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Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) 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 known for his "hard man" roles, usually delivered in his distinctive London accent.
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, Boon, Ever Decreasing Circles, One Foot in the Grave, Home To Roost, Birds of a Feather, Kavanagh QC, and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.
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), and 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).
Winstone has recounted how, as a child, he used to play with his friends on bomb sites (empty plots of land with rubble from Second World War bombs). He joined Brimsdown and in 1968, enrolled to Edmonton County School, which had changed from a grammar school to a comprehensive upon his arrival. He also attended Corona Theatre School. He did not take to school, eventually leaving with a single CSE (grade 2) in drama.
He recounted an early encounter with a notorious gangster:
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. Known to his friends as Winnie, he was called Little Sugs at home (his father already being known as Sugar, after Sugar Ray Robinson). At the age of 12, Winstone joined the Repton Amateur Boxing Club. Over the next 10 years, he won 80 out of 88 bouts. He was London schoolboy champion at welterweight on three occasions, and fought twice for England. The experience gave him a perspective on his later career: "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."
Deciding to pursue drama, Winstone enrolled at the Corona Stage Academy in Hammersmith, when he was aged "about 17". At Pound sterling900 a term, it was expensive considering the average wage was then about £36 a week. He was ultimately expelled for vandalising the head's car.
Winstone auditioned for Alan Clarke's BBC play Scum (1979). Because Clarke liked Winstone's cocky, aggressive boxer's walk, he got the part, though it had been written for a Glasgow dialect. The play, written by Roy Minton and directed by Clarke, was a brutal depiction of a young offender's institution. Winstone was cast in the leading role of Carlin, a young offender who struggles against both his captors and his fellow cons to become the "Daddy" of the institution. Hard hitting and often violent, the play was judged unsuitable for broadcast by the BBC, and was not shown until 1991. The banned television play was entirely refilmed in 1979 for cinematic release with many of the original actors playing the same roles, including Winstone. In a commentary for the Scum DVD, Winstone cites Clarke as a major influence on his career and laments the director's death in 1990 from cancer.
After a short run in the TV series Fox (1980), and a role in Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1982), 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. He again teamed up with Jason Connery in a film which also featured Amanda Donohoe and Maria Whittaker, in Tank Malling (1984).
In 2000, Winstone starred alongside Jude Law in Love, Honour and Obey. He then played lead role in Sexy Beast (2001), which earned him great acclaim from UK and international audiences and brought him to the attention of the American film industry. Winstone plays "Gal" Dove, a retired and happily married former thief dragged back into London's underworld by a psychopathic former associate (Ben Kingsley, who received an Academy Awards nomination for his performance). In 2000, he starred in To the Green Fields Beyond at the Donmar Warehouse and directed by Sam Mendes. In 2002, he performed at the Royal Court as Griffin in The Night Heron. Two years later, he joined Kevin Spacey for 24 Hour Plays at the Old Vic, a series of productions that were written, rehearsed, and performed in a single day.
After a brief role alongside Burke again in the tragicomedy The Martins (2001), he appeared in Last Orders (2001), where he starred alongside Michael Caine, Helen Mirren, David Hemmings, and Tom Courtenay. Next, Winstone got a prime part in Ripley's Game (2002), the semisequel 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).
According to actor Dominic West, Ray Winstone was the original choice to play the now iconic role of "Jimmy McNulty" in the HBO series The Wire (2002). West stated Winstone turned down the role because he did not want to live in Baltimore, Maryland, and the role subsequently went to West.
A complete change of pace for Winstone occurred when he provided the voice for the cheeky-chappy Mr. Beaver in , also in 2005. Winstone appeared in Martin Scorsese's 2006 film The Departed as Mr. French, an Mob 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". Roger Ebert review, The Departed 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 starred in The Gunman with Sean Penn; the film was a box-office failure. That same year, Winstone also featured in remake Point Break, a relative box-office success, though critically panned. 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. He appeared as career criminal Bobby Glass in Guy Ritchie's eight-part series The Gentlemen, which debuted on Netflix in March 2024.
He is a fan of West Ham United and promoted their 2009 home kit.
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."
| 1979 | 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 | |
| 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 Dury | |
| Ares | Uncredited | ||
| Edge of Darkness | Captain Darius Jedburgh | ||
| 13 | Ronald Lynn | ||
| London Boulevard | 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 | Himself | Interviewee | |
| Black Widow | Dreykov | ||
| 2022 | Bill Warr | ||
| Papa Bear | Voice role | ||
| 2024 | Damsel | Lord Bayford | |
| A Bit of Light | Alan |
| 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 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 | |
| 1991 | Palmer | Eddie Palmer | Television film |
| 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 |
| 2020 | Ray Winstone in Sicily | Himself | Travel mini-series |
| 2024 | The Gentlemen | Bobby Glass |
| 2007 | Beowulf | ||
| 2011 | Killzone 3 | Admiral Orlock | Also motion capture performance |
| 1979 | BAFTA Award | Best Newcomer | That Summer | |
| 1997 | BAFTA Award | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Nil by Mouth | |
| British Independent Film Award | Best Actor | |||
| 1999 | British Independent Film Award | Best Actor | The 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 | |
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