Ray Winstone dreams of making ‘King Lear’ film with Gary Oldman

Ray Winstone dreams of making a ‘King Lear’ film directed by his old friend Gary Oldman.

The ‘Sexy Beast’ film and TV hardman, 67, worked with the ‘Slow Horses’ actor, 65, on brutal domestic violence drama ‘Nil By Mouth’, and said he would love to return their collaboration to make a “reality”-based version of Shakespeare’s bloodsoaked play about the tortured monarch.

He told The Independent about the play, and how he would not want it adapted to the modern age: “It’s very cleverly written, innit, by a very clever man… I’d wanna go back to the nitty gritty of no mobile phones, just concentrate on this family and do it down and dirty.”

When asked if he would rather make a film version of ‘King Lear’ with Gary or Guy Ritchie, 55, with whom Ray has worked with on the new Netflix series ‘The Gentlemen’, he said: “With Guy, who’s brilliant at what he does, he heightens everything. He’d give it pace.

“Someone like Gary would be much more into the reality side of things. It depends what alley you want to go down.

“I think, for my style, I’d probably go with Gary.

“I’d want to do it with Gary! But then again, if it was only offered by Guy, I’d go with Guy.”

Ray plays west London gangster Bobby Glass in Guy’s new version of ‘The Gentlemen’ – a Netflix series version of his 2020 movie crime caper of the same name.

The actor also revealed it has taken him and Guy so long to work together as they haven’t always seen eye-to-eye.

He added: “We haven’t always had the best relationship, put it that way. It was back when we were younger, but then you grow up.”