Ray Winstone was “supposed” to be in Guy Ritchie’s first movie

Long before his time as Bobby Glass on Netflix’s The Gentlemen, British titan Ray Winstone was “supposed” to star in Guy Ritchie’s first movie.

When you think of British hardmen in cinema, one of the first names that’s likely to spring to mind is Ray Winstone. Known for performances in Nil By Mouth, Sexy Beast, and Beowulf, he’s just as much of a character offscreen as he is on camera.

Now Winstone has joined forces with acclaimed action director Guy Ritchie, starring as patriarch-turned-drug lord Bobby Glass in Netflix‘s latest series The Gentlemen.

However, the pair were initially supposed to team up much earlier on in their careers, with Winstone initially tipped for a pivotal role in Ritchie’s first film.

Ray Winstone was “supposed” to be in Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock

According to fellow The Gentlemen cast member Vinnie Jones, Ray Wintones was originally supposed to appear in Guy Ritchie’s first movie, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Released in 1998, the comedy-crime drama follows four friends who end up losing money to a gangster in a card game and are forced to choose a shady path to clear the debt and save themselves.

The cast stars Jason Flemyng, Jason Statham, and Dexter Fletcher – alongside fellow The Gentlemen cast member, Vinnie Jones.

“Ray [Winstone] was supposed to be in Lock, Stock, and then they pulled out P. H. Moriarty instead because a lot of them [cast] dropped off,” Jones exclusively told Dexerto.

Moriarty played the role of “Hatchet” Harry Lonsdale, a renowned violent crime boss with a penchant for dishing out punishment in a rather unique way.

It’s unclear why Ray Winstone didn’t star in the Guy Ritchie film, though the actor has previously spoken out about the years-long feud between them.

“The film got put back and I went and done something else,” Winstone told What to Watch, “and then me and him fell out. I weren’t talking to him and he weren’t talking to me, I didn’t particularly like him to be honest with you!”

Though Netflix‘s The Gentlemen is their first official collaboration, fellow cast member Vinnie Jones is considered a veteran of Ritchie’s projects.

“They had the [Lock, Stock] cast together. The money fell out of bed. I mean, that was the first ever film we did. That’s where the closeness comes from,” Jones told Dexerto. “Guy ran around with that script for a couple of years until he met Matthew Vaughn. It was made for 700 grand, all in. That’s including the music and everything. And now look what’s it created.”

The Gentlemen is streaming on Netflix now. You can check out our review, our breakdown of the cast, and find out what other TV shows you should be streaming in March.