FILM-BRITAIN/UNBROKEN JUNKET "There were times I felt broken" - actor Jack O'Connell on Angelina Jolie's 'Unbroken'

Record ID: 860077

  • Title: FILM-BRITAIN/UNBROKEN JUNKET "There were times I felt broken" - actor Jack O'Connell on Angelina Jolie's 'Unbroken'
  • Date: 15th December 2014
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR MIYAVI, SAYING: "Actually I had no experience as an actor and I tried not to act, I tried to put reality into the performance. And I was trying to imagine what if these guys would kill my family. I would do anything to protect my family and friends."
  • Embargoed: 30th December 2014 12:00
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  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA389PNPNTYS8IAAVTEPJY2EH3F
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  • Story Text: Rising British star Jack O'Connell and first time Japanese actor Miyavi are the leads in Angelina Jolie's new World War II movie, the making of which O'Connell says left him feeling 'broken'.
    Based on a best-selling book by Laura Hillenbrand, 'Unbroken' tells how Louis Zamperini, an Olympic sprinter played by Jack O'Connell, spent 47 days on a life raft after his plane crashed into the Pacific and was then held for two years by the Japanese.
    "It had to hurt - if I was going to have any chance of demonstrating anything close to Louis's spirit, then there's no way I would be feeling comfortable now reflecting on a painless experience. It had to be tough and it was and there were times when I felt broken but you know for that, on the other side of it promoting something that we all believe in," O'Connell said.
    The film was directed by Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie, whom O'Connell described as 'epic'.
    "On a daily basis she excelled herself. Further than what I had seen her do the day previous. The wear and tear, the gradual adversities, they add up you know, and so she really took the blunt end of that shoot and kept a lot of the stresses away from the floor so it meant that we could just concentrate on creating something," he said.
    The film contains scenes in which Zamperini is repeatedly beaten by a brutal Japanese prison guard played by the pop singer and songwriter Miyavi and is already the subject of Oscar buzz as a contender for Best Picture.
    Miyavi is best known as a musician in his native Japan.
    He said he stayed away from O'Connell while on set as he felt it was important to keep a distance, but that after the shoot they became friends and played music together.
    "After we wrapped up, we jammed out, we played, we had a jam session on stage together. He played the guitar too, and he is such a charming person, he did a great job as an actor in such a complicated character. I mean Louis Zamperini is a hero so I really respect him," he said, adding with a smile, "The war is over!"
    'Unbroken' is released in the United States on December 25 and in the UK on December 26.
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