Jack O'Connell revels in being Hollywood's new face of evil

Jack O’Connell is a menace.

Even his smile is sinister in the English actor’s current reign of cinematic terror. O’Connell’s got fangs and knows how to use them as Irish vampire Remmick, who turns Michael B. Jordan’s bluesy night into a living hell in Ryan Coogler’s 2025 hit “Sinners.” And while technically a human role, O’Connell is gleefully satanic as evil cult leader Sir Jimmy Crystal in the new horror sequel “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” (in theaters Jan. 16).

Rather than seeking out this darker phase of his career, O’Connell, 35, attributes his mini villain era to “just sheer good fortune. It was a bit of luck, maybe.”

Sir Jimmy was introduced at the end of last year’s “28 Years Later” in a most auspicious manner. Set decades after Danny Boyle’s horror classic “28 Days Later,” a post-apocalyptic version of the United Kingdom has been overrun by victims of a rage virus and young Spike (Alfie Williams) is being attacked by the infected when a gang of blond-haired people in track suits arrive for the save.

But Spike learns of the nihilistic ways of Sir Jimmy and his Jimmies in “Bone Temple,” falling in with this crew of murderers that's more dangerous than the poor souls with the virus.

Jimmy was a young Scottish boy when the sickness ran amok first. He fled his house when his family was attacked, ran to his vicar father's church, and was told to welcome this "day of judgment" by his dad, who frightfully allowed himself to be eaten by his infected "children" after Jimmy's escape. This incident is why, as an adult, Jimmy believes his dad was “Old Nick” (aka Satan) and commits atrocious acts in his name. 

“We know that he's gone through this horrific trauma, and not only your family's ripped to shreds before your eyes but your father's some sort of devout devotee of that, too. It's going to mess you up, man,” O’Connell says. 

There’s a joyous excitement to the bad things Jimmy does, wearing a tiara and upside-down cross and boasting a flamboyant streak. “Early on, the words ‘twisted gaiety’ came to me,” O’Connell adds. “I was just reveling in that blackness. This philosophy is his religion. So you can sort of afford to really lean into that.

“Out of everyone in the movie, he's having the best time. Without question. So why not have fun with it?”

One of “Bone Temple” director Nia DaCosta’s favorite scenes is when Sir Jimmy meets Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), an eccentric guy himself but one who’s trying to help the living and the infected alike. 

“Nothing [Jimmy] does is justified, but you're like, oh, you're broken and lonely and sad, just like everyone else. But you're choosing to do horrible things, whereas some people are choosing to do science and happiness and experiments," the filmmaker says.

DaCosta also sees a connective thread between O'Connell's “Bone Temple” and “Sinners” antagonists: “They're both wanting family, interestingly. Which motivates a lot of people to do bad things.”

“Sinners” allowed O’Connell to connect with his Irish roots as the leader of a musical band of vamps trying to get into a party thrown by Smoke and Stack (Jordan in dual roles). Backed by those he's turned, a mesmerizing Remmick kicks up his heels and sings the folk tune "The Rocky Road to Dublin" in one of the movie's most memorable (and chilling) scenes.

“These are songs that are just with us because they have been handed to us from history. And for Remmick to represent that in a way that was so cleverly written, it was an immense joy,” says O’Connell, who takes an “enormous amount of pleasure” in the success of “Sinners.”

He’s "playing it by ear" but hoping to have an LA trip in March for the Actor Awards – where “Sinners” is up for best ensemble – and the Oscars, if “Sinners” nabs a best picture nod.

After playing troubled youngsters early in his career – breaking out on the British teen drama “Skins” – and starring as a war hero in director Angelina Jolie’s “Unbroken,” O’Connell’s recent baddies have reinforced how much “I absolutely adore" acting, he says. “I would be scuppered if I wasn't doing this. I'm not sure what else I'm good at.”

O’Connell next stars in Boyle’s upcoming journalism drama “Ink,” playing newspaper editor Larry Lamb as he’s recruited to head up the British tabloid The Sun when it’s bought by Rupert Murdoch (Guy Pearce) in the late 1960s. He also has a role in next year's big-budget “Godzilla x Kong: Supernova.”

“It was nice to do something finally that my youngster can watch,” says O’Connell, who has a 5-year-old daughter. “I haven't racked up a lot of jobs that she could realistically watch yet.”

So when she's old enough to see them, will she enjoy her dad more as Remmick or Sir Jimmy? O’Connell laughs. “I don't know if I'll ever let her near Sir Jimmy.”