Jack O'Connell

Jack O'Connell (born 1 August 1990) is an English actor. Known for his roles as dark, volatile and menacing characters, he has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, an Actor Award and a Gotham Award. He first gained recognition for playing James Cook in the British television series Skins (2009–2010, 2013). He is also known for his roles in the coming-of-age film This Is England, the horror-thriller Eden Lake (2008), the television dramas Dive (2010) and United (2011), and the Netflix Wild West miniseries Godless (2017), for which he received a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination.

O'Connell gave critically acclaimed performances in the independent films Starred Up (2013) and '71 (2014), garnering nominations for the British Independent Film Awards. He subsequently starred as war hero Louis Zamperini in the war film Unbroken (2014), and received the BAFTA Rising Star Award. He has since starred in the thriller Money Monster (2016), the biographical drama Trial by Fire (2018), the BBC miniseries The North Water (2021), the BBC series SAS: Rogue Heroes (2022–present), the Amy Winehouse biographical film Back to Black (2024), the horror film Sinners (2025), and as Jimmy Crystal in the post-apocalyptic horror films 28 Years Later (2025) and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026).

Early life O'Connell was born on 1 August 1990 into a working-class family in Alvaston, Derbyshire, England. His father, Johnny Patrick O'Connell, was an Irish citizen from Ballyheigue, Ireland, who worked on the British railways for the Bombardier Transportation Company until his death from pancreatic cancer in 2009. His mother, Alison (née Gutteridge), who is English, was employed by the British Midland airline before taking on management of her son's career. His younger sister, Megan, is an actress. As the grandson of Ken Gutteridge, a player and later manager at Burton Albion FC, O'Connell aspired to become a professional footballer. His parents sent him to the Army Cadet Force when he was 12 with the aim of teaching him discipline, At age 16, O'Connell left Saint Benedict Catholic School with two GCSEs in drama and English. His stage debut came that same year after a rendition of the play The Spider Men by the Television Workshop was selected to be performed at the Royal National Theatre in London. O'Connell played his debut film role in This Is England (2006), a critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama set in the skinhead subculture of the early 1980s. At age 15, he was deemed too old to play the main character, leading filmmaker Shane Meadows to write the supporting role of the belligerent Pukey specifically for him.

During 2007, O'Connell appeared in television episodes of Waterloo Road, Holby City and Wire in the Blood. Varietys David Benedict wrote of his stage performance, 'His sincere grasp of Daz's innocent tenderness is, paradoxically, a sign of the character's—and the actor's—unexpected maturity.' In the horror–thriller Eden Lake (2008), which received positive reviews, O'Connell played a psychopathic gang leader who terrorises a young couple. He next starred as a juvenile delinquent in 'Between You and Me' (2008), an educational film produced by the Derbyshire Constabulary, followed by a minor role in the ITV serial Wuthering Heights (2009). O'Connell later reprised his role in the feature-length special Skins Rise (2013), which follows a twenty-something Cook on the run from authorities. He has said of Cook, 'He's probably the most similar character to myself that I had the good fortune of portraying', though he noted that, unlike Cook, he had matured beyond adolescence.

In the vigilante thriller Harry Brown (2009), which polarised critics, O'Connell played an abused child turned vicious gang member. He impressed lead actor Michael Caine, who shouted "Star of the future!" at him during filming. The Daily Telegraph critic Olly Grant concurred, writing, 'He was a revelation; nuanced, understated, wise beyond his years.' Following a lead role in the Sky1 serial The Runaway (2011), set in the criminal underworld of 1970s London, O'Connell's 'dumb but sparky sidekick' was called 'a godsend' by Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph. Similarly, the thriller Tower Block (2012), about flat tenants under attack from a sniper, received mixed reviews, but The Hollywood Reporter critic Jordan Mintzer singled out O'Connell as 'the standout [of the cast]' as the building's protection racketeer. Following his turn as a soldier in Private Peaceful (2012), an adaptation of a novel of the same name by Michael Morpurgo, he co-starred as the apprentice of a hitman played by Tim Roth in The Liability (2012), both of which met with mixed critical reception.

O'Connell's career breakthrough came when he starred in the independent prison drama Starred Up (2013). Peter Travers of Rolling Stone agreed, describing his 'mad-dog incarnate' portrayal as 'a star-is-born performance.' O'Connell next starred in another acclaimed independent film, '71 (2014), portraying a soldier deployed to Belfast at the height of political violence in Northern Ireland. He was director Yann Demange's first and only choice for the part. He received consecutive nominations for the British Independent Film Award for Best Actor. The resulting performance was positively received; Richard Corliss of Time concluded, 'Jolie has made a grand, solid movie of the Zamperini story, but O'Connell is the part of Unbroken that was truly worth the wait.' For his work in Starred Up and Unbroken, O'Connell received the Breakthrough Award from the National Board of Review. He additionally became the tenth recipient of the publicly voted BAFTA Rising Star Award.

O'Connell then starred in the film Lady Chatterley's Lover (2022) based on the novel of the same name. In January 2023, it was announced that O'Connell was added to the cast of the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black (2024) and played Winehouse's husband Blake Fielder-Civil.

Mainstream success (2025–present) In 2025, O'Connell featured as Remmick, a vampire from Ireland, in Ryan Coogler's period horror film Sinners and Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal in 28 Years Later and its sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. His role in Sinners allowed O'Connell to engage with his childhood love of Irish dance and Irish traditional music.

In February 2025, it was announced that O'Connell was cast in the next installment in the Monsterverse franchise, Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, set for theatrical release on 26 March 2027. In March 2026, he joined the cast of A Quiet Place Part III, which is scheduled for release on 30 July 2027.

Personal life

O'Connell lives in North London. He is in a relationship and has a daughter.

O'Connell has said that he does not consider himself British, instead identifying specifically with his Derbyshire upbringing and Irish heritage. is tattooed on his arm. He has credited Angelina Jolie, who directed him in his first Hollywood film Unbroken, with influencing his outlook and described working with her as an 'intervention'. The film, titled Home, has a family take a reverse migration into the middle of a war zone. Inspired by primary accounts of refugees, and is part of UNHCR's #WithRefugees campaign, which also includes a petition to governments to expand asylum to provide further shelter, integrating job opportunities, and education. Home, written and directed by Daniel Mulloy, went on to win a BAFTA Award and a Gold Lion at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity among many other awards.

Acting credits Film

Television

Theatre

Accolades