Viewers praise ‘perfect casting’ of Skins star Jack O’ Connell in new Amy Winehouse biopic

People are praising the ‘perfect’ casting of former Skins star Jack O’Connell in the new Amy Winehouse biopic.

Back To Black, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, will hit UK cinemas in April and last week a trailer was dropped, giving fans their first glimpse of the flick.

You can check it out here:

The movie - which was first given the green light back in 2018 - charts the life of the acclaimed singer, from her roots in Camden to her first album Frank and hugely successful second album, Back To Black.

The film will showcase the incredible highs of her career as well as the desperate lows as she took on a very public battle with addiction, before tragically passing away at just 27.

A synopsis for Back To Black explains: "Amy’s extraordinary genius, creativity and honesty that infused everything she did. A journey that took her from the craziness and colour of '90s Camden High Street to global adoration, and back again, Back to Black crashes through the looking glass of celebrity to watch this journey from behind the mirror, to see what Amy saw, to feel what she felt.”

StudioCanal

Shortly after the trailer was released, some fans suggested that casting directors had missed a trick.

Back To Black stars Marisa Abela as Winehouse, but some people reckon Lady Gaga would have made a more obvious choice for the role, with one person posting on X (formerly Twitter): "I think Lady Gaga would suit her role as a singer and actress."

Another wrote: "They made an Amy Winehouse biopic and didn’t cast Lady Gaga…?"

The casting was defended by Winehouse’s dad Mitch, who told TMZ: "Marisa is Marisa and Amy is Amy... so it's no big deal if they aren't mirror images. Marisa is a great choice for the role."

StudioCanal

But, when it comes to the casting of Winehouse's ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, fans think they got it spot on with O’Connell.

Taking to X, one person said: “Jack O’Connell as Blake is perfect casting.”

A second added: “Jack O’Connell is gonna crush [it] in Back to Black."

Someone else wrote: “Jack O’Connell playing Blake Civil is such perfect casting. I can’t wait to watch Back to Black.”

A fourth fan commented: “This is exciting. Marisa looks great, and Jack O’Connell never misses for me. I’m convinced he’s one of the most underrated actors out there.”

Back to Black will hit UK cinemas on 12 April.

Topics: Celebrity, TV and Film

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]