Bobby Glass Gives ‘The Gentlemen’ Its Gangster Bonafides

NETFLIX'S NEW CRIME drama series The Gentlemen remixes several plot details from Guy Ritchie's movie of the same name to tell a new story about soldier-turned-aristocrat Eddie (Theo James) who returns to his ancestral home after his father's death only to learn that

As with any Guy Ritchie joint, the show is packed with scene-stealing, larger-than-life characters, from Eddie's coke-fiend of a brother Freddie (Daniel Ings) to weed queenpin Susie Glass (Kaya Scodelario). But The Gentlemen comes most to life in its scenes featuring Bobby Glass, Susie's father and the head of the cannabis empire that has been using land on the Halstead estate for its growing operation.

Bobby and Eddie's late dad had come to an arrangement vis-à-vis the weed-growing, and watching the formerly upstanding Eddie negotiate with seasoned criminal Bobby as he grapples with this new life is a lot of fun—as is Winstone's performance. And that should come as no surprise, given the actor's pedigree.

Bobby Glass is played by "hard man" actor Ray Winstone

Winstone has built a career on playing various interpretations of the classic mobster in the crime movie genre, cultivating such a distinctive persona with his London accent and grizzled delivery that he has become one of those actors that directors call upon to essentially portray themselves.

Winstone's career began in British television in the '70s and '80s with roles in Robin of Sherwood and several one-off appearances in popular shows like The Sweeney, Aufwiedersehen, Pet, Ever Decreasing Circles, and One Foot in the Grave. His film career took off in the '90s when he was cast in gritty British movies like Face, Nil by Mouth, and the cult classic Quadrophenia.

An early defining performance came in Jonathan Glazer's dark comedy hot Beast, in which he played a retired criminal living with his wife on the Costa del Sol. Winstone would play a mobster type again in London Boulevard, King of Thieves, Edge of Darkness, 44 Inch Chest, Love, Honor & Obey, and most notably Martin Scorsese's The Departed.

Outside of the crime genre, he has appeared in Marvel Studios' Black Widow (arguably leaning even harder into his bad guy reputation as the vile Dreykov), and subverted his tough guy persona in movies like Snow White & The Huntsman, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a Point Break remake, and a BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, as well as working again with Martin Scorsese on Hugo.

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