'He Was Groping Her': 'The Gentlemen' Star Ray Winstone Says He 'Dealt With' Director Who 'Abused His Power' and 'Took Advantage' of Costar

English actor Ray Winstone reflected on working with one unnamed director who "took advantage" of his female costar.

The 69-year-old, known for his work in The Gentlemen, opened up about the on-set behavior he refused to accept while promoting Season 2 of his Netflix show.

"I had this director once... I was in a scene where I had to pick up this girl, and the director wanted to show me what to do," he told The Times of London. "But he was groping her."

Winstone alleged that his director "abused his power," which the man refused to stand for.

"I said, ‘Don’t you dare do that,’" he confessed. "He abused his power, took advantage and she was a good kid, you know, who seemed a little lost. Anyway, it was dealt with."

According to Winstone, having something like this "dealt with" when he rose to stardom in the 1980s and 1990s likely did not include an official censure from the human resources department.

"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--- riggers or sparks," he explained.

Winstone rose to stardom playing rough, stand-offish and often violent roles, which in some ways may have reflected his upbringing. The star was brought up in working-class London by his fruit-seller father.

He has often admitted to getting into squabbles as a young boy and even getting expelled from school for fighting.

According to Winstone, that dynamic was not entirely different while he was on set in his younger years, especially when it came to inappropriate behavior.

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

Winstone previously shared his past on-set spats with "arrogant" Jack Nicholson, whom he publicly admitted that he didn't get along with while they worked together on The Departed.

“I don’t like arrogance," he shared in 2024. "There’s no need for it. This kind of feeling of being above everyone else. We all end up in the same hole in the ground. But some people have this smarmy little side mouth."

"You know, they make cracks for everyone else, but not for you," he added. "You think, ‘Oh, really?’ And there’s different ways of dealing with that. You either say your piece and tell them to shut the f--- up. Or you punch them in the mouth."

Despite butting heads with the star, Winstone admitted he'd be happy to work with him again, calling Nicholson a "fantastic actor."