Making a return to the big screen helped Vinnie Jones cope with grief, his friend has said.
The Hollywood hardman signed up for Rise Of The Footsoldier: Origins just months after his wife Tanya, inset, died from cancer. And it proved to be the lifeline he needed.
Close pal and co-star Terry Stone had an emotional heart-to-heart with him while they were making it.
He said: “Vinnie lost his wife and he was in a dark place. She was his wife and his best mate.
“We reached out to him and said, ‘Look, we have got this film we think you’d be right for’. And he said he’d love to do it. And then when we were shooting it, he said he felt like a boxer who loses a fight but then makes a comeback.
(Image: Getty Images North America)
“It was wonderful. He’s got his mojo back.”
Vinnie bravely opened up about his torment on the celeb version of The X Factor and on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories.
Terry reckons it was the right move.
He said: “Vinnie spoke about his experiences and the nation really opened up to him.
“Before that they thought of him as a footballer or an actor. But to see him in that vulnerable state, I think he’s got more fans and more love now than ever.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Vinnie is currently filming US drama Law and Order after landing a role as an Albanian gangster.
The actor was left devastated after his wife Tanya died on July 9 in 2019, with his management confirming the news at the time.
The statement read: “At 8:46am local time in Los Angeles on Saturday, July 6, Vinnie Jones’s wife, Tanya Jones, passed away after a long illness.
(Image: WireImage)
“Tanya passed peacefully as the Jones family home surrounded by Vinnie, their daughter and other family members.”
Following the death of his wife, Vinnie opened up about his experience publicly, and has since focused on going back to his career.
Most recently he has taken on the role of Bernard O’Mahoney in Rise of The Footsoldier, which was released on September 3.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
