‘I had to spit in Michael Caine's face': Jack O'Connell on Skins, impostor syndrome and stripping off

The Guardian

10-04-2025

Your new film, Sinners, sounds scary. What scares you? MrSOBaldrick
Loneliness.
I've always wanted to act, but I've never taken the plunge. Has there been a role where you felt you took a plunge out of your comfort zone? AliciaGrace1
Getting to portray an American comes with inherent impostor syndrome, because so many other US actors could take the role. The roles I've played in the US have bigger distinctions from my lived experiences than some of my other roles. But it can be rewarding and fulfilling to do something that's very different, so it works both ways.
'71 was one hell of a white-knuckle ride around the backstreets of Belfast. Did you get that sense of urban claustrophobia when filming it? Aubrey26
We didn't actually film any of it in Belfast. I think it would be quite insensitive to shoot that type of story on the streets where, not so long ago, that ferocious, urban conflict was getting lived out for real. There's no way you can pull that off without upsetting people. We shot a lot of it on the Derbyshire-Yorkshire border.
Did the '71 screenwriter, Gregory Burke, draft the screenplay to fit your background, for example the line about Derby and Nottingham folk not getting on? Inverclydediaspora
Yeah, dead on. Originally, my character was from Sheffield. I think the original line was people from Sheffield and Leeds not getting on, but those local rivalries are relevant over the whole country.
Did Michael Caine really yell: 'Star of the future!' at you while filming Harry Brown? And did Angelina Jolie really hire a helicopter for you to join a family dinner in Derby while filming Unbroken? TurangaLeela2
Michael Caine had me tied up to a chair, interrogating me. I had to spit in his face, which was massively daunting. I think it was doing that that caused him to come out with that. I've not forgotten it. It was totally mind-blowing for a 19-year-old to be working with someone like Michael Caine, a hugely important actor for young, working-class actors.
We were doing prep for Unbroken. I had to lose quite a bit of weight [to play the Olympic runner Louis Zamperini], so I was hunkering down in a hotel in Ascot, dieting and learning my lines. Before we went off to shoot in Australia, Angelina wanted to meet my family, my nearest and dearest. We got together somewhere on the outskirts of Derby that was rural enough to land a helicopter. Everyone just buzzed off each other. My nana picked a moment during the meal to stand up to say a few words, in that way old-school nanas would, and I think that really stuck with her [Jolie].
How did you prepare for your role in Starred Up? ExileCuChulainn
Jonathan Asser [the writer] was generous enough, once we'd been cast and rehearsed a few times, to step back and give us licence to invent stuff and bring new things to the fold. We filmed sequentially, so it was very organic. We shot it at this empty, crumbling Victorian jail in Belfast and had free rein there, apart from the odd guided tour. It can certainly be challenging when the subject matter is dark, because you're dealing within trauma. It helps to equip yourself with as much information as possible to do justice to what you're trying to portray.
Who is your favourite character you've played? jessputnam
I couldn't possibly say. I've been very fortunate. I think it's obvious what character people associate me with [Cook from Skins], but I don't mind that – it's a massive compliment. I think by the time we turned up [the second iteration of characters in season three], we knew we were on to something that felt culturally important. It amazes me that people still talk to me about it, 15 years on.
You made your directorial debut last year, directing the video for Paul Weller's Nothing. Are you a big fan of the Modfather? VerulamiumParkRanger
Always have been: the Jam, the Style Council, his solo material. It was a huge honour. We shot it over three or four days and I loved every second. It's made me hungry to do more. He originally asked me to be in one of his videos. That's when I chanced my hand and said: 'I could direct one?' He obliged and I shat myself.
I saw you in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. How was it performing nude night after night? Kellysahero1970
There's a nude scene at the start of the play and another at the end. The play starts in the shower. It would be very odd to be in the shower wearing clothing. So I just assumed: I'll be naked. You just crack on. But I guess, for the audience, being met with that image of me being naked … I remember a few gasps in the matinees from the coach trippers. They weren't there after the interval.
What was it like working with Danny Boyle on 28 Years Later? TopTramp
A dream come true. We shot two films – the sequel and the sequel to the sequel [28 Years Later: The Bone Temple]. Growing up, his work meant an enormous amount to me. What his films have done for cinema, British cinema and culture, is hard to encapsulate. On set, I was all eyes and ears, absolutely beside myself. He's there by the cameras, in the trenches. He's not sat on some hilltop being fed blueberries. He's among it and it's all very immediate.
Which Derby County player would you most like to play in a biopic? I reckon The Marco Gabbiadini Story is well worth telling (Goals! Glory! Caravans! B&Bs!) but that may be a bit before your time. Loumo
I love this question, man. I'm gonna go for [the Italy striker] Fabrizio Ravanelli, for the glitz and glamour, so long as we can ignore the [1996-97] Middlesbrough era. I expect the offer will come in now. That's usually how it works. I say something in the Guardian, tongue in cheek, then someone will write a script.
Sinners is in UK and Irish cinemas from 18 April