I was a youngster looking up to dudes like Vicky McClure, Joe Dempsie and Michael Socha - in fact, he was a big influence on how I was able to detach drama from the all-singing, all-dancing stigma.
Jack O'Connell
Since I started acting, I've always been aware of the sort of 'beastly entity' that is America and Hollywood, and semi-consciously, I devised a kind of route in - I'd seen a lot of people try and fail.
I'm actually a hippy in real life. I had three dreadlocks on the back of my head once. They were spawning.
I worked on a farm for a little bit.
If I'm among my boys or people I've grown up with, I can be immature.
I need to mature a bit - then I might have something to show for it.
I like the ideology of there being no such thing as perfection. But I'm of the opinion that I have witnessed perfection at various times, especially in art.
I want to create a body of work that is entertaining and speaks to people for a long time. Longer than my life span.
I wanted to join the Army when football failed. That was my only realistic form of making an honest living.
I find the education I got from living in Derby and being streetwise and knowing the people that I know, the lessons that I had to learn growing up, have set me in good stead for this kind of working life.
I quite like to sing, actually - just belting out numbers with my guitar. I find that it's a form of tranquility.
I've had the good fortune of studying the 17th-century art of Amsterdam in preparation for a film.
My first experience on a feature film was with Shane Meadows on 'This Is England.'
I feel like I've grown up on screen quite a lot.
I'd be lying if I said I never think about my female fans in certain shots and certain scenes. Like, when I'm topless, I might think: 'This one is for the ladies.'
