"Jack O'Connell"

Jack O'Connell (born 1 August 1990) is an English actor. He is perhaps most recognisable for playing Pukey Nicholls in This Is England (2006), Marky in Harry Brown (2009), and as James Cook in the E4 teen drama Skins.

O'Connell was born in Alvaston, Derby, England, the son of Alison J. (née Gutteridge) and John Patrick O'Connell, who worked at Bombardier. His father was Irish. His maternal grandfather, Ken Gutteridge, was a professional football player and manager.

O'Connell went to St Benedict Catholic School and Performing Arts College. He made his acting debut in 2005 appearing in an episode of the British soap opera Doctors, along with four episodes as character Ross Trecot in The Bill. In 2006 O'Connell made his film debut in This Is England, a story about a boy growing up in 1980s England.

On playing Eamonn in TV Series The Runaway (2011), O'Connell stated "Eamonn is half Irish, born in Ireland. I'm half-Irish, so his heritage was part of what interested me."

During 2007 O'Connell made several minor television appearances in Waterloo Road, Holby City, and Wire in the Blood. He would also go on to star in the play Scarborough, performed at the Edinburgh Festival, for which he later reprised the following year upon its transfer to the Royal Court Theatre, London. In October of that same year, O'Connell starred in an educational DVD, Between You and Me, produced by Derbyshire Constabulary, in which his character Alfie Gilchrist encounters a range of issues including underage drinking, fake ID, peer pressure, and car theft. Youth Work Now magazine described his performance as "outstanding".

O'Connell appeared in the horror/thriller Eden Lake (2008) as the film villain Brett, the ITV television serial of Wuthering Heights (2009), and as James Cook in the third/fourth/seventh instalment of the E4 Series Skins, which premiered in January 2009/10/13. O'Connell appears in the British crime thriller Harry Brown (2009) with Michael Caine, playing the role of Marky. Subsequently, O'Connell featured in the music video of End Credits by UK Drum and Bass act Chase & Status, which was the official song released from the movie's soundtrack.

In July 2010, O'Connell starred along side Aisling Loftus in the BBC Two two-part drama Dive as the programme's lead male character, Robert, where a young teenage couple must come to terms with an unexpected pregnancy. His performance was described by The Observer reviewer Euan Ferguson as "a performance that is of an actor twice his years: mesmerising, comedic and soulful". O'Connell won the best actor award at the 2010 TV Choice awards for his role as Skins character James Cook.

O'Connell was initially cast as Ethan Wate in the film Beautiful Creatures, but dropped out of the film due to scheduling issues.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2013	300: Rise of an Empire	Calisto	Film
2012	The Liability	Adam	Film
2012	Tower Block	Kurtis	Film
2012	Private Peaceful	Charlie Peaceful	Film
2011	The Somnambulists	Man 10	Film
2011	Shelter	Charlie	Film (short)
2011	Weekender	Dylan	Film
2011	The Runaway	Eamonn Docherty	TV Drama based on novel by Martina Cole
2011	United	Bobby Charlton	TV Drama (Main Role)
2010	Dive	Robert Wisley	TV Drama (Main Role)
2009	Harry Brown	Marky	Film
2009–2010, 2013	Skins	James Cook	Series 3–4, 7 (Main Role)
2009	Wuthering Heights	Shepherd Lad	TV Serial
2008	Eden Lake	Brett	Film (Main Role)
2007	Wire in the Blood	Jack Norton	Episode 05.01 ("The Names of Angels)
2007	Holby City	Davey Hunt	Episode 08.01 ("Trust")
2007	Waterloo Road	Dale Baxter	Episode 02.09
2006	This Is England	Pukey Nicholls	Film
2005	The Bill	Ross Trescot	Series 21, 4 episodes
2005	Doctors	Connor Yates	Episode 07.01 ("Like Father, Like Son")

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org