Jack is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Country & Town House! You can find the photoshoot and scans from the magazine in our gallery!

COUNTRY & TOWN HOUSE – Keeping It Lowkey
In the last few years, Jack O’Connell has found himself frozen stiff inside the Arctic Circle, surfing the sand dunes of the Moroccan Sahara and, most recently, careering around the Ferrari autodrome in Modena, Italy. He’s spent time falling off boats (for the BBC’s The North Water), jumping out of planes (for SAS: Rogue Heroes) and crashing cars (for Michael Mann’s forthcoming film Ferrari).

So you can see why, on the rare occasion he makes it home to the UK, he likes to take things down a notch. ‘I’ve got a nice little motorhome that I zip about in,’ he says, speaking from his house in north London. ‘I bought it because I like to go to Glastonbury and I was doing a few music festivals at the time. It just sort of appeared to be one of the best ways to do it.’

From musical beginnings the O’Connell festival bus has become something of a holiday staple. ‘I’ve managed to get a good bit of mileage on the clock. I’ve done a bit of Ireland, France; I’ve got down to Spain – it’s just a real nice way to go on holiday. No airport stress and you feel like you’re a bit more in charge. There are other stresses, don’t get me wrong – like emptying the shit tanks. But it’s good. It’s the best money I’ve ever spent.’

There can’t be that many other film stars who spend their time pootling about in a camper van, but then Jack O’Connell is not like other film stars. His upbringing in Derbyshire is well documented, to the point where he doesn’t want to go over the troubles at school and the run-ins with police again. But they’re all a part of him and his hometown evidently still means a lot: when he talks about how he came to be cast in Netflix’s recent Lady Chatterley’s Lover alongside Emma Corrin, for example, he still sees the world from a local boy’s perspective.

Becoming Lady Chatterley’s Lover
‘I was in Morocco, we were just finishing Rogue Heroes, it had been exhausting and then the last thing I wanted to do after that job was another job. But then it [Lady Chatterley] came in, I read the script and I discovered that DH Lawrence was based down the road from me [the author grew up ten miles from Derby]. So this was an opportunity to do some local literature on a pretty big stage.’

After Lady Chatterley he went on to film Ferrari, a biopic of Enzo Ferrari with Adam Driver in the title role. With Heat’s director Michael Mann at the helm, lots of fast cars and two of Hollywood’s brightest driving them, Ferrari has the makings of an instant boys’-own blockbuster. Jack plays the English racing driver Peter Collins, who raced for Scuderia Ferrari in the mid-Fifties.

Behind The Wheel Of Classic Cars
‘We shot the whole thing in Modena which is where the Ferrari garage has always been based,’ he says. ‘I was behind the wheel for most of the time and the cars we used, we had to destroy. Because they were replicas of classic cars that go for millions and Ferrari can’t afford to have replicas in circulation. So by the time we finished with them they had to be scrapped.’ Trashing Ferraris made sense in script terms – Peter Collins was killed in a crash in the 1958 German Grand Prix.
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DEADLINE – EXCLUSIVE: Jack O’Connell, Eddie Marsan and Lesley Manville have joined the ensemble cast of Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black, starring Marisa Abela as the Grammy-winning singer who died in 2011 at 27. Sam Taylor-Johnson is on board to direct the film from of StudioCanal, Focus Features and Monumental Pictures.

Focus will distribute the pic in the U.S., with Universal Pictures International handling international distribution excluding the UK, France, Germany, Australia/New Zealand, Benelux, Scandinavia and Poland which will be handled by Studiocanal. Filming is set to begin on Monday in London.

Deadline was first to report that Studiocanal and Taylor-Johnson were moving forward with the film as well as Focus’ recent involvement with the project.

O’Connell will play the love of Winehouse’s life, Blake Fielder-Civil. The two would marry in 2007, but after a tumultuous relationship that was filled with booze and drugs that led to stints in rehab, they divorced prior to Winehouse’s death.

Marsan will play Winehouse’s father, and Manville will play her maternal grandmother.

Winehouse is considered among the greatest recording artists in recent history, selling more than 30 million records worldwide and still generating more than 80 million streams per month. Her 2006 album Back to Black propelled her to stardom, earning five Grammys including Best New Artist and Record of the Year and Song of the Year for hit single “Rehab.” The film will focus on Amy’s genius, creativity and honesty that infused everything she did. A journey that took her from the craziness and color of 1990s Camden High Street to global adoration and back again, the pic crashes through the looking glass of celebrity to watch this journey from behind the mirror, to see what Amy saw, to feel what she felt.

Back to Black was written by Greenhalgh, reuniting the scribe with Taylor-Johnson following their collaboration on Nowhere Boy in 2009. Featuring many of Winehouse’s hit songs, the biopic has the full support of Universal Music Group, Sony Music Publishing and the Amy Winehouse Estate.

Alison Owen and Debra Hayward of Monumental are producing, with Nicky Kentish-Barnes executive producing. Nina Gold is leading the casting. EVP Global Production Ron Halpern and SVP Global Production Joe Naftalin executive produce and are overseeing for Studiocanal.

O’Connell continues to stay very busy with a 2022 that included the acclaimed Epix series SAS Rogue Heroes as well as the Netflix-Sony adaptation of Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Next up he plays race car driver Peter Collins in Michael Mann’s Ferrari. He is repped by UTA, Conway van Gelder Grant and Sloane Offer Weber & Dern.

Jack O’Connell has joined the cast of 3000 Pictures and Netflix’s adaptation of Lady Chatterley’s Lover!

DEADLINE – EXCLUSIVE: Jack O’Connell and Matthew Duckett have joined Golden Globe Winner Emma Corrin in Lady Chatterley’s Lover for Sony’s 3000 Pictures and Netflix. This will be the first film to be produced under the new partnership where Sony Pictures will offer Netflix a first look at any films it intends to make for streaming. The deal was announced in April and part of that deal allowed Sony to offer Netflix a first look at any films it intends to make directly for streaming or decides later to license for streaming, and Netflix has committed to make a number of those films over the course of the deal. Sources say that while Sony will not distribute the film, Netflix can still choose to have it run theatrically if they please for an awards qualifying run given Elizabeth Gabler, who runs 3000 Pictures, track record with award season pics.

Lady Chatterley’s Lover will be directed by The Mustang helmer Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre. Life of Pi scribe David Magee wrote the script. Academy Award nominee Laurence Mark and Academy Award nominees Pete Czernin and Graham Broadbent of Blueprint Pictures are producing.

Based on the classic D.H. Lawrence novel, a story well ahead of its time, we follow the life of Lady Chatterley, a woman born to a life of wealth and privilege, who soon finds herself married to a man that she eventually falls out of love with. Lady Chatterley engages in a torrid affair with a gamekeeper on their English estate, discovering more desire and intimacy than she thought possible. When she realizes that she has fallen heart and soul, she breaks all traditions of the day and seeks happiness with the man she loves.

Marisa Paiva and Nikki Cooper are the executives overseeing the project for 3000 Pictures.

Best known for his roles in ‘71 and Unbroken, O’Connell recently wrapped filming the BBC’s SAS: Rogue Heroes, a six-part drama based on Ben Macintyre’s book of the same name which charts the formation of the renowned Special Forces unit. He was most recently seen in Andrew Haigh’s five-part AMC/BBC thriller The North Water, portraying a disgraced ex-army surgeon who signs up as ship’s doctor on an ill-fated whaling expedition to the Arctic in the late 1850s. Among other much-admired television roles, O’Connell has also made a name for himself on the silver screen by starring in acclaimed films such as: Money Monster Little Fish and Starred Up.

Jack spoke with Men’s Journal about his new movie, Jungleland, boxing, working out, and more. Read it below!

MEN’S JOUNRAL – Jack O’Connell has been boxing since his early teens, and he largely credits the sport for molding him into the man he is today. So it’s no surprise he was enthusiastic about the opportunity to play a bareknuckle brawler in the indie drama Jungleland. The story centers on two roughneck brothers who road trip cross-country for an underground no-holds-barred competition. When it came time to prepare for the film’s shoot in Boston, O’Connell decided his best way to get into character would be to treat his pre-production time like a training camp.

“I trained like I was preparing for a real boxing fight,” O’Connell tells Men’s Journal. The work started at his home gym, Westside Boxing in West London, then moved to Brighton’s Boston Boxing and Fitness. “I was working out next to Golden Gloves competitors, and really connected with some of these guys, we even brought some of them into the movie.”

The results of O’Connell’s work can be seen onscreen, showcasing his lean physique in the film’s pivotal fight scenes. We spoke with the Derby-born actor about getting in the ring for Jungleland, training with his co-star Charlie Hunnam, and his favorite fighters.

Men’s Journal: What excited you about the Jungleland script?

Jack O’Connell: Jungleland was an opportunity to bring stories and lessons from the gym—from boxing. The script centers around bareknuckle fighting, which is its own whole universe. There’s a scene out here where I’m from, too, so it was interesting for me to try to present a story about two brothers within this subculture. The story itself stands on its own legs, but the fact it was in the world of bareknuckle boxing is what really drew me to it.

How long have you been boxing?

I started kickboxing when I was 11 years old, which I feel like is a good age to start. It may be a little late if you want to compete, but you’re still flexible and moldable. The movements can come a little easier when you have that youth on your side. From there, I started focusing more on boxing and striking quickly. I really believe in the science of boxing. I don’t find it to be a brutal sport. There are brutal consequences, sure, but at its core it’s the purest of contests between two individuals. It all starts in that gym, and that’s where a lot of those fights are won. That fascinates me. What I learn from boxing is much more than just what I learn in the ring.

What other elements of boxing do you find constructive?

There’s so much more that comes with studying boxing besides learning how to throw a punch. So much more. Getting punched in the face can be a great lesson. I just think it’s a very humbling experience, and it comes as the result of learning your limits, like you do in the ring. You can feel the consequence of not putting yourself into something 100 percent.

What do you look for in a boxing gym experience?

I’m drawn to the attitude of people that I hang out with in the boxing gym. The places I go are the opposite of aggressive and the opposite of macho. I don’t want to hang out in a gym that’s too macho. A good share of my role models, and people I look up to, are people I’ve met in the boxing gym.

What gym do you work out at now?

I usually train at Westside Boxing in West London. They have some great talent coming through there. They’re pretty well known in the amateur boxing scene. There’s a guy called John Holland, who’s old school and traditional. I’ve learned so much from him. He’s a paternal figure in my life, no question. I am usually there three or four times a week, and I try to spare twice a week.

What do you like about boxing as a workout?

I can’t really get down with traditional workouts, like a lot of weightlifting. I have to be punching something or kicking a football. Otherwise, it can just feel a little pointless. Perhaps that’s more of a mindset thing on my end, but I just don’t see the point of it. I find the combination of boxing and playing football, or soccer as you call it, is a great combination for me. It keeps my mind fit. It keeps my body fit. I fucking hate cardio, so I need to have it disguised. The physique I ended up with by the time we started filming was the one I had after focusing purely on my boxing. After a proper training period. I wasn’t going in there trying to look particularly pumped or busting out of my shirt. I was going into this movie wanting to look like a fighter.
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