Vinnie Jones ‘would love’ for rags to riches life story to be made into movie as he talks Netflix documentary
After going from building sites to winning at Wembley and conquering Hollywood, Vinnie Jones’ remarkable rags to riches story is more than worthy of hitting the big screen one day.
Seen as the ultimate hardman on the pitch, Jones started out at Non-League Wealdstone and made his name at Wimbledon as part of their infamous ‘crazy gang’ squad which upset the odds to win the 1988 FA Cup final against Liverpool.
He later represented Leeds United, Sheffield United, Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers after a second spell with Wimbledon.
But he achieved even more success when he made a seamless transition to acting, starring in Guy Ritchie classics ‘Lock, Stock and Smoking Barrels’ and ‘Snatch’ as well as sharing the screen with Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Nicolas Cage, Hugh Jackman, John Travolta, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and many more superstars.
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More than 20 years later and he is still going strong.
“I would love to do the story and make it a movie while I’m alive so they come back to you and I go, ‘Yeah I really f***ing did it!’,” Jones told SPORTbible in an exclusive interview reflecting on his unique journey.
“In 1985 I was at Wembley watching Watford against Everton in the cup final with my arse hanging out of my jeans.
“I couldn't afford the bus fare to Wembley from Watford and then two or three years later I was actually playing there. That's the extreme of this story.
“I’m not one to really reminisce, I get on with it and get on to the next one. I'm very much like that and sometimes I wish I wasn't.
“I wish I could soak it all up, you know, sometimes I mentally sort of say, ‘Right, take your time here’.
“We had the Snatch premiere in America, Quentin Tarantino and everybody was there. The next day you’re back in the line at Starbucks, you’re looking at people and they don’t give a s***. "They’re like, ‘Yeah mate you’re behind me’.
“It’s insane. The night before your arm’s being hoisted up by the legends of Hollywood.”
For now, ‘The Gentlemen’ star will have to settle for a brand new documentary on Netflix as part of the streaming service’s upcoming ‘Untold’ collection which includes a special on Jamie Vardy, Liverpool’s ‘Miracle of Istanbul’ and Jose Mourinho.
No-nonsense Jones has been appointed “official head coach” of the “Netflix Sports Club” to promote the next batch of sports content and fronted a new promo film which carries the slogan, ‘‘We don’t play the same’.
In film, Jones had football coaching roles in both ‘Mean Machine’ and ‘She’s the Man’ but you might not know that he also led Hollywood All-Stars, a team he created, to seven league titles out of a possible eight in the semi-pro ranks in Los Angeles.
He served as assistant manager at QPR to Ray Harford and was in the frame to become manager at Loftus Road.
But Hollywood came calling and Jones, who had impressed in his film debut in ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’, knew he had to answer.
“Ray had got the sack and I was next in line to go upstairs and sit in the big seat as the manager,” he recalled.
“I got a call from America to do a movie called ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’. The club had to negotiate and basically we had to buy out of the contract really. It was my decision.
“If I’m being truthful, which I always am, I thought if Hollywood was a one-off wonder, I always had the football to come back to.
“I always thought I could be a manager somewhere because that was my destiny and my life.
“The career that I’ve had, you can’t have any regrets. You’ve got to set your sail and go where the wind takes you.”
As well as Jones, Vardy is the other notable case of a player coming from the lower echelons to achieve greatness.
Having been lurched in Non-League with Stocksbridge Park Steels while working in a factory, Vardy went on to win the Premier League and FA Cup against all the odds with Leicester City, collect a Golden Boot and play in a World Cup with England.
His fairytale is also the subject of an ‘Untold’ documentary on Netflix.
“Vardy came after and followed the same kind of path as I did,” Jones said when asked about the footballing stories he respects the most.
He came through Non-League and there’s many Non-League guys, you’ve got Stuart Pearce, you’ve got Wrighty [Ian Wright], you’ve got myself and then you’ve got Vardy of modern day football.
“He won the FA Cup and the league, a great story.
“I think we're a lot different in our personal stories but as a team, his journey was quite similar. Albeit we were on different boats. My boat and sail was a bit different to Jamie’s but it just shows there’s a connection there.
“Every week I used to look at Leicester's result and look to see if he had scored.”
Whether on the pitch or on set, Jones is renowned for being a hard man and his YouTube best bits feature a plethora of tough tackles.
Given he was sent off 12 times in his career, one would assume that he would have had a tough time surviving in the modern game with VAR and cameras galore.
However, Jones refutes that and believes he had more to his game than just smashing into people and would have found a way to get by and thrive.
He stated: “I’d have adapted. I adapted the other way. I was more of a player before I went to Wimbledon, Dave Bassett turned me into a bit of a rogue.
“I’m a bit of a chameleon and I think I’d have adapted a bit more. I mean, have a look at the goal I scored against Hull for Leeds United, there aren’t many better in the last 30 years.
“I had it in the locker. I played against the Waddles, the Hoddles, the Robsons. I wasn’t just a clogger, I’d have adjusted.
“Glenn Hoddle was my idol growing up. It wasn’t Bryan Robson or Billy Whitehurst.
“It was Glenn Hoddle because he could make a pass.”
‘Untold UK: Vinnie Jones’ is available only on Netflix from 26 May
Topics: Vinnie Jones, Spotlight
Josh Lawless