Ray Winstone is opening up about the moment he drew a line on set. The “Sexy Beast” star told The Times of London that he once confronted an unnamed director he says was “groping” his female co-star during a scene.
“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.‘”
Winstone said the director had “abused his power, took advantage, and she was a good kid, you know, who seemed a little lost.” Asked how the situation was “dealt with,” he described an older-school Hollywood in which problems got sorted out informally.
“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.”
“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,” Winstone said. “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.”
The anecdote arrives as Winstone returns to screens in Season 2 of “The Gentlemen,” the Guy Ritchie crime drama where he plays kingpin Bobby Glass. The show recently got the green light for a third season on Netflix. During the interview, Winstone admitted the role made him realize he is “getting old,” and quipped that he has no plans to slow down: “Well, you’ve got to pay the taxman, haven’t you?”
Why It Matters
Winstone’s recollection is a blunt reminder of the on-set power dynamics that predate today’s accountability rules — and of the working actors who quietly pushed back before formal protocols existed. It lands as Hollywood is still wrestling with how to keep sets safe and respectful, and Winstone’s plain-spoken version of “it was dealt with” offers a candid look at how that used to work. With “The Gentlemen” locked in for a third season, he’s showing no signs of hanging up his hat.
