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Vinnie Jones
Jones at Comic-Con promoting The Midnight Meat Train in 2007
Born
Vincent Peter Jones

(1965-01-05) 5 January 1965 (age 59)
Watford, Hertfordshire, England
Occupations
  • Actor
  • Former professional footballer
Spouse
Tanya Terry
​
​
(m. 1994; died 2019)​
Children2
Parents
  • Peter Jones
  • Glenda Harris
Association football career
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1975–1977 Bedmond
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1984–1986 Wealdstone 38 (2)
1986 IFK Holmsund 22 (1)
1986–1989 Wimbledon 77 (9)
1989–1990 Leeds United 46 (5)
1990–1991 Sheffield United 35 (2)
1991–1992 Chelsea 42 (4)
1992–1998 Wimbledon 177 (14)
1998–1999 Queens Park Rangers 9 (1)
Total 446 (38)
International career
1994–1997 Wales 9 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
England Vets 1

Vincent Peter Jones (born 5 January 1965) is a British actor and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder from 1984 to 1999, notably for Wimbledon, Leeds United, Sheffield United, Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers and Wales.

Born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, Jones represented and captained the Welsh national football team, having qualified via a Welsh grandparent. As a member of the "Crazy Gang", he won the 1988 FA Cup Final with Wimbledon, a club for which he played well over 200 games during two spells between 1986 and 1998. He also played for Chelsea, Leeds United, Sheffield United and Queens Park Rangers. Jones played 184 games in the Premier League, scoring 13 goals in the competition.[1] He was a defensive midfielder who was especially noted for his very aggressive style of play, earning him a "hard man" image on the field.

Since his retirement from football, he has capitalised on his tough man image and is now best known as an actor for his fearsome demeanour and physical presence, often being typecast into roles as violent criminals and thugs. His film career began with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and continued with roles in mainstream films such as Snatch (2000), Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), and Mean Machine (2001). He played Juggernaut in the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand, Sebastian Moran in CBS's Elementary, and Brick in The CW's Arrow.

Jones appeared in Celebrity Big Brother 2010, where he finished in third place behind Dane Bowers and Alex Reid.

Early life

Vinnie Jones was born on 5 January 1965 in Watford, Hertfordshire, to Peter (a gamekeeper) and Glenda (née Harris) Jones. He attended Bedmond Junior School near Watford. After leaving school and rising to fame, Jones would regularly visit Dollis Junior School due to his close relationship with the now deceased headteacher Derek Heasman, formerly of Bedmond Junior School (who received an OBE for services to education). His family relocated to Hertfordshire where he then later attended Langleybury School. He captained the Hertfordshire Schools football team as a teenager.

Football career

Wealdstone

Jones' career in semi-professional football began in 1984, when he was 19 years old, at Alliance Premier League side Wealdstone, who had spotted him playing for a local amateur side.[2] A young addition to the experienced Wealdstone team which was the first ever side to achieve the non-league "double" in the 1984–85 season, he was a non-playing squad member at Wembley Stadium in the 1985 FA Trophy final. He combined football with working as a hod carrier on construction sites.[3]

IFK Holmsund

He played one season on loan with Swedish club IFK Holmsund in 1986, helping to lead the team to a Division 3 title.[4][5]

Wimbledon

In 1986, he moved to full-time professional status with Wimbledon, who paid Wealdstone £10,000 for him. He scored on only his second appearance for Wimbledon on 29 November 1986, in a 1–0 win over Manchester United in the First Division. He was a member of the Wimbledon team which won the FA Cup in 1988, beating league champions Liverpool 1–0 in the final.

Leeds United

Jones was transferred to Leeds United in 1989 and was part of the team which finished as champions of the old Second Division, winning promotion to Division One. After helping them win promotion to the top-flight, Jones proved he could thrive, and under the stewardship of Howard Wilkinson and the captaincy of Gordon Strachan, receiving only three yellow cards during the entire season.[6]

Sheffield United

Jones left Leeds United early in the 1990–91 season after losing his first-team place to youngsters David Batty and Gary Speed, as well as new signing Gary McAllister. He returned to Leeds for Lucas Radebe's testimonial in 2006. His former Wimbledon manager Dave Bassett signed him for Sheffield United on his exit from Elland Road.

Chelsea

Jones was sold to Chelsea a year later on 30 August 1991. Jones made his Chelsea debut one day after his signing in the 4–1 win against Luton. On 18 September 1991, Jones scored his first goal for the club in the 2–0 win against Aston Villa.

Wimbledon

After just one year at Stamford Bridge, he was back with Wimbledon in the 1992–93 season, when the FA Premier League had just been formed. He helped Wimbledon equal their best ever league finish in 1993–94, when they finished sixth in the Premier League. Three seasons later, he contributed to another strong season for the club, who reached the semi-finals of both cups and finished eighth in the league. That season he scored the winning goal as Wimbledon won 1–0 against Arsenal at Highbury.[7]

Queens Park Rangers

His second exit from Wimbledon came when he became player/coach of QPR in early 1998, scoring on his debut against Huddersfield Town.[8]

International Career

In December 1994, Jones was named in the Wales squad qualifying via his Ruthin-born maternal grandfather.[9] He made his debut under Mike Smith for Wales on 14 December 1994, three weeks before his 30th birthday, in a 3–0 home defeat to Bulgaria in the Euro 96 qualifiers. The last of his nine caps came on 29 March 1997 in a 2–1 defeat to Belgium in a World Cup qualifier, also at Cardiff Arms Park.[10]

Jones's international call-up was however greeted with consternation and even ridiculed by Jimmy Greaves, who said, "Well, stone me! We've had cocaine, bribery and Arsenal scoring two goals at home. But just when you thought there were truly no surprises left in football, Vinnie Jones turns out to be an international player!".[11]

Playing events

Jones was known for his "hard man" image.[12] He was sent off 12 times in his career, as well as holding the record for the quickest ever booking in a football match, being booked after just three seconds for a foul on the opposition player Dane Whitehouse in a FA Cup tie between Chelsea and Sheffield United in 1992.[13] In his autobiography, he recalls: "I must have been too high, too wild, too strong or too early, because, after three seconds, I could hardly have been too bloody late!" [citation needed]

In an incident in October 1987, Jones was photographed grabbing Paul Gascoigne by his testicles during a league game for Wimbledon against Newcastle United.[14][15]

Controversy

He also was the presenter of the infamous Soccer's Hard Men video released in 1992, which featured archived footage of him and many other "hard men" of the game, and included advice for budding "hard men". After the release of the video, Jones was fined £20,000 and given a six-month ban (suspended for three years) for "bringing the game into disrepute". Wimbledon chairman Sam Hammam branded Jones a "mosquito brain". After this incident, Jones failed to stay out of trouble. After exceeding 40 disciplinary points that season, he was once again summoned to Lancaster Gate, the headquarters of The Football Association, but failed to appear. The FA banned Jones indefinitely. Jones explained that he had "mixed up" the date of the hearing, for which he received a four-match ban and was told by Football Association officials to "grow up".[16] Jones commented later: "The FA have given me a pat on the back. I've taken violence off the terracing and onto the pitch" – an obvious reference to the football hooliganism problem which had blighted the English game during the 1970s and 1980s.[17]

Other football activities

Jones has stated that he would eventually like to return to football, possibly to Leeds. Jones told Yorkshire Radio "I will come back without a doubt, Leeds fans gave me so much and it's a club very close to my heart."[18]

Jones made an appearance in Ireland for Carlisle United, coming on as a second-half substitute in 2001 against Shelbourne, teaming up with friend Roddy Collins who was manager at the time. In June 2010, Jones released a press statement stating that he was donating his 1988 FA Cup winners medal to the fans of A.F.C. Wimbledon, wishing their fans the best for the future. The medal will be displayed in the club's Kingsmeadow stadium.[19]

Vinnie Jones is also currently Club President of non-league Soham Town Rangers.

Film career

Jones with Keith David at The Cape Panel

In 1998 Vinnie Jones made his film debut in Guy Ritchie's crime comedy Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, in which he played a mob enforcer, Big Chris.[20] Jones was typecast in similar roles as criminals or villains, including the dapper gun-for-hire "Bullet-Tooth Tony" in Ritchie's 2000 follow up Snatch. Jones became known to American audiences in the 2000 film remake of Gone in 60 Seconds, in which he played "Sphinx". Although this was a major role with significant screen time, he only had one line of dialogue because his character was a silent, tough brawler. He teamed up with director Dominic Sena again the following year for the thriller Swordfish, where Jones played one of John Travolta's ruthless henchmen.

Jones played Danny Meehan in Mean Machine, a 2001 British remake of the Burt Reynolds film The Longest Yard (retitled Mean Machine for its UK release). He played a former captain of the England national football team, who is sent to prison and subsequently takes control of a team of inmates who play the guards.

He played another football role as Mad Maynard, the leader of a Manchester United football hooligan firm, in the 2004 film EuroTrip. His next role was in the 2006 film, X-Men: The Last Stand, as the X-Men villain Cain Marko/Juggernaut. Jones said that he would like to play Juggernaut in a spin-off. His line in the film, "I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!," was based on a pre-existing Internet parody. [21] The same year, he was featured in another football film, She's the Man as the coach of the Illyria team. In 2007, he played the part of McStarley in The Condemned, about death row inmates forced to fight to the death on a remote island.

Jones played a professional killer in the Kazakhstani film, Ликвидатор ("Liquidator"), in 2011. Jones' character is an elite assassin invited to eliminate the main character. Producers of the film dealt with the Kazakh/English language barrier by writing Jones' character as a mute who does not speak throughout the film. In the same year he played in the movie "Blood out" as Zed. He played a role in the Hungarian film The Magic Boys in late 2012. In the 2004 Japanese film Survive Style 5+, he played a hit-man from Britain. In 2012, Jones voiced "Freddie the Dog" in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. He co-starred alongside Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the action/thriller Escape Plan, released in 2013, and was featured with Danny Trejo in the 2014 horror/thriller Reaper. Also started in Redemption of Blood (2013) with Vinnie Jones.

Celebrity Big Brother

Jones was a housemate on the reality television show Celebrity Big Brother 7,[22] and celebrated his 45th birthday while he participated. He received loud cheers as he entered the house and was the favourite to win going into the house, but he did not maintain popularity with the public, the crowd chanted 'Get Vinnie Out' on the final night and booed him as he left the house after he finished in third place. Speaking of his experience on the show, he said: "It was like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in there – and I was Jack Nicholson."[23]

Books

In 1998, Jones penned an autobiography, Vinnie: The Autobiography,[24] which was later revised and reprinted a year later to include information on his first film appearance in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Personal life

During his football career Jones resided in Dronfield, near Sheffield. Jones married Tanya Terry (1966–2019) in 1994 in Watford. She has a daughter by her first husband, footballer Steve Terry. Tanya died of cancer on 6 July 2019.[25] In November 2013 Jones also received treatment after finding a malignant melanoma below his eye.[26]

Jones's son joined the British Army, completing his training in August 2008, and serves in the Blues and Royals.[27]

Jones is an outspoken supporter of the Conservative Party, stating "I am very proud of being British, very pro the monarchy and very Conservative."[28]

He is a supporter of the football team Tottenham Hotspur.[29]

Criminal charges

Jones was convicted in June 1998 of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and criminal damage against a neighbour in November 1997.[30]

Jones was convicted in December 2003 of assault and threatening behaviour on an aircraft for an air rage incident, during which he slapped a passenger in the face and threatened to murder the cabin crew while drunk on an aircraft. He was fined £1,100 and ordered to perform 80 hours of community service.[31] As a result of the conviction Hertfordshire police revoked Jones' firearms licence and seized the weapons listed on the licence.[32]

Career statistics

Club

Club check League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
England League FA Cup League Cup Full Members' Cup Total
1984–85 Wealdstone Alliance Premier League 12 0 – – – 12 0
1985–86 26 2 1 0 – – 27 2
Sweden League Svenska Cupen League Cup Europe Total
1986 IFK Holmsund Division 3 22 1 – – – 22 1
England League FA Cup League Cup Full Members' Cup Total
1986–87 Wimbledon First Division 22 4 4 1 2 0 0 0 28 5
1987–88 24 2 6 0 4 0 0 0 34 2
1988–89 31 3 4 0 5 0 1 0 41 3
1989–90 Leeds United Second Division 45 5 1 0 2 0 4 0 52 5
1990–91 First Division 1 0 – – – 1 0
Sheffield United 31 2 1 0 4 0 1 0 37 2
1991–92 4 0 – – – 4 0
Chelsea 35 3 4 1 1 0 5 2 45 6
1992–93 Premier League 7 1 0 0 0 0 – 7 1
1992–93 Wimbledon 27 1 – – – 27 1
1993–94 33 2 – 2 0 – 35 2
1994–95 33 3 2 0 2 0 – 37 3
1995–96 31 3 3 0 2 0 – 36 3
1996–97 29 3 7 0 2 0 – 38 3
1997–98 24 0 3 1 1 0 – 28 1
1997–98 Queens Park Rangers First Division 7 1 – – – 7 1
1998–99 2 0 – – – 2 0
Total England 424 33 36 3 27 0 11 2 498 38
Career total 446 34 36 3 27 0 11 2 520 39

Source:[33][34][35][36][37]

International matches

Vinnie Jones' matches for the Wales national team[38]
Date Location Host team Score Away team Competition Goals scored
14 December 1994 Cardiff  Wales 0–3  Bulgaria Qualifiers EURO 1996 0
29 March 1995 Sofia  Bulgaria 3–1  Wales Qualifiers EURO 1996 0
26 April 1995 Düsseldorf  Germany 1–1  Wales Qualifiers EURO 1996 0
7 June 1995 Cardiff  Wales 0–1  Georgia Qualifiers EURO 1996 0
24 April 1996 Lugano  Switzerland 1–0  Wales Friendly 0
9 November 1996 Eindhoven  Netherlands 7–1  Wales Qualifiers FIFA 1998 0
14 December 1996 Cardiff  Wales 0–0  Turkey Qualifiers FIFA 1998 0
11 February 1997 Cardiff  Wales 0–0  Ireland Friendly 0
29 March 1997 Cardiff  Wales 1–2  Belgium Qualifiers FIFA 1998 0
Total Appearances 9 Goals 0

Honours

Club

Wealdstone

Wimbledon

Leeds United

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1998 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Big Chris
2000 Snatch Bullet Tooth Tony
Gone in 60 Seconds Sphinx
2001 Swordfish Marco
Mean Machine Danny Meehan
2002 Night at the Golden Eagle Rodan
2004 The Big Bounce Lou Harris
EuroTrip Mad Maynard
Blast Michael Kittredge
Survive Style 5+ Killer
2005 Slipstream Winston Briggs
Submerged Henry
Mysterious Island Bob TV film
Hollywood Flies Sean
2006 Johnny Was Johnny Doyle
She's the Man Coach Dinklage
Played Detective Brice
The Other Half Trainer
X-Men: The Last Stand Cain Marko / Juggernaut
Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties Rommel Voice role
2007 Strength and Honour Smasher O'Driscoll
The Riddle Mike Sullivan
The Condemned Ewan McStarley
7–10 Split Roddy Nightengale
Tooth & Nail Mongrel
2008 Loaded Mr. Black
Hell Ride Billy Wings
The Midnight Meat Train Mahogany
2009 The Bleeding Cain
The Ballad of G.I. Joe Destro Video short
Assault of Darkness Mr. Hunter
Year One Sargon
2010 Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball McTeague
Locked Down Anton Vargas
Age of the Dragons Stubbs
The Heavy Edgar Dunn
2011 Kill the Irishman Keith Ritson
Blood Out Zed
You May Not Kiss the Bride Brick
The Liquidator Killer
Cross Gunnar
Not Another Not Another Movie Nancy Longbottom
2012 Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted Freddie the Dog Voice role
Fire with Fire Boyd
Hijacked Joe Ballard
Freelancers Sully
Magic Boys Jack Varga
2013 Escape Plan Drake
The 34th Battalion Lieutenant Colonel
Company of Heroes Brent Willoughby
Extraction Ivan Rudovsky
Fractured Quincy
Ambushed Vincent Camastra
Armed Response Tillinghast
Blood of Redemption Campbell
2014 A Certain Justice Bennett
Redirected Golden Pole
Reaper Rob
Way of the Wicked John Eliott
Gutshot Straight Carl
The Calculator Yust Van Borg
Puncture Wounds Bennett
2015 Awaken (US)/Left to Die (UK) Sarge
Bite Big John
Rivers 9 Ray Kaplan
Absolution The Boss
Gridlocked Ryker
The Enforcer Renner
2016
Kill Kane Ray Brookes
The Midnight Man Pearl
Decommissioned Michael Price
2017 Cross Wars Gunnar
Madness in the Method Vinnie
Life Outside Robson Pre-production
2018 The Gandhi Murder Sir Norman Smith

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Extras Himself Episode: "Ross Kemp"
2008 Vinnie Jones' Toughest Cops USA Himself Presenter
2010 Chuck Karl Stromberg Episode: "Chuck Versus the Three Words"
2011 The Cape Scales 6 episodes
2013 Vinnie Jones: Russia's Toughest Himself 6 episodes
Elementary Sebastian Moran 2 episodes
2014 Psych Ronnie Ives Episode: "Lock, Stock, Some Smoking Barrels and Burton Guster's Goblet of Fire"
The Musketeers Martin Labarge Episode: "The Challenge"
Mind Games Isaac Vincent 2 episodes
2015–2018 Arrow Danny "Brick" Brickwell 9 episodes
2015–2016 Galavant Gareth 18 episodes
2016 MacGyver John Kendrick Episode: "The Rising"
Police Interceptors with Vinnie Jones Himself Presenter
2018 Deception Gunter Gastafsen 13 episodes
2019 NCIS Los Angeles Rick Dorsey Season 11 episode 6
2019 The X Factor: Celebrity Himself Contestant
2020 Harry's Heroes: Euro Having a Laugh Himself Season 2 episode 2

Music videos

  • Steve Aoki & LOOPERS - "Pika Pika" (2018)
    • Originally filmed for Steve Aoki & Knife Party - "Piledriver", but the original video was unreleased and the footage was re-edited and reused

Discography

Albums

  • 2002: Respect

Singles

  • "Wooly Bully" (1993)

References

  1. ^ "Vinnie Jones Statistics | Premier League". www.premierleague.com. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  2. ^ Harman, John (2005). Alliance to Conference. Tony Williams Publications. ISBN 978-1-869833-52-7.
  3. ^ Borras, Kevin; Slater, Matt (17 October 1996). "All for one!". Match of the Day magazine. No. 10. BBC. pp. 10–13.
  4. ^ Han kom som en pojke – lämnade IFK som en man (in Swedish), IFK Holmsund; accessed 21 March 2015.
  5. ^ sv:IFK Holmsund
  6. ^ "Vinnie Jones on his time at Leeds United". Sabotage Times. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  7. ^ Moore, Glenn (24 February 1997). "Jones cuts Arsenal adrift". London, UK: The Independent. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  8. ^ Brown, Geoff (28 March 1998). "QPR's hard men have the first laugh". The Independent. London, UK. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  9. ^ Shaw, Phil (9 December 1994). "Birmingham Scale New Heights in Francis Quest". The Independent  – via Highbeam (subscription required) . Archived from the original on 18 March 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  10. ^ Profile, sporting-heroes.net; accessed 21 March 2015.
  11. ^ Viner, Brian (12 December 2011). "Vinnie Jones: The caring side of bullet-tooth Tony". The Independent. Independent Print Ltd. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  12. ^ "Vinnie Jones: Hard man with soft centre". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 16 June 2000. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
  13. ^ Knowledge Unlimited The Guardian, 20 December 2000
  14. ^ "The infamous Vinnie Jones incident". The Weird Picture Archive. Archived from the original on 18 December 2003.
  15. ^ Thug Life, Southdacola.com, 11 December 2008; retrieved 25 December 2010.
  16. ^ The Sunday Times Illustrated History Of Football Reed International Books Ltd 1996, pg 327; ISBN 1-85613-341-9.
  17. ^ Peter Ball and Paul Shaw The Umbro Book Of Football Quotations, Ebury Press 1996, p103, ISBN 0-09-180887-1
  18. ^ "Jones backs Wise revolution" Sky Sports, 26 October 2006.[permanent dead link]
  19. ^ "Vinnie's cup medal comes back to Wimbledon". afcwimbledon.co.uk. 1 June 2010. Archived from the original on 22 June 2010.
  20. ^ "Vinnie Jones biography and filmography – Vinnie Jones movies". Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  21. ^ "Nine Things You Need to Know Before Seeing 'X-Men' This Weekend".
  22. ^ "Celebrity Big Brother: profile of all 2010 contestants". Daily Telegraph. London, UK. 4 January 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  23. ^ Charles, Chris (10 February 2010). "Quotes of the week". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  24. ^ Jones, Vinnie (1999). Vinnie:The Autobiography. Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 0-7472-5914-3.
  25. ^ "Vinnie Jones's wife Tanya dies after long illness". BBC News. 7 July 2019.
  26. ^ "Vinnie Jones reveals cancer treatment". BBC News. 24 November 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  27. ^ Vinnie Jones watches son's passing out parade, Telegraph.co.uk, 14 August 2008.
  28. ^ "18 Famous Conservative Party supporters – What is Politics?". 24 January 2015. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  29. ^ "Vinnie Jones hated playing an Arsenal fan". 24 April 2013.
  30. ^ Vinnie Jones guilty of assault, bbc.co.uk, 2 June 1998.
  31. ^ Alleyne, Richard (13 December 2003). "Pilot anger at Vinnie Jones air rage verdict". Telegraph. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  32. ^ "Police seize Vinnie's guns". Evening standard. 19 December 2003. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  33. ^ Vinnie Jones at National-Football-Teams.com
  34. ^ "Chelsea statistics". Stamford-bridge. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  35. ^ "Vinnie Jones statistics". 11v11. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  36. ^ "Leeds United statistics". Leeds-fans.org. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  37. ^ "Football League, Full Members Cup, FA Cup statistics". leballonrond.fr. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  38. ^ "Wales - International Results 1990-1999 - Details". www.rsssf.com.
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