Vinne Jones Biography

In a nutshell

The footballer-turned-actor has capitalized on his tough-guy image since he left the sport to focus on a film career, often getting typecast into violent roles (something that hasn't hurt his career much...).
The Wimbledon, Leeds and QPR player Vinnie Jones first came to prominence (or should that by notoriety) on the football field when he was photographed 'marking' Paul Gascoigne by grabbing him by his testicles.
His propensity for controversy continued the same year when he fronted the Soccer's Hard Men video, (purportedly glamorising the sport's machismo) which landed him with a hefty fine and suspension from the FA. Who's a naughty boy then!
The troublemaker eventually retired from football to pursue a movie career. His film break came in 1998, starring in Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels as violent debt collector, Big Chris. He later starred in the director's next blockbuster 'Snatch' as violent bounty hunter Bullet-Tooth Tony. Do we see a pattern forming?
Well, yes. His subsequent Hollywood supporting roles tended to emphasise a glowering presence rather than any actual acting prowess, such as his role as a mute (but very mean, naturally) car thief in Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000). Subsequent roles in Swordfish (2001) and The Big Bounce (2004) showcased a similarly limited repertoire.
He became known to US audience when he starred in X-Man: The Last Stand (2006) where he was cast as the menacing mutant Juggernaut, who only had a single line of dialogue in the movie. Was he ever going to be let loose with a script again?
Yes, in a lead role in British film The Mean Machine (2006) (which didn't actually fair too badly with the critics). His role - as an imprisoned former soccer champ who coaches his fellow inmates in a match against the guards - was arguably one that wouldn't require too much method acting however.
His last foray into the public sphere was on 2010's Celebrity Big Brother, a show he claimed to have gone on in order to change the public's perception of him as a hard man. Sadly, his time spent in the house mainly consisted of him bullying the other housemates and expressing disappointment with the lack of celebrity calibre in the house (something that did not endear him to the voting audience).
Vinnie lives in Hollywood with his wife and children, and despite enjoying a fairly steady, if modest film career he hasn't quite managed to keep his fists down. In 2003 his lucrative advertising contract with Bacardi until it came to an abrupt end after he was convicted of assaulting a crew member on board a Virgin Atlantic flight. In 2006 he was charged with assault after a bar scuffle in South Dakota. His last fisticuffs incident was in April 2010 when he got into a brawl in LA with fellow Brit actor (and former amateur boxer) Tamar Hassan. Despite this altercation both actors then went on to co-star in thriller Blood Out, due for release in 2011. Vinne Jones Biography from (http://www.talktalk.co.uk/celebrity/biography/person/vinne-jones/256)

People Biography

Tuesday, September 27, 2011