Ray Winstone is an excellent British actor who tends to play working-class London psychotics. Even when he's the good guy - he was Will Scarlet in a long-running Robin Hood TV show here, and portrayed a hero journalist in Tank Mailing - he's usually fucking terrifying. Only once in (my) recent memory has he played against type in film, as the scared safecracker in Sexy Beast. See, everyone first saw Ray Winstone as a teenager whipping other kids to death with a pool ball in a sock, screaming WHO'S THE DADDY NOW? WHO'S THE FUCKING DADDY NOW? I'M THE DADDY NOW! He's a force of nature, a thing driven by beer and cigarettes and kicking fucking heads in. He's got a chubby face and little boy's eyes that, in the moment, go black and dead like shark's eyes. Reduces London English to a series of grunts and yelps. He is, in fact, The Greatest Living Londoner.
—Warren Ellis, preface to Switchblade Honey
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Born in 1957 in Hackney, London, Ray Winstone has been acting since 1957.
You'll recognise him when you hear him, usually. He is usually found playing Cockneys and does a good London Gangster. However, don't let that fool you. He's a terrific actor who can definitely go outside his usual type.
Has three kids and is a big West Ham supporter.
A former boxer, and reputedly a rather good one, and therefore inherently Badass. Roger Ebert is also quite a big Ray Winstone Fan Boy.
His notable roles:[]
- Scum as Carlin and the source of the above mentioned "WHO'S THE DADDY NOW? WHO'S THE FUCKING DADDY NOW? I'M THE DADDY NOW!"
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
- Beowulf (2007) as Beowulf.
- The Departed.
- The 2006 BBC (non-musical) take on Sweeney Todd, the titular role.
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as Mr. Beaver.
- A 2003 drama about Henry VIII. Guess what role he played.
- That's right, a Cockney Henry VIII.
- Robin of Sherwood as Will Scarlet.
- The Proposition, a good Australian Western film.
- Sexy Beast, in which he had the rare distinction of being terrorised by
GandhiBen Kingsley, who also played the title character in the biopic Gandhi. - Nil by Mouth as Ray.
- Quadrophenia as Kevin, the Rocker.
- Killzone 3 as Admiral Orlock.