Ray Winstone Recalls Confronting Director Over Alleged On-Set Groping

Actor Ray Winstone has recalled confronting an unnamed director after witnessing the filmmaker allegedly grope a female co-star during a scene.

Speaking to The Times of London, Winstone said he was involved in a scene that required him to pick up the actress when the director stepped in to demonstrate what he wanted. Winstone said the director then touched the actress inappropriately.

“I said, ‘Don’t you dare do that,’” Winstone recalled. He described the incident as an abuse of power and said the actress appeared vulnerable at the time. “Anyway, it was dealt with,” he added, without identifying the director or providing further details.

Winstone said that in the past, inappropriate behavior on film sets was sometimes confronted directly by crew members. He recalled that he and others had taken people aside to warn them to behave, saying that attitudes and workplace practices have since changed.

The actor, 69, is set to return as crime boss Bobby Glass in the second season of Netflix’s “The Gentlemen.” The series has also been renewed for a third season.

Discussing his role, Winstone joked that playing an older character had made him realize he was getting older himself. Asked whether he planned to slow down his career, he replied: “Well, you’ve got to pay the taxman, haven’t you?”