Ray Winstone facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ray Winstone
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Winstone in 2014
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| Born |
Raymond Andrew Winstone
19 February 1957 Homerton, London, England
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| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Elaine McCausland
(m. 1979) |
| Children | 3, including Jaime and Lois |
Raymond Andrew Winstone (born 19 February 1957) is an English actor who has appeared in movies and television shows for five decades. He is famous for playing "hard man" or tough-guy characters, often with his well-known London accent. He has worked with famous directors like Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg.
Winstone is known for more than just tough-guy roles. He has also acted in comedies like Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence and played the lead romantic character in Fanny and Elvis. He famously played King Henry VIII in a 2003 TV series. He has also appeared in many popular TV shows, including Robin of Sherwood, The Bill, and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.
He has starred in many famous films, including Quadrophenia (1979), Cold Mountain (2003), King Arthur (2004), and The Departed (2006). Younger audiences might know him from Beowulf (2007), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), Black Widow (2021), and Damsel (2024).
Contents
Early Life and Boxing Career
Ray Winstone was born in Hackney Hospital, London. His mother, Margaret, worked with fruit machines, and his father, Raymond, ran a fruit-and-vegetable business. When he was a child, he and his friends would play on bomb sites, which were empty lots left over from World War II.
Winstone loved acting from a young age. His father took him to the movies every Wednesday. He was inspired by actors like Albert Finney, John Wayne, and James Cagney. He decided he wanted to be an actor after seeing Finney in the film Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.
A Talented Boxer
Besides acting, Winstone was a skilled boxer. At age 12, he joined the Repton Amateur Boxing Club. Over the next ten years, he fought in 88 matches and won 80 of them. He was the London schoolboy champion three times.
This experience helped him in his acting career. He once said, "If you can get in a ring with 2,000 people watching and be smacked around by another guy, then walking onstage isn't hard."
After his boxing years, he decided to focus on drama and enrolled in the Corona Stage Academy to study acting.
Acting Career
Winstone's career is filled with memorable roles in both British and American films and television shows.
Early Roles and Breakthrough
One of Winstone's first TV appearances was in a 1976 episode of the police series The Sweeney. His big break came in 1979 with the film Scum. In the film, he played Carlin, a young man in a tough institution who has to fight to survive. The role showed off his talent for playing strong, determined characters.
In the 1980s, he played Will Scarlet in the popular TV series Robin of Sherwood from 1984 to 1986. He also appeared in the film Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1982).
Becoming a Star
In 1997, Winstone starred in the drama Nil by Mouth, directed by his friend Gary Oldman. His performance earned him a nomination for a BAFTA award, a major British film award.
In 2001, he starred in ... Beast, which brought him international fame. He played a retired thief who is pulled back into a life of crime. He also appeared in Last Orders (2001) with famous actors like Michael Caine and Helen Mirren. In 2003, he played a villain in the American Civil War movie Cold Mountain.
Hollywood Success
By the mid-2000s, Winstone was a well-known star. He played one of King Arthur's knights, Bors, in King Arthur. He also did voice acting, playing Mr. Beaver in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005).
In 2006, he worked with director Martin Scorsese in the hit film The Departed, playing an enforcer for a mob boss played by Jack Nicholson. In 2007, he voiced the main character in the animated film Beowulf. The next year, he played the character "Mac" in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).
Recent Work
Winstone has continued to work in a mix of big Hollywood movies and smaller British films. He appeared in the superhero movie Black Widow as the villain Dreykov. In 2024, he played Lord Bayford in the Netflix movie Damsel.
He also returned to television in the 2024 Netflix series The Gentlemen, playing a powerful crime boss.
Personal Life
Winstone met his wife, Elaine McCausland, in 1979. They have three daughters. Two of them, Lois and Jaime, are also actresses. He lives with his family in Roydon, Essex.
He is a big fan of the West Ham United football club.
In 2019, Winstone shared his opinion on Brexit, the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union. He said that since the country voted to leave, that decision should be respected as part of a democracy.
Selected Filmography
Winstone has appeared in over 100 films and television shows. Here are some of his most notable roles.
Film
- Scum (1979) - Carlin
- Quadrophenia (1979) - Kevin Herriot
- Nil by Mouth (1997) - Ray
- ... Beast (2000) - Gary 'Gal' Dove
- Last Orders (2001) - Vince Dodds
- Cold Mountain (2003) - Teague
- King Arthur (2004) - Bors
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) - Mr. Beaver (voice)
- The Departed (2006) - Arnold French
- Beowulf (2007) - Beowulf (voice and motion capture)
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) - George 'Mac' McHale
- Hugo (2011) - Uncle Claude
- Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) - Gort
- Noah (2014) - Tubal-cain
- Black Widow (2021) - Dreykov
- Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) - Papa Bear (voice)
- Damsel (2024) - Lord Bayford
Television
- Robin of Sherwood (1984–1986) - Will Scarlet
- Henry VIII (2003) - King Henry VIII
- Vincent (2005–2006) - Vincent Gallagher
- Ben Hur (2010) - Quintus Arrius
- Great Expectations (2011) - Abel Magwitch
- The Gentlemen (2024) - Bobby Glass
See also
In Spanish: Ray Winstone para niños
