Ray Winstone once confronted director for 'groping' actress on set

Ray Winstone once confronted a director for allegedly "groping" an actress on a film set.

The Sexy Beast actor claimed that he called out the filmmaker for abusing his power after he allegedly groped his female co-star under the guise of demonstrating how a scene should look.

"I had this director once," the Hollywood hard man recalled in an interview with The Times Culture Magazine. "I was in a scene where I had to pick up this girl, and the director wanted to show me what to do. But he was groping her. That was it. I said, 'Don't you dare do that.' He abused his power, took advantage, and she was a good kid, you know, who seemed a little lost. Anyway, it was dealt with."

When asked exactly how the situation was "dealt with" on set, the 69-year-old explained, "Well, back in the day, if there was a wrong 'un on set, 99 times out of 100 it was sorted, either by the hairy-a**e riggers or sparks," referring to members of the crew.

"I've done it myself too, taken someone to the side to give them a slap or to tell them, in no uncertain terms, to behave," he added. "But it's a different world today."

The Black Widow actor did not divulge further details about the project or the filmmaker in question.

Winstone is currently promoting the second season of The Gentlemen, in which he reprises his role as criminal Bobby Glass. The series, which also stars Theo James and Kaya Scodelario, returns to Netflix on 3 September.

The British actor admitted his role in the show made him realise he's "getting old".

"When you're not the young lead but the old boy, who everyone says they've got to look after because he's getting on a bit," he noted.