newsmakers

newsmakers

O’Connell finds his place in Hollywood

LONDON

Jack O’Connell, 24, is a hot property right now.

After his much-acclaimed performance earlier this year in the angry prison drama “Starred Up,” now he is receiving rave reviews for his part in director Yann Demange’s high- octane debut “’71.” And then there’s his highly anticipated role in director Angelina Jolie’s “Unbroken” later this year.

The rising young star says he’s not letting all the attention go to his head — he just thinks about what’s next and how he can do the best possible job.

“Otherwise, I’d just be a one-trick pony. I just got to look forward,” he says.

In “’71,” O’Connell plays Gary Hook, a British soldier lost in the streets of Belfast. For the half-English, half-Irish actor, Northern Ireland’s decades of unrest are a very real part of his family history.

“I had to know that the film wasn’t going to try and point fingers and take a biased view on anything, nor portray anyone on either side of the divide unfairly,” he said.

He even considered joining the military as a teen.

“I thought there was an honor in it, and I still believe that,” he said.

Luckily for film lovers, O’Connell turned to acting instead, and his role in Jolie’s “Unbroken,” due for release around Christmas, could firmly establish him in Hollywood.

Associated Press