Black Widow was “soul-destroying” says Ray Winstone

Originally posted on Men's Journal | By Griff Griffin | Last updated Feb 29, 2024 11:03 AM ET

It’s fair to say Ray Winstone probably won’t appear in another Marvel movie.

The actor, who played the villainous Dreykov in 2021’s Black Widow, detailed his dire experience to Radio Times.

"It was fine until you have to do the reshoots. Then you find out that a few producers have come down, and your performance is too much, it’s too strong…That’s the way Marvel works. It can be soul-destroying because you feel like you’re doing great work."

Marvel’s extensive re-shoots are well-documented, with upcoming Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again production rebooted. For Winstone, though, it was almost too much.

"I actually said, 'You ought to recast it because that was it for me.' And you end up doing it again because you’re contracted to do it. Otherwise you end up in court. It’s like being kicked in the balls."

The actor is slightly more upbeat about his forthcoming role as a cockney drug lord in Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen.

"He’s pretty clear what he wants,” Winstone says of director Ritchie. “Then he changes his mind! He does that all the time, by all accounts. But as long as you’re up to speed and you know what you’re doing, then it’s easy to change. If you ain’t done your homework, then you’re f***ed. Because he’s a very clever boy.”

His other film is Netflix fantasy action movie Damsel, in which he plays Millie Bobby Brown’s father.

Damsel releases 8 March, 2024 on Netflix, while The Gentlemen releases 7 March, 2024 on Netflix.

This article first appeared on Men's Journal and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: