Ray Winstone recently recalled to The Times of London that he once told off an unnamed director after he saw them “groping” his female co-star.
“I had this director once,” Winstone said. “I was in a scene where I had to pick up this girl, and the director wanted to show me what to do. But he was groping her. That was it. I said, ‘Don’t you dare do that.’ He abused his power, took advantage, and she was a good kid, you know, who seemed a little lost. Anyway, it was dealt with.”
When asked in what matter the situation was “dealt with,” Winstone added, “Well, back in the day, if there was a wrong ’un on set, 99 times out of 100 it was sorted, either by the hairy-arse riggers or sparks. I’ve done it myself too, taken someone to the side to give them a slap or to tell them, in no uncertain terms, to behave. But it’s a different world today.”
Winstone will soon star in Season 2 of “The Gentlemen,” which recently got the green light for its third season on Netflix. In the Guy Ritchie crime drama, Winstone plays kingpin Bobby Glass. Later in his sit-down with The Times, he said the role made him realize he is “getting old.”
“When you’re not the young lead but the old boy, who everyone says they’ve got to look after because he’s getting on a bit,” Winstone said. The Times then asked if he had any plans to slow down his career, and Winstone quipped, “Well, you’ve got to pay the taxman, haven’t you?”