There are those actors that you recognize when they come on screen and can’t help but like even if they play some of the worst characters ever. Ray Winstone is someone that you might actually be terrified of in real life thanks to his gruff voice and manner, but it sounds as though this is only half of his persona since in real life he sounds like a decent person that is capable of turning on the gruffness whenever he wants. That being said he’s still one of those folks that seems to sit in the wings until his services are needed and it’s time to hurt someone or simply let him loose. In many ways he’s the kind of actor that seems typecast an awful lot, though it’s been attempted to break him out of such roles a time or two. Somehow though it always seems to come back to the fact that this is simply where he tends to excel the most.
Here are a few things about Ray that you might not have known.
10. Ray got into boxing at the age of 12.
He became an avid boxer when he was younger and was rather successful throughout his ten-year career, taking a on a great number of opponents and defeating many of them in an attempt to keep climbing the ranks. Eventually he did get out, but the sport did teach him a few things.
9. He’s been cast as the tough guy in a lot of films.
This seems to be his niche since this is almost always where you’ll find him in a movie. There have been a few exceptions but those haven’t exactly been the best examples of what he can do and have made him look a bit foolish and kind of campy, like he did in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
8. If you recall, he voiced the titular character in Beowulf.
Even Ray found this kind of amusing since by the standards of the mythical character he’s nowhere close to the same stature. But his voice, gruff and commanding, was a perfect fit for the huge, bulging warrior that many have read about at one point or another during their school years.
7. He’s declared bankruptcy twice.
Just at a glance there’s not a lot of detail as to why he had to file for bankruptcy twice, but neither time seems to have stopped him from moving forward as he’s taken it in stride as much as he can and gets back on his feet eventually. This kind of argues the point as to what celebrities spend their money on that allows them to go broke.
6. Ray was offered a part in The Wire but turned it down.
Considering that the filming was being done in Baltimore he didn’t want to leave his family for that long of a time. One thing you can honestly say about him is that he’s a family man and doesn’t like spending too much time away from them.
5. In his view if you can get into a ring and get smacked around by another guy then acting is easy.
That makes a lot of sense when you think about it, as taking a loss, a REAL loss, in front of thousands of people has to be kind of humiliating, while even winning can be kind of a humbling experience. After that, getting up in front of a crowd of people seems like it would be simple.
4. He’s been added to the upcoming Black Widow movie.
As Mike Sprague of MovieWeb has stated there’s no real word on just which character Ray will be playing, but given the fact that it’s the Black Widow movie it’s likely going to be someone tough, very gruff in their manner, and who doesn’t take a lot of nonsense from anyone. That’s just Ray’s character in the movies and it works.
3. His net worth is around $5 million.
For a guy that’s gone bankrupt twice in the past this is kind of impressive since one would almost think that your financial future wouldn’t exist after having gone through that kind of financial struggle. But thankfully his acting has allowed him and his family to continue to live a good and fruitful life.
2. Ray is currently in his 60s.
He’s not the young man he was when he started out performing in plays to entertain those that wanted to come watch, but as an older man he is still one of the more entertaining personalities within the business and he almost always delivers when it comes to his roles, which seem tailored just for him.
1. He’s not all that active on social media.
Just from a casual glance it would appear that Ray isn’t really big on social media and doesn’t intend to be since his following is almost non-existent. His daughter’s on the other hand is at least noticeable.
This is the kind of guy that you either hate during a movie or can’t help but respect.
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