He's carved out a huge successful career in film and television, but British actor Ray Winstone has admitted that he did not learn to read until he was 11 years old. The 60-year-old described himself as a "lazy" student who didn't take education "seriously". The Robin of Sherwood star told the BBC: "I could not read personally until I was 11. It was laziness. And at the time, it was just being behind and I didn’t take school seriously. When I moved to North London I was two years behind in education."
© Photo: Getty ImagesRay Winstone has claimed he didn't learn to read until he was 11 years old
Ray, who is best known for his roles in The Sweeney, Scum and King Arthur, is currently starring in the boxing movie Jawbone, which centres around former fighter Jimmy McCabe who returns to his childhood boxing club to get his life back on track. The actor revealed that his own experiences with boxing has provided him with a "street education". He added: "So you went to a boxing club and it kind of kept you off the streets: kept you out of trouble. I would have loved to have been a world champion but I never had that talent. And I wasn’t dedicated."
© Photo: Getty Images"I could not read personally until I was 11. It was laziness," he said
Even though he has a background in boxing, the London-born star has managed to establish himself as one of Britain's most successful actors - even if it means taking a role on a low-budget movie. He continued: "Sometimes you take a part because you got to pay the rent - and it is as simple as that. Then you go back and make a film like [Jawbone] and it is low budget. It is about what you started doing the whole thing for. You remember where you come from."
