(Photo Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Jack O'Connell's star is on the rise thanks to Angelina Jolie, who tapped him to play the late Louis Zamperini in her new film, "Unbroken."

At Friday's Hollywood Film Awards, where Jolie presented O'Connell with the New Hollywood Award, the Oscar-winning actress-turned-director revealed why the 24-year-old newcomer won the role of Zamperini, an American Olympic track star who spent more than two and a half years as a POW after he was captured by Japanese forces during World War II.

"The auditions were very intense and none more so than the cell," the filmmaker said. "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, the control, the never knowing, the sense of powerlessness."

When it came to O'Connell's turn, Jolie said, "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. 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."

The director 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."

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Jolie said Zamperini, himself, approved of O'Connell's casting before his death at age 97 July 2.

"I showed [that] audition tape to Louis, and he smiled," she said. "As a director, to have Jack in front of your lens is a gift. He makes every moment honest."

"Unbroken" is scheduled for release Christmas Day.