Ray Winstone has revealed he almost quit 2021’s Black Widow after butting heads with producers over reshoots, which he described as “soul-destroying”.
The British actor played Russian general Dreykov, the film’s villain, opposite an all-star cast made up of Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Rachel Weisz.
However, it wasn’t all smooth-sailing for the case as Winstone admitted he found shooting the Marvel movie difficult after producers criticised his performance during reshoots.
He told the Radio Times: “Then you find out that a few producers have come down, and your performance is too much, it’s too strong... That’s the way Marvel works.
“It can be soul-destroying because you feel like you’re doing great work.”
The actor said that he told producers to recast the role – but stayed in the end because he had signed a contract.
Adding: “I actually said, ‘You ought to recast it because that was it for me.’ And you end up doing it again because you’re contracted to do it. Otherwise you end up in court. It’s like being kicked in the balls.”
The Standard has contacted Disney for comment.
This isn't the first instance where Winstone has opened up about the challenges of working on big-budget projects.
Recently, The Departed actor admitted that he sometimes takes on roles he's not passionate about simply because he needs the income.
“You end up doing films you're not thrilled about. But you have to take them because you've been out of work for a while and you need to pay the bills,” he told The Guardian.
Winstone isn't alone in voicing concerns about working within the franchise. Other stars, such as Natalie Portman, Dave Bautista, Edward Norton, and more, have also shared their experiences and challenges while working in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While Quentin Tarantino previously hit out at the multibillion-dollar superhero franchise dominating Hollywood.
The Oscar-winner said on the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast in 2022: “My only axe to grind against them is they’re the only things that seem to be made.
“And they’re the only things that seem to generate any kind of excitement amongst a fan base or even like for the studio making them.
“That’s what they’re excited about. And, you know, so it’s just the fact that they are the entire representation of this era of movies right now.”
