Vinnie Jones
Vincent Peter Jones, born 5 January 1965 in Hertfordshire, England, is a British actor, presenter, and former professional footballer whose fearsome on-pitch reputation translated seamlessly into a long and distinctive screen career.
Football Career
Jones played professionally as a defensive midfielder from 1984 to 1999, representing clubs including Wimbledon, Leeds United, Sheffield United, Chelsea, and Queens Park Rangers. He is best remembered as a pivotal member of Wimbledon’s famous “Crazy Gang”, winning the 1988 FA Cup final with the club, for whom he made over 200 appearances across two spells between 1986 and 1998. He also captained the Welsh national team, having qualified through a Welsh grandparent, and went on to play 184 games in the Premier League, scoring 13 goals. His highly aggressive, physically uncompromising style earned him a reputation as one of the hardest players in the history of the game.
Acting Career
Jones made his acting debut in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), playing Big Chris. The role earned him an Empire Award for Best Newcomer and launched a film career in which he has frequently been cast as violent criminals and imposing heavies. His follow-up, Snatch (2000), in which he played Bullet Tooth Tony, brought him the Empire Award for Best British Actor, a remarkable achievement for a former footballer.
Further notable credits include Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000), Mean Machine (2001), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), Escape Plan (2013), and, more recently, The Big Ugly (2020) and The Gentlemen (2024). On television, he has appeared in Arrow, Elementary, and NCIS: Los Angeles, among others.