British actor Ray Winstone, who played the villain Dreykov in Marvel’s Black Widow, recently shared his frustration about the film’s extensive reshoots.
At the Sarajevo Film Festival, Winstone recalled that his initial experience with director Cate Shortland was very positive. He said they worked together to develop his character, who he described as “a pedophile running around all these girls, and they’d become black widows.” Winstone even mentioned that the early filming was so good he “used to get applauded on set” and considered it “probably the best thing I’ve done for a really long time.”
However, his positive experience turned sour when he was called back for reshoots. “Then I come home after finishing the job and get a call saying we need to do some reshoots,” the 68-year-old actor said. When he asked how many scenes needed to be redone, he was told, “all of them.”
Winstone, who was stunned by the request, said he suggested they recast the role but was forced to return due to his contract. The actor found it difficult to perform the scenes a second time, stating, “I’d already done it. I thought, ‘I’m not doing it now. I’ve done it. That’s how it’s going to be.'”
He concluded by calling the experience a form of “rejection,” saying, “There’s nothing worse than doing something, leaving it on the floor, and then being told it’s not right.”
