Brookside actor unrecognisable 20 years after soap exit and role with Idris Elba
A child star from British soap Brookside has left TV fans doing a double take after showing up in a high budget series starring Idris Elba.
Jack McMullen was just 10-years-old when he landed the role of Josh McLoughlin on the iconic Channel 4 soap. He went on to have roles on Grange Hill and Waterloo Road - and also popped up in various TV series including Casualty, Doctors, Little Boy Blue, and Screw.
Now, at the age of 32-years-old, he is playing a character named Lewis Atterton on the Apple TV+ series Hijack. The adrenaline fulled drama stars 50-year-old Idris as Sam Nelson, a corporate business negotiator, who is on a commercial flight when it is taken over by criminals.
Fans have been left stunned by Jack’s transformation since his time on screen as a child actor. Many have flooded social media with comments about his role in the critically acclaimed show. One stunned fan wrote on Twitter: “Just started #Hijack….can’t believe fellas from Football Factory & Brookside are causing chaos.”
The child star can currently be seen in hit Apple TV+ show Hijack (apple tv)While many others congratulated Jack on his latest role. One friendly fan messaged via Instagram, writing: “it’s Brilliant Jack” and another gushed: “good acting and cool movie wow I'm amazed”.
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Jack has also enjoyed success on the big screen - appearing in the 2019 Oscar-nominated film Ford v Ferrari - also titled Le Mans '66 - which told the story of two engineers hired by Henry Ford II and Lee Iacocca to build a race car i the 1960s. Previously promoting the film, Jack hinted that international fame is a prospect that intimidates him.
He told Square Mile: “I haven’t done anything where my life has changed overnight - I find the idea of that terrifying. I’m in it for the long run so opportunities will come when they come. Getting to go and work in the US on Le Mans ‘66 was a big step up for me, so I’d say that’s the closest thing.”
Jack stars in the show alongside Idris Elba (Apple TV+)Appearing in prison drama Screw last year, Jack said that working with acting legend Stephen Graham gave him confidence to chase his acting goals. He told the Independent: “I’ve never told him this because it’s always a working environment, but I can’t overstate the effect that seeing him on TV had on me when I was growing up.
“I saw someone who spoke like me do proper, proper stuff. It’s helped me see there’s a path for me.”
Jack received some words of encouragement form Stephen himself when they wrapped filming on the Channel 4 drama. He explained: “He looked me in the eye and said, ‘Don’t ever doubt yourself.’ I needed that. I have always felt like I’m winging it a bit.”
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