Beloved UK actor Ray Winstone has shared the tale from his Star Wars audition – while he was under the influence of alcohol. The 68 year old star of Sexy Beast had auditioned for the role of Padme Amidala’s (Natalie Portman) father in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, but admits he wasn’t at his best having been “out all night” prior to the audition.
Speaking to Far Out, The Gentlemen star confessed: “It didn’t go well. [I] had words and that was that. I’ve worked for [director] George [Lucas] since, and he was fine. He didn’t remember. Or if he did, he didn’t take it to heart.”
“I was p***** anyway. I’d been out all night, and I turned up, and I knew I was wrong for the part as soon as I walked in, but instead of saying that, he relayed the message to me through someone else, and I took umbrage at that”, reports Birmingham Live.
Winstone admitted he was still feeling the effects from the previous night’s antics, and assumed Lucas “obviously got jet lag” as the director yawned throughout his entire audition.
The Sexy Beast actor then suggested to Lucas: “Why don’t we both have a 15-minute sleep and then I’ll f*** off?”
Despite not securing the role – which eventually went to Graeme Blundell as Padme’s father Ruwee Naberrie – The Sweeney star didn’t feel he had missed out.
He remarked: “That sort of film would bore the a*** off me, all that bluescreen work.”
Star Wars isn’t the only major franchise that Winstone has ties with, as he also appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in 2021’s Black Widow. In the film, Winstone starred alongside Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh and David Harbour, playing the villainous Dreykov, the brains behind the brutal training programme known as the Red Room.
Winstone recently shared his challenges during production when he was called back for additional filming. Speaking at the Sarajevo Film Festival, he said: “I worked with this amazing director, Cate Shortland, and we worked on what my character was going to be.
“He was like a [predator] running around all these girls, and they’d become black widows. We used to get applauded on set. It was probably the best thing I’ve done for a really long time.
“Then I come home after finishing the job and get a call saying we need to do some reshoots. I say, ‘How many scenes?’ [Shortland] says, ‘All of them.'”.
Winstone revealed he then asked for his character to be recast, but he was contractually obligated to return for Black Widow’s additional scenes. He added: “So I said she should recast [the role], but I was contracted, so I had to do it.
“I go back, they do my hair all nice, put me in the suit, and I couldn’t do it. I’d already done it. I thought, ‘I’m not doing it now. I’ve done it. That’s how it’s going to be’.
“That’s rejection, you know? There’s nothing worse than doing something, leaving it on the floor, and then being told it’s not right.”