Jack O’Connell

Jack O’Connell is an English-born actor known for his colorfully tough-guy roles, starting with his vivid feature debut in This is England (2006), directed and written by Shane Meadows and co-starring Thomas Turgoose, Stephen Graham, Andrew Shim, Vicky McClure, Joe Gilgun, and Rosamund Hanson, and which was released to a solid opening by Optimum Releasing after a Toronto film festival premiere. O’Connell landed a major supporting role opposite Kelly Reilly and Michael Fassbender in director-writer James Watkins’ horror movie, Eden Lake (2008), grossing over $4 million on a $2 million budget for Optimum.

O’Connell faced off against Michael Caine in the Daniel Barber-directed vigilante drama, Harry Brown (2009), co-starring Emily Mortimer, Charlie Creed-Miles, David Bradley, Sean Harris, and Liam Cunningham, and premiering at the Toronto film festival before a Lionsgate/Samuel Goldwyn Films/Destination Films release with a $10.3 million gross. O’Connell followed this with his first starring role in the little-seen rave movie, Weekender (2011).

Jack O’Connell co-starred in the tough English thriller, Tower Block (2012), with Sheridan Smith, Ralph Brown, and Russell Toney under the co-direction of James Nunn and Ronnie Thompson, and was closing night film at the FrightFest film festival before a release by Earth Star/Icon Film Distribution/Koch Media/Shout! Factory. O’Connell was cast by director Pat O’Connor for the title role of Private Peaceful (2012), based on Michael Morpurgo’s 2003 novel, and co-starring George MacKay, Alexandra Roach, Richard Griffiths, Frances de la Tour, and John Lynch, but did little box office for Eagle Rock Entertainment.

O’Connell joined the robust cast of Tim Roth, Talulah Riley, and Peter Mullan in the black comedy, The Liability (2013), directed by Craig Viveiros and written by John Wrathall, and then O’Connell had his breakthrough performance under David Mackenzie’s direction in the vivid prison drama, Starred Up (2013), co-starring Ben Mendelsohn, Rupert Friend, Sam Spruell, Anthony Welsh, David Ajala, and Peter Ferdinando, and grossing $3 million for Fox Searchlight after premiering at the Telluride film festival. O’Connell delivered a strong and highly praised lead performance in director Yann Demange’s tense thriller set during the Northern Irish “Troubles,” ’71 (2014), with Paul Anderson, Richard Dormer, Sean Harris, Martin McCann, and David Wilmot, and premiering in competition at the Berlin film festival.

Jack O’Connell got his first big-budget Hollywood studio role in the sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire (2014), directed by Noam Murro and co-starring Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey, Hans Matheson, and Rodrigo Santoro, and grossing a potent $337 million global gross for Warner Bros. O’Connell landed his first starring Hollywood role under Angelina Jolie’s direction in the adaptation (with Joel and Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese, and William Nicholson as credited co-screenwriters) of Laura Hillenbrand’s best-selling non-fiction book about WWII survival, Unbroken (2014), co-starring Domhnall Gleeson, Miyavi, Garrett Hedlund, and Finn Wittrock, and grossing a solid $163.4 million worldwide return.

O’Connell joined George Clooney and Julia Roberts under Jodie Foster’s direction for the crime thriller, Money Monster (2016), with Dominic West, Caitriona Balfe, and Giancarlo Esposito, and premiering at the Cannes Film Festival before grossing an excellent $93.3 million for Sony/TriStar Pictures. O’Connell then co-starred with Jason Clarke and Rosamund Pike in the French-Belgian co-production and WWII Nazi thriller, The Man with the Iron Heart (2017), with Jack Reynor, Mia Wasikowska, Stephen Graham, and Thomas M. Wright, but proved a box office bomb with a $4.4 million return on a $32 million budget.

Jack O’Connell joined co-stars Alicia Vikander, Dane DeHaan, Holliday Grainger, and Tom Hollander in the 17th-century Dutch drama, Tulip Fever (2017), directed by Justin Chadwick and co-written by Tom Stoppard and Deborah Moggach (adapting her book of the same title), and featuring Christoph Waltz, Judi Dench, and Zach Galifianakis, and losing money for distributor The Weinstein Company, for whom this was its last film to release before bankruptcy. O’Connell co-starred with Laura Dern in the Edward Zwick-directed true story, Trial by Fire (2018), based on David Grann’s 2009 New Yorker article, and released by Roadside Attractions after a Telluride film festival premiere.

O’Connell co-starred with Kristen Stewart in the Benedict Andrews-directed biopic, Seberg (2019), with Margaret Qualley, Zazie Beetz, Vince Vaughn, and Anthony Mackie, and was released by Universal Pictures and Amazon Studios after premiering at the Venice Film Festival. O’Connell then co-starred with Charlie Hunnam in the boxing drama, Jungleland (2019), co-written and directed by Max Winkler, and featuring Jessica Barden, Jonathan Majors, and John Cullum, and premiered at the Toronto Film Festival before a release by Paramount Pictures.

Jack O’Connell co-starred with Olivia Cooke, Raul Castillo, and Soko in the highly praised but little-seen sci-if romance, Little Fish (2020), directed by Chad Hartigan, and released by IFC Films and Stage 6 Films. Filmmaker Michael Mann cast O’Connell as Peter Collins in the biopic, Ferrari (2023), starring Adam Driver, Penelope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Sarah Gadon, Gabriel Leone, and Patrick Dempsey, but proving a box-office disappointment with a $42.3 million return against a $95 million budget, following a Venice film festival premiere.

O’Connell then appeared in another biopic, the Focus Features-released Back to Black (2024), about the life of late pop singer Amy Winehouse, portrayed by Marisa Abela, and with Eddie Marsan and Lesley Manville under Sam Taylor-Johnson’s direction. O’Connell appeared opposite Michael B. Jordan, Delroy Lindo, and Jayme Lawson in director/writer/producer Ryan Coogler’s supernatural Gothic horror movie, Untitled Ryan Coogler Film (date to be announced), and released by Warner Bros. Pictures.