Ray Winstone was a little too late the night before his “Star Wars” audition.
In a recent conversation with Far Out, the “Black Widow” star said Padme Amidala’s father showed up to his audition for the role drunk or “pissed off.” As a result, the casting “didn’t work out”.
“I had the words, so that was it,” Winstone said. “I’ve been working for George ever since, and he was fine. He didn’t remember. If he did, he didn’t take it to heart.”
Winstone recalled that he had been “out all night” the evening before, and as soon as he walked into the audition, he knew he was “wrong for the part.” Winstone said that instead of telling him outright, George Lucas “passed the message to me through someone else.”
Winstone recalled that Lucas yawned throughout his cast, perhaps due to “jet lag”. After the tryouts were over, the “Star Wars” mastermind was silent, so he asked Winstone, “Why don’t we both get 15 minutes of sleep and then I don’t have sex?”
Despite missing out on the role, Winstone has no regrets. He said that “Star Wars” “would bore the ass out of me, movies like that, all the blues screens work.”
The role of Padmé’s father, Lewie Navelle, ultimately went to Graeme Blundell, who appeared in the role in “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.”
Three years after the release of 2005’s “Revenge of the Skull,” Winstone reunited with Lucas in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” Lucas was the film’s writer and executive producer, and Winstone played the antagonist George “Mac” Mikale.
Winstone’s recent credits include “Damsel,” “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” and “The Gentlemen” TV Series.
