Ray Winstone Interview, Edge of Darkness

Ray Winstone (“Beowulf”) stars opposite Mel Gibson in Martin Campbell’s new thriller, “Edge of Darkness.” The emotionally charged film, set at the intersection of politics and big business, tells the tale of Thomas Craven (Gibson), a veteran homicide detective for the Boston Police Department and a single father.

When his only child, 24-year-old Emma (Bojana Novakovic), is murdered on the steps of his home, everyone assumes that he was the target. But Craven begins to suspect otherwise and embarks on a mission to uncover the truth. His investigation leads him into a dangerous world of corporate cover-ups, government collusion and murder – and to shadowy government operative Darius Jedburgh (Winstone), who has been sent in to clean up the evidence.

The award-winning British actor talked about what attracted him to the project, how fun it was to play his character, and the status of his upcoming film, “Cleo.” Here’s what he had to tell us:

Q: What attracted you to this project? Were you drawn to it because it was a story about characters that lose family and fight for justice?

RW: You look at the script first. If you love the script, and it just happens to be about that subject, the subject is not the thing you look at first. It’s the script.

Q: How much fun was it to play this character?

RW: It’s funny because the parts you really want to play are the emotional parts. I do anyway, personally. When I read the script, I didn’t have a lot of time to get my act together. With the help of Martin and Mel, I had to decide which way I was going to take it to play a man with no emotion who’s seen death and created death. I’ve met people like that, years ago, who’ve been through the second World War or people who were members of the SAS. They have these eyes that kind of burn into you and look at the wall behind you. You can’t tell them lies.

It’s all about decisions as an actor. But, to make a decision to play someone who had no emotion on the surface, that’s fun. Besides, going to work is fun anyway, especially when you’re sitting opposite someone like Mel or John Hurt. It’s always a blessing because you’re working with people who are talented and know their job and know their business.

Q: Is Steven Soderbergh’s Cleo still happening?

RW: I don't know. It was going to go last year and I think Steven had another film to go and do. There was talk of it going this year but I haven’t heard anything more about it to be quite honest with you. It’d be great, dressing up in a toga and all that with Tony Curtis haircuts, singing rock n’ roll.

Q: Would it have been you singing?

RW: What? Do you want me to apologize for that? [Laughs] From a kid, I always wanted to be a singer. My balls dropped one day and that was it. My daughter’s a singer. She sings jazz and blues but I’m a frustrated singer really. I think I became an actor because I couldn’t sing. You play a different kind of music now. I’d love to do that.

Q: It’s not officially dead?

RW: I haven’t been told it’s dead. I haven’t been told when it’s going, but I’d love to do it. And, to get a chance to kiss Catherine Zeta-Jones? You know, that’s just making movies, isn’t it? That’s what I’m doing it for. I’d love to do the film. He’s a very, very clever boy and, if anyone can pull that off, he could.

“Edge of Darkness” opens in theaters on January 29^th. Ray Winstone will also appear in several other films set for a 2010 release, among them the biographical drama “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll,” about musician Ian Dury; the thriller “13,” opposite Mickey Rourke; “London Boulevard,” based on the Ken Bruen novel; and the action adventure “Tracker” in which he plays a former Boer War guerilla.