Ray Winstone
Ray Winstone | |
---|---|
Born | Raymond Andrew Winstone 19 February 1957 Homerton, London, England |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1976–present |
Spouse |
Elaine McCausland (m. 1979) |
Children | 3, including Jaime and Lois |
Raymond Andrew Winstone (/ˈwɪnstən/; born 19 February 1957)[2] is an English television, stage and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is perhaps best known for his "hard man" roles, usually delivered in his distinctive London accent. The first of these was That Summer! (1979) for which he received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer. He rose to prominence starring as Will Scarlet in the series Robin of Sherwood from 1984 to 1986.
Winstone received a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role nomination for his performance in Nil by Mouth (1997). He also starred in the British independent films Scum (1979), Quadrophenia (1979), The War Zone (1999), Last Orders (2001), Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2010). Winstone's other notable films include Sexy Beast (2000), Ripley's Game (2002), Cold Mountain (2003), King Arthur (2004), The Departed (2006), Beowulf (2007), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Hugo (2011), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), Black Widow (2021), and Damsel (2024).
Early life and education
Winstone was born on 19 February 1957 in
Winstone has recounted how, as a child, he used to play with his friends on bomb sites (vacant lots with rubble from
He recounted an early encounter with a notorious gangster:
"I was still a baby the day
Ronnie Kray came round to see Dad, but I've been told this story so many times I can see it unfolding in my mind. Everyone was on their best behaviour, but then Ronnie picked me up, and by all accounts I pissed all over him. He had a new mac on, which had probably cost a few bob, and I absolutely covered it. The room fell silent, then Ronnie cracked up, so everyone knew it was safe to join in."[3]
Winstone had an early affinity for acting; his father would take him to the cinema every Wednesday afternoon. Later, he viewed Albert Finney in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, and said: "I thought, 'I could be that geezer'." Other major influences included John Wayne, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson. After borrowing extra tuition money from a friend's mother, a drama teacher, Winstone took to the stage, appearing as a Cockney newspaper seller in a production of Emil and the Detectives.
Winstone was also a
Deciding to pursue drama, Winstone enrolled at the
900 a term, it was expensive considering the average wage was then about £36 a week.Scum
Winstone was not popular with the establishment at his secondary school, who considered him a bad influence. When he discovered that he was the only pupil not invited to the Christmas party he decided to take revenge for this slight. Hammering some pins through a piece of wood, he placed it under the wheel of his headmistress's car and blew out the tyre, for which he was expelled.
The play, written by
While Winstone has portrayed many characters who share the "hard man" nature of his performance in Scum, he has also explored a variety of other roles, including comedy (
Career
1970–1988
In 1975, Winstone landed his first professional role in What a Crazy World at the Theatre Royal, Stratford in London.[11] One of his first TV appearances came in the 1976 "Loving Arms" episode of the popular police series The Sweeney,[12] where he was credited as "Raymond Winstone" (as he was in What a Crazy World[11]) and played a minor part as an unnamed young thug. After a short run in the TV series Fox (1980), and a role in Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1982),[12] alongside Diane Lane, and Laura Dern. He starred in the opening episode of the third season of Bergerac (1983), as Will Scarlet in Robin of Sherwood.[6] He again teamed up with Jason Connery in a film which also featured Amanda Donohoe and Maria Whittaker, in Tank Malling (1984).[12]
Over the years he has appeared in many TV shows, including
1990–2003
Winstone was asked to appear in
In 2000, Winstone starred alongside
After a brief role alongside Burke again in the tragi-comic The Martins (2001),[12] he appeared in Last Orders (2001) where he starred alongside Michael Caine, Helen Mirren, David Hemmings, and Tom Courtenay. Next Winstone would get a prime part in Ripley's Game (2002), the semi-sequel to The Talented Mr. Ripley, in which he once again played a gangster. He followed up with Lenny Blue, the sequel to Tough Love, and the short The Bouncer. Now internationally known, Winstone was next chosen by Anthony Minghella to play Teague, a sinister Home Guard boss in the American Civil War drama Cold Mountain (2003).[12]
2004–2012
At this time, Winstone set up Size 9 and Flicks production companies with his longtime agent Michael Wiggs. The first effort was She's Gone in which he plays a businessman whose young daughter disappears in
A complete change of pace for Winstone was when he provided the voice for the cheeky-chappy
Winstone has mixed work in Hollywood productions with work in lower budget, independent films. In 2010, Winstone starred as Arjan van Diemen in the film
2013–present
In April 2013, while a guest host of the comedy quiz show Have I Got News for You, he provoked controversy by stating that Scotland's chief exports were "oil, whisky, tartan and tramps", leading to a headline in The Scotsman claiming "Ray Winstone calls Scots 'tramps' on TV quiz show". Viewers complained to Ofcom and the BBC.[19] In 2015, he played the role of ex-criminal Jimmy Rose in The Trials of Jimmy Rose, a three-part drama for ITV. In 2006, Winstone appeared as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car during series 8 of BBC's Top Gear.[20]
In 2015, he starred in The Gunman with Sean Penn; the film was a box-office failure. That same year Winstone also featured in remake Point Break,[12] a relative box-office success, though critically panned.[21] In 2017 the actor starred in the critically acclaimed British independent film Jawbone, before 2018's critical and box-office failure King of Thieves. In 2019 Winstone starred in critical disaster The Queen's Corgi, and critical and box-office bomb Cats. Winstone then starred in Marvel's Black Widow in 2021.[12] He is currently appearing on Netflix in Guy Ritchie's eight part series, The Gentlemen.
Legacy
Winstone has been described as one of the UK's "seminal screen hard nuts",[22] while The Guardian has said that he "plays troubled hard men with such conviction, it's easy to believe he's not acting", adding that he is "the East End's answer to George Clooney".[22]
Personal life
Winstone met his wife, Elaine McCausland, while filming
He is a fan of
Winstone was declared
In March 2019, in the context of Brexit, Winstone expressed a preference for leaving the European Union without a deal and argued against holding a second referendum, stating that it would lead to "rebellion" and that "The country voted to leave. Then that's democracy, you leave."[27]
Filmography
Film
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1976 | The Sweeney | 2nd Youth | 1 episode |
1977 | Scum | Carlin | Television film |
1980 | Fox | Kenny Fox | 13 episodes |
1983 | Auf Wiedersehen, Pet | Colin | 1 episode |
Bergerac | Tully | 1 episode | |
1984 | Fairly Secret Army | Stubby Collins | 3 episodes |
1984–1986 | Robin of Sherwood | Will Scarlet | Main role, 24 episodes |
1984–1989 | Minder | Arnie | 4 episodes |
1986 | C.A.T.S. Eyes | Geoff | 1 episode |
Ever Decreasing Circles | Harold | 1 episode | |
1987 | Boon | Billy | 1 episode |
Father Matthew's Daughter | Father Charlie | 6 episodes | |
Pulaski | DS Ford | 2 episodes | |
1990 | Birds of a Feather | Malcolm/ Prison Warder | 2 episodes |
Home to Roost | Bill Bateman | 1 episode | |
1992 | Between the Lines | Sgt. Godley | 1 episode |
1992–1993 | Get Back | Martin Sweet | Main role, 15 episodes |
1994 | Murder Most Horrid | Terry | 1 episode |
1995 | The Ghostbusters of East Finchley | Thane | 6 episodes |
Kavanagh QC | CPO Evans | 1 episode | |
1996 | One Foot in the Grave | Vagrant / Millichope | 1 episode |
1999 | Births, Marriages and Deaths | Alan | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
Last Christmas | Neville | TV movie | |
2000–2002 | Lenny Blue | DC Lenny Milton | Main role, 4 episodes |
2002 | At Home with the Braithwaites | Steve Searle | 1 episode |
2003 | Henry VIII | King Henry VIII
|
2 episodes |
2004 | She's Gone | Harry Sands | Television film |
2005–2006 | Vincent | Vincent Gallagher | Main role, 8 episodes |
2006 | All in the Game | Frankie | Television film |
Sweeney Todd | Sweeney Todd | Television film | |
2010 | Ben Hur | Quintus Arrius | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
2011 | Great Expectations | Abel Magwitch | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
2013 | Moonfleet | Elzevir Block | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
2015 | The Trials of Jimmy Rose | Jimmy Rose | Main role, 3 episodes |
2016 | The Nightmare Worlds of H.G. Wells | H.G. Wells | Introducer and narrator, 4 episodes |
Of Kings and Prophets | Saul | Main role, 9 episodes | |
2016–2018 | Ice | Cam Rose | Main role, 20 episodes |
2024 | The Gentlemen | Bobby Glass |
Video games
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | Killzone 3 | Admiral Orlock | Also motion capture performance |
Awards and nominations
Year | Association | Category | Project | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1979 | BAFTA Award
|
Best Newcomer
|
That Summer
|
Nominated |
1997 | BAFTA Award
|
Best Actor in a Leading Role | Nil by Mouth | Nominated |
British Independent Film Award
|
Best Actor
|
Nominated | ||
1999 | British Independent Film Award
|
Best Actor
|
The War Zone | Nominated |
European Film Award
|
Best Actor | Nominated | ||
2001 | British Independent Film Award
|
Best Actor
|
Last Orders | Nominated |
2005 | San Diego Film Critics Society | Best Supporting Actor | The Proposition | Won |
2006 | Screen Actors Guild Award
|
Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture | The Departed | Nominated |
References
- ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, July–August–September 1979, volume 39, page 1352
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Ray Winstone Biography". copperlily.com. 28 September 2007. Archived from the original on 29 August 2000.
- ^ a b c d e f Wintle, Angela (11 January 2015). "Time and place: Ray Winstone". thetimes.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021.
- ^ "Culture, Arts and Entertainment". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 6 December 2013.
- ^ a b "Edmonton County former pupils". ecsosa.org.uk. Retrieved 7 February 2005.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Ray Winstone: 'I used to be a raving lunatic'". The Guardian. 2 September 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Ray Winstone". boxrec.com. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
- ^ "Q&A with actor Ray Winstone". Financial Times. 12 May 2017. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
- ^ "Scum – Indicator Blu-Ray Review". 18 June 2019.
- ^ "A gangster king thing". The Independent. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- ^ a b "What a Crazy World". copperlily.com. 1975. Retrieved 23 November 2003.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Ray Winstone Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. "The Proposition Movie Review & Film Summary (2006) – Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com.
- ^ Roger Ebert review, The Departed
- ^ "Ray Winstone interview". 9 February 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ Phillips, Chris (25 June 2022). "Why Ray Winstone will be supporting Ryan Peniston at Wimbledon". Echo. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ "Ray Winstone". IMDb.
- ^ Fleming, Michael (12 September 2008). "Winstone replaces De Niro in 'Edge'". Variety. Retrieved 12 September 2008.
- ^ "Ray Winstone calls Scots 'tramps' on TV quiz show". The Scotsman. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
- ^ "BBC One - Top Gear, Series 8, Episode 8". BBC. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
- ^ "Point Break (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ a b "A gangster king thing". The Independent. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ Moshakis, Alex (25 February 2024). "Ray Winstone: 'I don't wanna talk about acting!'". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ "New home kit revealed The 2009/10 Umbro home strip has been revealed with famous fan Ray Winstone the first to try it on". Whufc.com. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
- ^ "Bankruptcy Order". p. 11720.
- ^ "Bankruptcy Order". p. 5854.
- ^ "Brexit: Actor Ray Winstone warns of 'rebellion'". BBC News. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.