The two directors Ray Winstone called “genius”
Actors often take an unconventional route into the industry, stumbling into the limelight and proving themselves to be extraordinary talents. After pursuing boxing as a teenager, Ray Winstone started to take an interest in acting, deciding to impulsively show up for an audition that his friends were attending and charming his way in. Before he knew it, he’d landed his first prominent acting job.
Winstone had been given the lead role in Alan Clarke’s Scum, a Play for Today episode that proved to be highly controversial. Incredibly violent and disturbing, the television play was a brutal look at the borstal system, which was in desperate need of reform. Due to its unforgiving nature, Scum was banned, potentially leaving Winstone in the lurch. He’s just delivered an incredible performance, and now no one was going to see it.
Luckily, Clarke remade Scum for theatrical release, turning it into a feature-length film. Winstone reprised his role and earned significant acclaim, setting him on a path to stardom. The original Scum was finally released in 1991, but by then, the actor had already landed more roles in movies like Quadrophenia, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains and appeared in various television shows.
It wasn’t until the late 1990s that he firmly established himself. He appeared in intense dramas like Nil By Mouth and The War Zone before rising to further prominence in Sexy Beast. Since then, he’s frequently worked in Hollywood, collaborating with directors like Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg.
He’s also been lucky enough to work with one of the two filmmakers he called “genius”. In 2007, he appeared in Beowulf, an animated movie based on the classic tale, playing the main role. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, known for helming Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, and The Polar Express. Winstone was incredibly impressed by the director, telling Black Film that when he saw Beowulf, his “jaw hit the floor”. He was so impressed that he added, “I mean, I’m working with Robert Zemeckis, and he’s a genius, but even I don’t think he meant for it to look like that.”
Zemeckis started his career in the 1970s, making his directorial debut in 1978 with I Wanna Hold Your Hand before writing 1941 for Spielberg. He’s had an incredibly successful career, proving himself capable of making family-friendly classics, which Winstone is evidently a fan of – even if his career largely playing tough guys wouldn’t initially suggest so.
Another filmmaker Winstone considers a “genius” is Sergio Leone, the Italian auteur best known for directing the Dollars trilogy starring Clint Eastwood. He was one of the most accomplished directors in the western genre, but he didn’t limit himself to it—one of his most acclaimed works is Once Upon A Time in America, a crime drama. The movie is one of Winstone’s favourites, and he once called it “a bit of genius film-making.” He continued, “That’s a film I can watch all night long. And I think it is four hours long, or something like that. It’s just a wonderful film to watch.”
Leone died in 1989 before Winstone’s Hollywood career took off. It’s a shame that Winstone never got the chance to work with Leone because the actor would’ve surely fit right into one of his spectacular crime dramas.
