Sixteen years ago, charged by the kind of delusion only a teenager can have, I attended an open audition for the fifth series of Skins, the British drama that the Parents Television Council called “the most dangerous television show for children we have ever seen”. Like many in attendance, my ambitions were multifold: I wanted to act. But mostly, I wondered if I might get to work with Jack O’Connell. (Sidenote: I wasn’t successful.)
O’Connell first set hearts ablaze at 17, with his portrayal of Cook, the show’s roguish anti-hero. By the time I auditioned, the series had largely moved on from the characters that established its early popularity, but its themes – sex, drugs, adolescents, parties – still prevailed.
Jack O’Connell wears Versace cotton poplin shirt and plongé leather trousers, both POA. Vintage cotton Henley shirt (just seen), stylist’s own © Paul Wetherell
When I tell O’Connell that every single man that day gave an audition performance modelled on his, the actor throws back his head and laughs. His eyes flare before he settles back into his chair with a naughty giggle. “There was a formula,” he admits of an acting style that came to define the late 2000s and 2010s.
Now 35, O’Connell is polite and thoughtful, with a few grey hairs starting to peek out from behind his ears. But he still inhabits the cocksure mischief that first made him famous. “I buzz off people talking to me about Cook,” he continues of his character and early celebrity, still fuelled by Skins stans on social media. “On paper, he was garish and laddish – a persona that was incredibly unfashionable [for a period]. Which is why I enjoy hearing that Skins is still liked.”
