Ray Winstone says he acts in projects he doesn’t like in order “to pay the rent”

Actor Ray Winstone has said he sometimes stars in films he doesn’t “want to do” so he can “pay the rent”.

In a new interview with The Guardian, the 67-year-old spoke about his life and career and admitted that sometimes, he did films he didn’t necessarily want to do.

He explained: “You go have fun for six weeks, see how it turns out,” he said, referring to the filming process. “If it turns out great, it’s a plus. If it don’t, it don’t. But you’ve had a great six weeks.

“You do do films you don’t want to do,” he added. “But you’ve got to do them because you haven’t worked in a little while and you’ve got to pay the rent.”

The actor is best known for his work in projects including Sexy Beast, The Departed, King Arthur and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

His upcoming film Damsel is released on Netflix on March 8 and soon, he’s due to star in The Gentlemen, a new Netflix series from Guy Ritchie out on on March 7.

The trailer for the new Ritchie series arrived earlier this year and will introduce audiences “to a new slice of the world initially brought to life in Ritchie’s 2020 film of the same name,” according to a description from Netflix.

A synopsis added: “While the characters in the upcoming TV show will be totally different from the movie, The Gentlemen will have all the same bite — along with a bunch of fresh tricks up its well-tailored sleeve, as the new teaser trailer reveals.”

Describing the plot, Netflix continued: “The White Lotus star Theo James leads The Gentlemen as the Duke of Halstead, Eddie Horniman, the estranged son of an English aristocrat who finds himself embroiled in a world of criminality — specifically career criminal Bobby Glass’ (Ray Winstone) industrial cannabis empire on the East End of London.

“Crawl’s Kaya Scodelario stars as Susie Glass, Bobby’s effortlessly fashionable and ruthless daughter who handles the day-to-day business of the drug operation.”

Ritchie is at the helm of the action drama as creator, co-writer, executive producer, and director of the first two episodes.

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