and The Munich Air Crash’. Due to hit the screens this year, the film will see Jack take on a new type of role away from the boisterous, aggressive young alpha males we are used to seeing him play; a testament to his ever-growing plane of portrayal prowess. So how does he like to sculpt his characters?

J: “It’s important to be open-minded. For the likes of Cook I’ll use people I know. But for a character role it’s impersonation to a degree… I like to adopt the mannerisms [of the character] and walk around Alvaston - where we’re from”
Big up! This kind of home-loving nature illustrates just how down-to-earth Jack is. Like most of us, he is partial to indulging in the quixotic midnight lights of a major city, but he is just as happy to lie low and relax with family in his cosy hometown. After all, Alvaston is where Jack was born and raised - an unlikely nest from which one of Britain’s most promising young actors would fly. So just how did the acting all come about?

J: “Saint Benedict’s (his old school) specialise in drama. I liked twatting about… more so than [studying]. So that came with its troubles, but by the time I was in drama classes it was being welcomed. So they gave me the application form for the workshop in Nottingham. I’d go there weekly, and after a couple of years I’d get sent to auditions.”
This combination of personality and cosmic convergence has gone hand-in-hand with an enthusiastic dedication toward his craft, kindled by parents who were willing to make their son’s aspirations their own. But these days the enthusiasm is self-maintained, and after working with heavyweights like Shane Meadows and Stephen Graham there surely can’t be any lack of enthusiasm nor education.

J: “Shane [Meadows] gave me a good perspective of the industry. He made me see that he can do exactly what he wants to do. Then the perfect example of that [education] was seeing Stephen Graham playing Combo right there in front of me... I’d see him before takes, he’d be marching about fully as Combo - he’d completely drop himself - and I remember thinking ‘that’s what I want my performances to come across as, that I’m that character and nothing else”
‘This Is England’ was a phenomenal hit when it was released, and the high regard it enjoys must be in part down to the philosophy on which it was made. The legendary French New Wave director, Jean-Luc Godard, once said that film should be “truth 24 times per second”, and there is no greater applicator of this ideology than Shane Meadows. But how is the realistic, gritty feel obtained?

J: “Shane can really bring you into the story because [the subject matter] is that relevant and the performances are so convincing, and he knows his formula on that front. [Also], he’s aware that if he lets it breathe without nailing it to a script; if you get everyone in and let them interpret things themselves you get people working together - then you’re onto a winner.”
What makes Meadows’ portfolio even more impressive is the shoestring budget it’s been made on. At the other end of the spectrum are the producers and filmmakers who spend more time wondering what the audience want than what they themselves want. These types of films - often made on large budgets in the hope that big names and sparkly effects will varnish a weak script and lack of vision - tend to lack heart, and in the worst scenarios overshadow the real spectacles, which end up flickering limply in front of empty seats.
But enough of my ranting, what is Jack’s take on the British film industry right now?

J: “I don’t like where its priorities are. [The attitude seems to be] that the more visual you can get it, the more spectacular it’s going to be… But what you run the risk of is losing the talent. In my experience it’s worked out better when the financial side of it [has allowed] the creative [people] to work out what will make the work sell. [But] I don’t think it [the industry] is in any dire straits: nowadays - and Shane Meadows said this as well - it’s easier than ever to make film.”
Very true, in fact there are films being made on mobile phones these days. So if you’re cinematically inclined, round up a posse of like-minded cronies and get shooting. There’s nothing more fulfilling than creating something from the ground up, and for artists collaboration is the key.
Keep your eyes screenward for Jack's appearances in the aforementioned Busby Babes film later this year, as well as the TV adaptation of Martina Cole's The Runaway. Until then, why not get online (FD2D.com) for the full interview and a cheeky video?
Oh go onnnn.

Labels: Brand New , entrevistas , Generation 2 , interview , Jack O´Connell