Ray Winstone

Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957)

Besides playing gangster roles, Winstone has also worked in comedy (Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence) and as the romantic lead (Fanny and Elvis). He starred as Henry VIII in the 2003 TV serial of the same name. He has appeared in many TV shows, including Robin of Sherwood (1984 to 1986), The Bill, He first lived in Caistor Park Road, Stratford E15, which had changed from a grammar school to a comprehensive upon his arrival.

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'." His 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 boxer. He was London schoolboy champion at welterweight on three occasions, and fought twice for England.

Deciding to pursue drama, Winstone enrolled at the Corona Stage Academy in Hammersmith, aged about 17. One of his first TV appearances came in the 1976 "Loving Arms" episode of the popular police series The Sweeney, where he was credited as "Raymond Winstone" (as he was in What a Crazy World

After a short run in the TV series Fox (1980), he scored a role in Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1982),

A complete change of pace for Winstone occurred when he provided the voice for the cheeky-chappy Mr. Beaver in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, also in 2005. Winstone appeared in Martin Scorsese's 2006 film The Departed as Mr. French, an enforcer to Jack Nicholson's Irish mob boss. Critic Roger Ebert singled out Winstone for praise among the ensemble cast of The Departed, writing that the actor "invests every line with the authority of God dictating to Moses". He provided motion capture movements and voice-over work for the title character in the Robert Zemeckis' film Beowulf. He then co-starred in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which was released on 22 May 2008. He returned to television drama in The Changeling-inspired Compulsion, originally shown in May 2009. Since 2009, Winstone has fronted the advertising for betting firm Bet365. He also co-founded a sports-management business, Integral Sports Management, in 2020.

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 Tracker with Temuera Morrison He had a role as CIA agent Darius Jedburgh in the Edge of Darkness remake, replacing Robert De Niro. Winstone starred in British independent film The Hot Potato in 2011, and the following year in a big-screen remake of popular 1970s show The Sweeney (2012). 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.

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, 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. In 2025, Winstone was honoured with Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award at the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival.

Personal life Winstone met his wife, Elaine McCausland, while filming That Summer in 1979. Winstone lives with his wife in Roydon, Essex. Winstone was declared bankrupt on 4 October 1988, and again on 19 March 1993.

In 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."

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1979 That Summer Steve Brodie Scum Carlin Quadrophenia Kevin Herriot 1981 Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains Billy 1989 Tank Malling John 'Tank' Malling 1994 Ladybird, Ladybird Simon 1997 Nil by Mouth Ray Face Dave 1998 Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence Pederesen Final Cut Ray Brand New World Colonel 1999 Darkness Falls John Barrett The War Zone Dad 2000 There's Only One Jimmy Grimble Harry Sexy Beast Gary 'Gal' Dove Love, Honour and Obey Ray Kreed 2001 Last Orders Vince Dodds The Martins Mr. Marvel 2002 Ripley's Game Reeves 2003 Cold Mountain Teague 2004 Everything Richard King Arthur Bors 2005 The Proposition Captain Stanley The Magic Roundabout Soldier Sam Voice role The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Mr. Beaver Voice role 2006 The Departed Arnold French Breaking and Entering Bruno Fella 2007 Beowulf Beowulf/Dragon Voice; motion capture 2008 Fool's Gold Moe Fitch Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull George 'Mac' McHale Compulsion Don Flowers 2009 The Devil's Tomb Blakely Direct-to-Video 44 Inch Chest Colin Diamond Fathers of Girls Frank Horner 2010 Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll William DuryPercy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Ares Uncredited Edge of Darkness Captain Darius Jedburgh 13 Ronald Lynn London Boulevard Rob Gant Tracker Arjan Van Diemen 2011 Rango Bad Bill Voice role Hugo Uncle Claude The Hot Potato Kenny Smith 2012 Elfie Hopkins Butcher Bryn Snow White and the Huntsman Gort The Sweeney Jack Regan Ashes Frank 2014 Noah Tubal-cain 2015 The Gunman Stanley The Legend of Barney Thomson Holdall Point Break FBI Agent Angelo Pappas Zipper Nigel Coaker 2017 Jawbone William Carney 2018 King of Thieves Danny Jones 2019 The Queen's Corgi Tyson Voice role Cats Growltiger 2021 (K)nox: The Rob Knox Story Himself Interviewee Black Widow Dreykov 2022 Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher Bill WarrPuss in Boots: The Last Wish Papa Bear Voice role 2024 Damsel Lord Bayford 2027 Going Under Riley Post-production TBA Yeti Filming

Television Year Title Role Notes 1976 The Sweeney 2nd Youth 1 episode 1977 Scum Carlin Unscreened Play for Today 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 episodes Ever Decreasing Circles Harold 1 episode1987 Boon Billy 1 episodes Father Matthew's Daughter Father Charlie 6 episodes Pulaski DS Ford 2 episodes1990 Birds of a Feather Malcolm/ Prison Warder 2 episodes Home to Roost Bill Bateman 1 episodes 1991 Palmer Eddie Palmer Television film 1992 Between the Lines Sgt. Godley 1 episodes 1992–1993 Get Back Martin Sweet Main role, 15 episodes 1994 Murder Most Horrid Terry 1 episodes1995 The Ghostbusters of East Finchley Thane 6 episodes Kavanagh QC CPO Evans 1 episodes 1996 One Foot in the Grave Vagrant / Millichope 1 episodes1999 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 episodes 2003 Henry VIII King Henry VIII 2 episodes 2004 She's Gone Harry Sands Television film 2005–2006 Vincent Vincent Gallagher Main role, 8 episodes2006 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 2020 Ray Winstone in Sicily Himself Travel mini-series 2024 The Gentlemen Bobby Glass 4 episode 2022–present West Ham United F.C. West Ham Legend Voice at Stadium

Video games Year Title Role Notes 2007 Beowulf: The Game Beowulf 2011 Killzone 3 Admiral Orlock Also motion capture performance

Awards and nominations Year Association Category Project Notes1979 BAFTA Award Best Newcomer That Summer 1997 BAFTA Award Best Actor in a Leading RoleNil by Mouth British Independent Film Award Best Actor 1999 British Independent Film Award Best ActorThe War Zone European Film Award Best Actor 2001 British Independent Film Award Best Actor Last Orders 2005 San Diego Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actor The Proposition 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture The Departed