Ray Winstone facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ray Winstone
Ray Winstone in 2014
Born	Raymond Andrew Winstone (1957-02-19) 19 February 1957 (age 68) Homerton, London, England
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 a famous English actor. He has worked in TV, theatre, and movies for over 40 years. Ray Winstone is known for playing strong, tough characters, often speaking with his unique London accent.

He has worked with famous directors like Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. His first big role was in That Summer! (1979). For this movie, he was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer. BAFTA Awards are like the British Oscars for film and TV. He became even more famous playing Will Scarlet in the TV series Robin of Sherwood from 1984 to 1986.

Ray Winstone was also nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his acting in Nil by Mouth (1997). Some of his other well-known films include Scum (1979), Quadrophenia (1979), Cold Mountain (2003), King Arthur (2004), The Departed (2006), Beowulf (2007), and Black Widow (2021).

Early Life and Education

Ray Winstone was born on 19 February 1957 in Hackney Hospital, London. He first lived in Plaistow and later moved to Enfield when he was seven. He grew up on a council estate. His father, Raymond J. Winstone, ran a fruit and vegetable business. His mother, Margaret, worked emptying fruit machines.

As a child, Winstone played with friends in areas with rubble from Second World War bombs. He went to Brimsdown Primary School and then Edmonton County School. He also attended Corona Theatre School. He didn't enjoy school much and left with just one drama qualification.

Discovering Acting

Ray Winstone loved acting from a young age. His father would take him to the cinema every Wednesday. He was inspired by actors like Albert Finney, John Wayne, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson.

He borrowed money for acting lessons from a friend's mother. He then appeared on stage as a newspaper seller in Emil and the Detectives. One of his first TV appearances was in the police series The Sweeney in 1976.

Boxing Career

Winstone was also a big fan of boxing. His friends called him Winnie, and at home, he was called Little Sugs. This was because his father was known as Sugar, after boxer Sugar Ray Robinson.

At age 12, Winstone joined the Repton Amateur Boxing Club. Over the next 10 years, he won 80 out of 88 fights. He was the London schoolboy champion three times. He also fought for England twice. He later said that boxing helped him with acting. "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," he explained.

Starting His Acting Journey

Winstone decided to become an actor and joined the Corona Stage Academy in Hammersmith when he was about 17. It was quite expensive at £900 a term. He got his first major role in What a Crazy World at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.

He wasn't very popular with the teachers at his secondary school. When he found out he was the only student not invited to the Christmas party, he played a prank on his headmistress's car, which led to him being asked to leave school. As a joke, he went to the BBC and got an audition. This audition was for a play called Scum. The director, Alan Clarke, liked Winstone's confident walk, so he got the part.

The play Scum was a tough story about young people in a special institution. Winstone played the main character, Carlin. He was a young person who struggled against both the staff and other young people to become the leader. The play was very intense and showed the struggles of the characters. It was considered too intense for TV at first, but was later shown and also made into a movie in 1979. Winstone has said that Alan Clarke was a big influence on his career.

Even though Winstone has played many tough characters like in Scum, he has also taken on many different types of roles. These include comedies like Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence and romantic parts in Fanny and Elvis. His favorite role was playing King Henry VIII in the 2003 TV series. He said, "It's really flattering for me to be asked to play a king. I mean, I'm a kid out of Plaistow, and I'm playing one of the most famous kings of England. It's fantastic!"

Acting Career Highlights

Early TV and Film Roles (1970s-1980s)

After appearing in the TV series Fox (1980) and the movie Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1982), Winstone got a big break. He was cast as Will Scarlet in Robin of Sherwood (1984). He became very popular in this role. He even thought of Scarlet as "the first football hooligan".

Over the years, he appeared in many TV shows. These include The Sweeney, The Bill, Boon, One Foot in the Grave, and Birds of a Feather. He also acted in theatre plays like Hinkemann in 1988.

Rising to Fame (1990s-Early 2000s)

In the 1990s, Ray Winstone's career really took off. He starred in Gary Oldman's drama Nil By Mouth (1997). His performance earned him a BAFTA nomination. He continued to play "tough guy" roles in movies like Face and The War Zone. But he also showed his softer side in romantic comedies.

In 2001, Winstone starred in ... Beast. He played "Gal" Dove, a retired thief who is pulled back into the criminal world. This role brought him to the attention of the American film industry. He also acted in theatre, including To the Green Fields Beyond (2000) and The Night Heron (2002).

He appeared in Last Orders (2001) with famous actors like Michael Caine and Helen Mirren. Next, he played a gangster again in Ripley's Game (2002). Then, he was chosen by director Anthony Minghella to play Teague in the American Civil War drama Cold Mountain (2003).

International Recognition (2004-2012)

Ray Winstone in 2006

Around this time, Winstone started his own production companies. He made his action film debut in King Arthur (2004), alongside Clive Owen. The director, Antoine Fuqua, called him "the British De Niro". Winstone also voiced Soldier Sam in The Magic Roundabout.

In 2005, he starred in the ITV drama Vincent as a private detective. He won an International Emmy for this role. He also played a 19th-century English policeman in the Australian film The Proposition. In 2006, a famous American critic, Roger Ebert, called Winstone "one of the best actors now at work in movies."

Winstone also voiced Mr. Beaver in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005). He appeared in Martin Scorsese's 2006 film The Departed as Mr. French, an enforcer for an Irish mob boss. He also provided the voice and movements for the main character in the film Beowulf.

He co-starred in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which came out in 2008. Since 2009, Winstone has been in advertisements for the betting company Bet365. He also started a sports management business in 2020.

Winstone has worked in big Hollywood movies and smaller, independent films. In 2010, he played a CIA agent in Edge of Darkness. He also starred in the British independent film The Hot Potato (2011) and a movie remake of the 1970s TV show The Sweeney (2012).

Recent Work (2013-Present)

In 2015, Ray Winstone played an ex-criminal named Jimmy Rose in the ITV drama The Trials of Jimmy Rose. He also appeared in the films The Gunman and Point Break that same year.

In 2017, he starred in the British independent film Jawbone. In 2019, Winstone voiced a character in The Queen's Corgi and appeared in Cats. He then starred in Marvel's Black Widow in 2021. More recently, he has been appearing on Netflix in Guy Ritchie's series, The Gentlemen.

Legacy

Ray Winstone is known as one of the UK's most important actors for playing tough characters. The Guardian newspaper has said that he "plays troubled hard men with such conviction, it's easy to believe he's not acting." They also called him "the East End's answer to George Clooney."

Personal Life

Ray Winstone met his wife, Elaine McCausland, while filming That Summer in 1979. They have three daughters. His two older daughters, Lois and Jaime, are also actresses. Ray Winstone lives with his wife in Roydon, Essex.

He is a big fan of West Ham United, a football club. He even helped promote their home kit in 2009.

Filmography (selected)

Film

Television

Video Games

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Ray Winstone para niños