British actor who is best-known for playing the
violent cockney male. He brings to mind
Vinnie Jones and a number of
Guy Ritchie's characters.
Born on February 19th in Hackney, London in 1957 to a family who originally came from Cirencester. At the age of twelve, the young Raymond Andrew Winstone began boxing, a hobby which brought him great success. When he was 18, Ray studied acting at the Corona School.
In 1977, he was chosen by director Alan Clarke to play Carlin in the BBC's Scum. The production was never broadcast in the end, purportedly due to the violent nature of some of the scenes. However, Ray was greatly disillusioned, and turned away from acting for a couple of years. He earned his keep by working as a sales rep, as well as helping out with his parents' fruit and veg stall.
A phone call from a producer regarding making Scum into a commercial film provided the catalyst for a long career of key parts in both television and film.
Nowadays, Ray spends his free time looking after his wife (Elaine) and three daughters and supporting West Ham United. He lives in Roydon in Essex. His favourite pub is The Hop Poles in Enfield, apparently!
In 1997, Winstone came within a hair's breadth of winning the best actor award at Cannes for his portrayal of a wife beater in Gary Oldman's Nil By Mouth. He has recently started a production company, Size Nine with his producer and his agent. Other career highlights include: