Ray Winstone has said that he wants to retire overseas – and revealed what is holding him back from doing so.
The British actor, whose credits include Nil By Mouth, Sexy Beast and The Departed, has been spending more time residing in his Sicilian villa, which he shares with his wife Elaine.
However, despite the 68-year-old wanting “to rest in the sun”, he won’t fully move to Italy as his three daughters and their children live in the UK.
“I’m backwards and forwards from here to Sicily,” he told The Daily Star, but added: “My family is here in England; my kids are here. But when we get a chance me and Elaine have a little scoot.”
He continued: “I want to rest in the sun – I’m getting old, ain’t I.”
Winstone, who also stars in Netflix series The Gentlemen, married Elaine in 1979, and their children include daughters Lois, 43, Jaime, 40, and Ellie Rae, 24 – all of whom have followed their father into the acting profession.
While Winstone desires a life away from the world of film and television as he approaches 70, the actor said he still gets tempted by a good script.
“Good scripts come along very rarely, with good dialogue and good stories,” he said. “Sometimes you have to do a job to pay the rent. It’s part and parcel of it; the taxman needs to be paid, but there you go.”
Winstone continued: “I’ve read three really good ones lately and if they come off I’ll be very happy.”
He will reprise his role of gangster boss Bobby Glass in season two of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix hit The Gentlemen.
The crime drama, based on the director’s 2019 film of the same name (dubbed as a mashup between Downton Abbey and Peaky Blinders), became one of the streaming service’s biggest hits when it was released in 2024. It also stars Theo James and Kaya Scodelario.
In the series, James and Scodelario play Eddie Halstead and Susie Glass, who are thrust together after James inherits land that’s been co-opted by a weed-growing empire run by Susie’s father, Bobby Glass. Susie is the de facto head of the syndicate while Bobby is in prison.
New cast additions for season two were recently announced, with Love Island host Maya Jama revealed to be joining the show in an undisclosed role.
