Indiana put End to Ray’s soap bid
RAY Winstone was all set to join EastEnders as Billy Mitchell’s brother – until Indiana Jones muscled in.
The Sexy Beast actor turned down the role at the last minute to join Harrison Ford in a Hollywood blockbuster.
Perry Fenwick, who plays Billy Mitchell, said BBC bosses were desperate to get him in the soap – even for a short-term deal – and Ray was mulling over a script.
Perry reveals how close it came in 2008 in an interview with Inside Soap magazine. When asked if an acting hero of his could join EastEnders, Perry told the magazine: “It nearly happened once!
“Ray Winstone almost came in to play Billy’s brother!
“It was mine and his wife Elaine’s idea that he’d come in and give Billy a load of money, but none of the regular characters would see him.
“So the next day, after Billy’s brother had gone, everyone would see him with a load of money and think he’d nicked it! Ray was thinking about it, and then he got a role in Indiana Jones.
“If it was a choice between Hollywood or Borehamwood, I know which way I’d go.”
Ray had landed the role of George “Mac” Michale in 2008 movie Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull.
Asked about soap roles in 2012, 64-year-old Ray said he couldn’t do it long term.
He said: “I’m not a big fan. They have some good actors, but I like to play different people.
Playing the same person for a year or two would drive me bonkers.” Rumours circulated in 2012 that EastEnders bosses wanting to sign Ray – and the long-running BBC soap is watched in the Winstone household.
Speaking about TV audiences in a 2013 interview, Ray said: “If you’re lucky, or unlucky, you’ve got three or four tellies in the house.
“Your daughter’s upstairs watching one, the wife’s watching EastEnders in the other room, and you’re looking at the football.”