Vinnie Jones and director Guy Ritchie experienced a tearful reunion on the set of the Netflix crime comedy The Gentlemen after a long estrangement caused by heavy drinking, Jones revealed during an appearance on The Louis Theroux Podcast.
The Bottom Line
- Jones and Ritchie drifted apart after the former football player turned down a role in the 2008 crime comedy RocknRolla while heavily intoxicated.
- The two men reconciled on the first day of filming The Gentlemen, sharing an emotional moment on set during the shooting of an opening funeral scene.
- Reflecting on his past financial troubles, Jones shared that he once owned five houses and luxury vehicles before doing Celebrity Big Brother in 2010 to settle a tax bill.
The Drifting Apart Over RocknRolla
The rift between the director and the actor solidified nearly two decades ago when Ritchie offered Jones a part in RocknRolla, a project that eventually starred Gerard Butler and Tom Wilkinson. Speaking on The Louis Theroux Podcast, Jones explained that alcohol drove a wedge between them. Ritchie responded calmly with disbelief before communication stopped entirely for a long time.
The Gentlemen also stars Giancarlo Esposito and sees the reunion of Vinnie Jones and Guy Ritchie. pic.twitter.com/aKQCZDhjLu
During the interview, Louis Theroux asked whether Ritchie felt Jones had grown too big for his boots. Jones agreed with the assessment, noting that he missed out on numerous professional opportunities before the director eventually extended an olive branch roughly a decade into his sobriety. Although they never explicitly discussed the past fallout, Jones characterized the gesture as an act of brotherhood.
An Emotional Reunion on The Gentlemen Set
When the production of The Gentlemen brought them back together, apprehension preceded a dramatic reconciliation. Jones recalled feeling nervous like a teenager inside his trailer before stepping onto the set for the opening funeral scene. As Ritchie walked straight toward him, both men broke down in tears in front of the cast and crew. Despite the heavy emotional weight of the moment, the men immediately returned to work without hashing out the past.
| Project | Year | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|
| RocknRolla | 2008 | Role turned down by Jones during a period of heavy drinking. |
| Celebrity Big Brother | 2010 | Reality television appearance undertaken by Jones to settle a tax bill. |
| The Gentlemen | Recent | Netflix crime comedy featuring Jones as Geoff Seacombe and marking his reunion with Ritchie. |
Hollywood Realities and Past Finances
Beyond his professional relationship with Ritchie, Jones opened up about the isolating nature of the film industry, describing Hollywood as ruthless and deeply lonely. Reflecting on his peak earnings from films like Snatch, Gone In 60 Seconds, and X-Men: The Last Stand, Jones noted that his spending matched his income at the time. Maintaining five houses alongside fleets of Bentley, Rolls-Royce, and BMW vehicles created immense financial pressure to keep working.
That high-spending lifestyle eventually caught up with him, forcing a pivot to reality television. Jones explained that he participated in Celebrity Big Brother in 2010 for a million-dollar fee specifically to clear a tax bill, though deductions ultimately left him with little from the payout. Contrastingly, he turned down a two- million-dollar offer to appear on I’m a Celebrity in the previous year, demonstrating a different approach to his career and finances in sobriety.
More on Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie is set to reunite with longtime collaborator Vinnie Jones in Netflix’s ‘The Gentlemen,’ a TV series inspired by the 2019 Miramax film of the same name https://t.co/oLDSA1WvXG
Vinnie Jones reveals his tearful reunion with Guy Ritchie on The Gentlemen set after director offered him 'an olive branch' during their ten-year fall out over his alcoholism https://t.co/oKN5bvMonE
Vinnie Jones reveals his tearful reunion with Guy Ritchie on The Gentlemen set after director offered him 'an olive branch' during their ten-year fall out over his alcoholism https://t.co/lbjn5xFcQ8
