![\"Ray](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Ray-Winstone-Actor-2011-Far-Out-Magazine-F-1140x855.jpg\")
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Credit: Far Out \/ YouTube Still<\/p>\n
Mon 13 July 2026 11:28, UK <\/p>\n
A breakthrough role, a star-making performance, and a career-changing part don\u2019t have to be mutually exclusive, with Ray Winstone<\/a> finding that out first-hand when the latter came his way almost two decades into his career.<\/p>\n The actor put himself on the map very early after being nominated for \u2018Best Newcomer\u2019 at the Baftas for his feature debut in 1979 drama That Summer, which he immediately followed with a headline-grabbing tour-de-force in Alan Parker\u2019s Scum, with the controversy doing wonders for his reputation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Winstone\u2019s third film credit came in cult favourite Quadrophenia, so he was well and truly off to the races. After three high-profile and well-received turns in a row, the work was steady from that point on, but it would be a long time before a character fell into his lap that ended up breathing new life into the way he was viewed within the industry.<\/p>\n To put things into perspective, by the time Winstone played Raymond in writer, director, and producer Gary Oldman\u2019s Nil by Mouth, he\u2019d already popped up in six movies and more than 20 TV shows, so he was far from being an unknown quantity. And yet, by delivering what arguably remains the best work of his career, doors that had previously been locked shot were magically kicked wide open.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout a shadow of a doubt,\u201d Winstone said to iNews<\/a> on whether or not Nil by Mouth was the exact moment he turned a professional corner. \u201cI was getting calls from people \u2013 before we even finished the film \u2013 who wouldn\u2019t let me in the door before that. It\u2019s funny how that goes.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps the greatest part of the performance, and what truly set Winstone\u2019s career up following the picture, was that he delivered the role of Raymond with a vulnerability that somehow didn\u2019t change the brutality of the character. This nuance has become Winstone\u2019s greatest asset. In a world of tough guys, he showed himself to be gentle, too. Volatile, abusive and severely damaged, Winstone\u2019s villain remained menacing but also human. <\/p>\n There is an emotional honesty at the centre of the movie, and Winstone holds that space with aplomb. It is the kind of showing that critics simply adore, and it allowed Winstone a chance to operate outside of the cockney thug roles that had littered his career thus far. It is a demanding movie, but it allowed Winstone to shine like no other film ever had. <\/p>\n As well as putting him in the orbit of Oldman \u2013 who Winstone called the best director he\u2019d ever worked with<\/a> \u2013 Nil by Mouth was nominated for the Palme d\u2019Or at the Cannes Film Festival, won a pair of Baftas for \u2018Best British Film\u2019 and \u2018Best Original Screenplay\u2019, and landed the leading man on the shortlist for \u2018Best Actor\u2019.<\/p>\n Uncompromising, unflinching, foul-mouthed, and unrelentingly bleak at points, Nil by Mouth was a perfect showcase for not only Winstone\u2019s particular brand of rough-and-ready charisma<\/a> and imposing screen presence, but Oldman\u2019s skills as a director that he\u2019s never felt inclined to dust off since.<\/p>\n In the aftermath of the film, Winstone was getting more offers than ever by producers and filmmakers who\u2019d never considered working with him before, with Tim Roth\u2019s The War Zone and Jonathan Glazer\u2019s Sexy Beast presenting him with further meaty roles he could really sink his teeth into, which eventually segued into a Hollywood debut in Anthony Minghella\u2019s awards-baiting Hollywood epic Cold Mountain.<\/p>\n Would he have gotten there without Nil by Mouth? Maybe, maybe not, but the leg-up certainly helped him on his way.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Nil](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Nil-By-Mouth-1997-Ray-Winstone-Gary-Oldman-Far-Out-Magazine-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/a>Credit: Far Out \/ BFI<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/faroutmagazine.co.uk\/wp-content\/themes\/far-out-magazine\/img\/google-discover.svg\")
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