Fast Five with Jack Huston

This Brit actor is not banking on his famous surname but is forging out on his own with Ben-Hur

Aug 17, 2016 06:00 am

FACTFILE

NAME Jack Alexander Huston

BORN Dec 7, 1982 in Norfolk, England

FILMOGRAPHY The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2013), Kill Your Darlings (2013), American Hustle (2013), The Longest Ride (2015), Pride And Prejudice And Zombies (2016), Ben-Hur (2016)

1 ACTING DYNASTY

The English actor has relatives in showbiz.

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As the grandson of legendary Hollywood director John Huston, as well as nephew of Oscar-winning actress Anjelica Huston and actor Danny Huston, it is not surprising that the 33-year-old joined the family profession.

But he wants to forge his own path instead of banking on his surname.

He told The Red Bulletin: "It's very hard to get started in this business, so there is a heck of a lot of disappointment when you start out.

"You're never going to be right for every role, so the ones you are right for are the ones worth fighting for."

2 MODEL COUPLE

His partner of five years Shannan Click was a Victoria's Secret model and face for Guess.

The couple have a three-year-old daughter and a son who was born early this year.

Huston was recently selected to front the men's collection for Tod's Fall 2016 campaign.

3 ON THE RISE

Best known for playing the deeply troubled World War I marksman-turned-gangster Richard Harrow in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire, Huston was the recipient of CinemaCon's Rising Star of the Year Award in June.

4 BEN-HUR BREAKOUT

Huston is poised for the big time in the reboot of the historical drama Ben-Hur.

In his first lead role, he plays the titular Jewish prince who is falsely accused of treason by his childhood friend, Roman tribune Messala (Toby Kebbell). Cast into slavery, he survives and eventually rises to take his revenge.

Huston said of the role: "It was amazing, a true gift. I have never worked so hard, but you just want to bring your best to something like this... I feel I have never been challenged so much in my career."

To The Red Bulletin, he said: "It was six months of a brutal shot - it was beautiful but I lost 14kg during the shoot to play the slave, and when you see our faces in the chariot races, that's really us in the chariot races, there's no green screen."

Director Timur Bekmambetov said in a Deadline interview that Huston originally auditioned for the part of Messala, but he decided that Huston had the "sympathetic manner and grit to play the title role".

5 CHARIOT CHALLENGE

For Ben-Hur, which opens here tomorrow, Huston got to drive a Roman chariot during the one month of pre-production, which included intensive training.

About 86 horses, 20 chariots and a super-sized stadium were required to recreate the iconic scene from the Oscar-winning 1959 film.

Huston told Collider: "It's like Nascar. The first day you are completely convinced you are going to die."

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