Jack O’Connell, the 26-year-old English actor who you might remember from Skins or prison film Starred Up, is performing these days in a new production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
The play starts with handsome Jack entering the stage fully nude, moving on to take a shower onstage.
The West End production, based on the play by Tennessee Williams is getting a lot of praise these days.
In an interview with Variety , Jack O’Connell, who has to get fully nude right at the start, says that the scene – which happens offstage in the original play – was a curve ball.
“I was given the option to wear swimwear, to keep my modesty intact. That’s the easy way out. You think, ‘When does anyone really shower with underwear on?’ I find that more distracting.”
As part of his preparation, Jack made a point of getting fully naked during the rehearsals, so that everyone could get used to the idea.
“The clothes came off in the rehearsal room. I was grateful for that”, he says. “By the time the previews were happening, a lot of people in the production had seen what it is like to start the play naked.”
And yes, the water’s cold. And of course, that has a certain effect on certain male parts.
“They don’t have the opportunity to heat it when it first runs. Eventually, it warms up. But that doesn’t really help me. Obviously, scientifically, any male will know that you tend to shrivel in cold water. That was a concern.”
If you want to inspect everything up close, the show will be running until October 7, at the Apollo Theatre in London.
