Ray Winstone says Marvel movies stop ‘cultural films’ getting made

Actor also recalled how he became frustrated with the reshoot process for Marvel’s ‘Black Widow’

Ray Winstone has taken a swipe at Marvel, suggesting that the dominance of superhero movies “takes away from getting cultural films made”.

The British actor, 68, who starred as the villain Dreykov in Marvel’s 2021 film Black Widow, said that the film industry is now “all about selling tickets” rather than focusing on more meaningful roles for actors.

“We see what’s happening in Hollywood with Marvel and all that kind of stuff,” Winstone told the audience at the Sarajevo Film Festival, where he is set to receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo award for his contribution to cinema.

“There is room for it, and it’s fun, but it takes away from getting cultural films made, which are best for the actors, [and] are really good acting parts.

“It’s getting more and more difficult to do that. If you’re not on social media now, they might not even consider you for a movie because they want a fanbase to come with that.”

Winstone said Hollywood is now focused on ‘selling tickets’ (Getty Images for BFI)

Winstone also recalled becoming frustrated by the experience of having to reshoot “all of” his scenes for Black Widow.

The Sexy Beast star hailed the film’s director Cate Shortland as “amazing” and said that he and his co-stars “used to get applauded on set”.

“It was probably the best thing I’ve done for a really long time,” he said.

However, he later received a phone call explaining that extensive reshoots would be required.

“Then I come home after finishing the job and get a call saying we need to do some reshoots,” Winstone added. “I say: ‘how many scenes?’ [Shortland] says ‘all of them.’”

Ray Winstone and Scarlett Johansson in ‘Black Widow’ (Marvel Studios)

“I told them they should recast,” he continued. “But I was contracted to do it.

“So, I went back, they had to do my hair nice, they put me in the suit, and I couldn’t do it. I thought, ‘I’m not doing it now. I’ve done it. That’s how it’s going to be.’

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“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.”

Winstone previously described his Marvel experience as “soul-destroying” in an interview with Radio Times.

“You find out that a few producers have come down, and your performance is too much, it’s too strong,” he claimed.