Why Jack Scanlon Stepped Away from Acting After 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'

Published 11:58 13 Sep 2026 GMT+1

The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas released in 2008

Jack Scanlon, who made a name for himself due to his starring role in The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas, is living a very different life nearly 20 years on.

The 2008 movie focusses on a young German boy, Bruno, who is the son of a Nazi commander.

Bruno comes across a concentration camp and befriends a holocaust prisoner, Shmuel, who he visits regularly.

While the film was largely seen as a success, some critics claimed it focused too strongly on the Nazi commander’s family rather than the horrific treatment of the Jewish prisoners.

Advert

The Holocaust Centre North charity said: "Because the focus of the story remains on Bruno’s family, the book does not engage with the main tragedy of the Holocaust: that none of the people in the gas chamber should have been there.

Jack Scanlon starred in The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas (Instagram/@jakscanlon)

“Due to the way in which Shmuel’s character is portrayed in the novel, his character doesn’t engage the reader’s sympathy in the way that Bruno does. Shmuel represents the 1.5 million children murdered by the Nazi regime in Auschwitz-Birkenau... yet the reader’s sympathy is directed towards a Nazi concentration camp commandant and his family.”

Many viewers in the Facebook Netflix Bangers group declared the movie as one of the saddest of all time, which many do not argue with.

Jack Scanlon starred as Shmuel in the film when he was just ten years old, but his acting career didn't really kick off from there.

Born in 1998, Jack grew up in Kent, England, with his parents and younger brother.

The actor went to drama school and it was through that he got auditioned for the role in The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas.

Jack Scanlon and Asa Butterfield pictured in 2008 (Jon Furniss/WireImage)

Since then, Jack has starred in the BBC's Runaway, while he's been involved behind the camera in director and producer roles for independent films in recent months.

However, for the most part, Jack has stepped away from acting, with his last credit on IMDB being Married Single Other, which released in 2010.

Jack did have big ambitions when it came to acting though, previously telling the Guardian that he 'wanted to be like David Tennant' and play the iconic Doctor Who role at some point during his career.

A 14-year-old Jack told the outlet in 2012: "I'd like to play the Doctor when I grow up as all the actors will be dead by then."

Featured Image Credit: Miramax Films

Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity