100 per Cent Vinnie Jones

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Sadly, none of the next few parts really gave him a chance to develop the ability he had revealed in Mean Machine. However, he did get to work with some skilled veterans, not least in X-Men: The Last Stand, in which he co-starred alongside Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry and Sir Ian McKellen. 

In a movie career that now spans a decade Vinnie has rarely gone short of work. Certainly much of the work he has produced has been less than top-flight, but that was arguably due to the lack of opportunity suffered by many novice actors, and to typecasting in the early days. More recently, he has found his range of opportunities expanding.  

One recent project of which Vinnie is particularly proud is The Riddle, written and directed by Brendan Foley. The cast includes Sir Derek Jacobi and Vanessa Redgrave, but Vinnie gets top billing, and the main role. Once again, there is a link with his previous career (he plays a sports reporter with more serious journalistic aspirations), but the sporting reference in this movie is superficial, and largely irrelevant. As far as Vinnie is concerned, this one has given him a real chance to get his teeth into a substantial acting role. 

“I’d like to do some comedy,” Vinnie says, but so far, it seems, the more light-hearted parts have not been forthcoming. “You get sent scripts, but unless you’re an A-list actor you can’t dictate your roles. Until I can do that there will be two reasons I take on parts: either I love the script or the money is great!” 

The impression one gets is that Vinnie Jones is revelling in his new environment. He clearly loves working with actors he has admired, and he is still new enough at the movie game that the thrill of meeting Hollywood superstars has not completely faded away.  “When I did Gone in Sixty Seconds my first scene was with Angelina Jolie and Nicholas Cage. I just couldn’t believe it.” 

Does he miss football? “No. I was getting sick of it, to be honest. I still go and see matches sometimes, but playing… well, you’d have a bad game and you’d get slaughtered. You’d have a good one and no-one would say a thing. “Despite all that, the football did help. It’s where I started.”

Rick Cadger
Interview: Angela Banh
Photography: Stan Thompson

The Vinnie Jones Filmography »

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