{"id":2077308,"date":"2025-10-08T15:12:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T15:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2077308"},"modified":"2025-10-08T15:12:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T15:12:20","slug":"ray-winstone-says-his-audition-to-play-natalie-portmans-father-in-star-wars-didnt-go-well-because-he-was-drunk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/ray-winstone-says-his-audition-to-play-natalie-portmans-father-in-star-wars-didnt-go-well-because-he-was-drunk\/","title":{"rendered":"Ray Winstone Says His Audition to Play Natalie Portman&#8217;s Father in \u201cStar Wars\u201d &#8216;Didn&#8217;t Go Well&#8217; Because He Was Drunk"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"mb-4\">\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Actor Ray Winstone said in a recent interview that he was drunk during his audition to play Natalie Portman&#8217;s on-screen father in George Lucas&#8217; <em>Star Wars<\/em> prequels<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I\u2019d been out all night, and I turned up, and I knew I was wrong for the part as soon as I walked in,&#8221; Winstone recalled<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Graeme Blundell played Ruwee Naberrie, father to Portman&#8217;s Padme Amidala, in 2005&#8217;s <em>Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Ray Winstone is recalling that his audition for a role in <em>Star Wars<\/em> didn&#8217;t go over well, in large part because he was drunk from the prior night.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Winstone, 68, told <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/faroutmagazine.co.uk\/ray-winstone-drunk-disorderly-star-wars-audition\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Far Out magazine;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Far Out<\/em> magazine<\/a> in a recent interview that his audition for one of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/george-lucas\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:George Lucas;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">George Lucas<\/a>&#8216; <em>Star Wars<\/em> prequels &#8220;didn\u2019t go well,\u201d in large part due to his recollection that he had been out the entirety of the night before he met with the franchise&#8217;s creator.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cHad words and that was that. I\u2019ve worked for George since, and he was fine,&#8221; Winstone recalled. &#8220;He didn\u2019t remember. Or if he did, he didn\u2019t take it to heart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Winstone, a character actor best known for his roles in <em>The Departed<\/em> and <em>Black Widow<\/em>, implied that he had auditioned to portray <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/natalie-portman\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Natalie Portman;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Natalie Portman<\/a>&#8216;s on-screen father in one of the <em>Star Wars<\/em> prequels when he said the role he was up for was \u201cthe Princess\u2019 father, or something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\">\n<p>Jeff Spicer\/WireImage<\/p>\n<p> Ray Winstone in London on March 5, 2024<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I was pissed anyway,\u201d the actor shared. \u201cI\u2019d been out all night, and I turned up, and I knew I was wrong for the part as soon as I walked in, but instead of saying that, [Lucas] relayed the message to me through someone else, and I took umbrage at that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">While Winstone never clarified exactly which <em>Star Wars<\/em> movie he auditioned for,\u00a0actor Graeme Blundell ultimately portrayed the character Ruwee Naberrie \u2014 father to Portman&#8217;s Padme Amidala \u2014 in 2005&#8217;s <em>Revenge of the Sith<\/em>. (Blundell, 80, also appeared in a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-7pis3talSI\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:deleted scene;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">deleted scene<\/a> from 2002&#8217;s <em>Attack of the Clones<\/em>.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">As Winstone noted in his interview with <em>Far Out<\/em>, he ultimately worked with Lucas, now 81, on 2008&#8217;s <em>Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull<\/em>, which Lucas produced and cowrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/people-news-daily-newsletter-sign-up-8692701\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:PEOPLE's free daily newsletter;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"> PEOPLE&#8217;s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Mike Marsland\/WireImage Ray Winstone in London on Oct. 21, 2024\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"320\" height=\"480\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/ea1BUErjGoqazasOxBGr2w--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTY0MDtoPTk2MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/people_218\/6013ebcd825018aa81a3ce47ee2cfb54\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\">\n<p>Mike Marsland\/WireImage<\/p>\n<p> Ray Winstone in London on Oct. 21, 2024<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Winstone previously told his <em>Star Wars<\/em> audition story to the defunct British magazine <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/starwarsaficionado.blogspot.com\/2012\/05\/ray-winstone-episode-is-almost-bail.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:For Him;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>For Him<\/em><\/a> back in 1999, implying that he had auditioned for that year&#8217;s <em>The Phantom Menace<\/em>. &#8220;When I walked in he obviously knew I wasn&#8217;t right for the part, but instead of saying &#8216;Nice to meet you, Ray,&#8217; and making small talk, he never looked at me,&#8221; he recalled of meeting Lucas at the time. &#8220;So I told him, &#8216;Why don&#8217;t we both have a 15-minute sleep and then I&#8217;ll f&#8212;- off.&#8217; &#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Then again, that sort of film would bore the arse off me [with] all that blue-screen work,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Winstone most recently appeared on screen in the 2024 Guy Ritchie Netflix series <em>The Gentlemen<\/em> and Millie Bobby Brown&#8217;s Netflix fantasy movie, <em>Damsel<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read the original article on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/ray-winstone-auditioned-star-wars-while-drunk-11826353\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:People;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">People<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEED TO KNOW Actor Ray Winstone said in a recent interview that he was drunk during his audition to play Natalie Portman&#8217;s on-screen father in George Lucas&#8217; Star Wars prequels &#8220;I\u2019d been out all night, and I turned up, and I knew I was wrong for the part as soon as I walked in,&#8221; Winstone [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2077309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25177],"tags":[347599,390111,347097,345850,370057,390112,23300,358782],"class_list":["post-2077308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrities","tag-george-lucas","tag-graeme-blundell","tag-natalie-portman","tag-ray-winstone","tag-revenge-of-the-sith","tag-ruwee-naberrie","tag-star-wars","tag-star-wars-prequels"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Ray-Winstone-Says-His-Audition-to-Play-Natalie-Portmans-Father.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2077308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2077308"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2077308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2077310,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2077308\/revisions\/2077310"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2077309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2077308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2077308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2077308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}