Vinnie Jones “seems at peace” with wife’s death, his co-star Terry Stone has revealed.
Newly-released British gangster film Rise of the Footsoldier Origins: The Tony Tucker Story delves into the origin story of actor Terry’s character Tony.
The actor also stars alongside other film legends including Vinnie and Keith Allen, the father of pop sensation Lily Allen.
The ultra-violent franchise first kicked off in 2007 and has since spawned sequels including Rise of the Footsoldier Part II: Reign of the General (2015); RotF 3: The Pat Tate Story (2017) and RoTF: Marbella (2019).
Terry caught up with the Daily Star to chat all things about the new film and to dig deeper into Vinnie’s comeback to the big screen after tragically losing his wife Tanya to cancer in 2019.
(Image: ITV)
The 50-year-old actor said: “He obviously lost his wife and I think he wrote his book to celebrate his wife’s life.
“Then he went on to do Piers Morgan and to do a lot of other press but I think that actually helped him in some way cope with it.
“I think he was trying to get his head around what has happened with Tanya and the film I think came along at a good time and he looked at it and just thought ‘I really want to do this – it looks great’.
When asked about what the big guy was like in real life – as opposed to his usual hard men characters he plays – Terry revealed that he was a “generous actor” and a “gentlemen”.
Terry explained: “What was nice was he came on set and seeing him as a vulnerable person who has lost everything – because if you lost your best friend and mother of your children… I mean, it’s upsetting to even think about it – but if you look at that and think ‘how do you come back from that?’
(Image: Getty Images North America)
“And he had no choice and he just had to deal with it and a lot of people wanted to see him come back and get over his loss and get back on the horse and when he got on the set he just seemed at peace with it.”
He continued: “He did amazing on the film, we had good laugh and he was very generous as an actor.
“Sometimes you work with people Hollywood or big names and they do the bare minimum and don’t want you to be good, to them, as long as they are good that’s all that matters. But he wanted everyone to be good.”
The Rise of the Foot Soldier films have a strong cult following and have been passed on to younger generations who still love the series – Terry thanks frequent showing of the films and lockdown as a big part of bringing the saga back to life.
Terry not only acted in the film but was also the producer and penned Vinnie as an instrumental part of the film’s success.
(Image: ITV)
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The former club promoter turned film buff said: “Having him in the film was a great choice Foot Soldier fans all love him being in it and the last British gangster film he starred in was 20 years ago in Snatch.
“When something bad happens in your life sometimes you forget good things can come along too and they do help you but I’m sure he could have 100 films or give him a billion pound tomorrow but it ain’t going to bring his wife back.
“I’m sure if you said to him what would you rather he would say bring his wife back all day long.”
Catch Rise of the Footsoldier Origins: The Tony Tucker Story in cinemas now
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
