Angelina Jolie has lavished praise on Jack O'Connell, the star of her upcoming film Unbroken, saying that to have him in front of her camera "is a gift".
Directed by Jolie, Unbroken is based on Laura Hillenbrand's best-selling book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption.
It chronicles the life of Louis Zamperini (O'Connell), an Olympic runner who enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces and was later incarcerated in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp.
Speaking at the Hollywood Film Awards, Jolie said of O'Connell's audition: "The auditions were very intense, and none more so than [in] the cell."
She continued: "In the cell, the actors would be confined, not knowing if he would be there for three minutes or an hour. A crew member with a rubber baton would go in at unexpected times and hit the actor.
"It didn't hurt, but the feeling would bring up the emotion of the loss of freedom, of control, the never knowing, the sense of powerlessness."
"All of the actors were so brave and many of the auditions were emotional and heartbreaking, and then came Jack. He went in the cell, he sat in the dark, he didn't force anything, he didn't act. He was just present," she said.
"He looked around the darkness, he felt the isolation, and he looked so young and vulnerable, and when he was hit, he took the beating, he ended up shaking from the feelings and he allowed his emotions to come forward."
Jolie continued: "The second time he begged the guard to stop with tears in his eyes. And the third time, something happened. His eyes changed and he went against the script. And when the guard came in, he fought back. He just couldn't stay down."
She added: "I showed that audition tape to Louis, and he smiled. As a director, to have Jack in front of your lens is a gift. He draws you in, he makes every moment honest. In his work, he gives all that he has..."
Jolie presented O'Connell with the New Hollywood Award at the event and in his acceptance speech he paid tribute to Zamperini.
O'Connell said: "I'd like to pay a tribute to the unfortunately late Mr Louis Zamperini, whose life account of tremendous strength [and] courage carved a history, like many others of his generation, a history that we strived to tribute in our film, Unbroken. I'd like to dedicate this award, therefore, to Mr Louis Zamperini."
He also thanked Jolie, saying: "My esteemed boss, and good friend, her ladyship, whose unconditional support and dedicated leadership, meant that I was capable of portraying our hero, under her captaincy. So Angelina, thank you."
Unbroken opens in cinemas on December 26.
