Vincent Peter Jones is a former professional football player and actor from the United Kingdom. He was a midfielder for many professional football clubs, including Chelsea, Wimbledon, and Leeds United, for almost a decade. He appeared in almost 200 games for Wimbledon, winning the FA Cup Final in 1988. He also represented Wales at international level, having been granted that status by his maternal grandfather. His combative on-field demeanor gave him the moniker “hard man,” and it was likely this demeanor that drove him to land and succeed in the world of acting, where he primarily played ruffians and fiery lawbreakers. In the late 1990s, he dabbled in acting. In the British comedy-thriller ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,’ he made his debut as Big Chris. It earned him a slew of prizes and paved the path for him to take on more parts in television and movies. ‘She’s the Man,’ ‘The Riddle,’ ‘X-Men: The Last Stand,’ and ‘Absolution’ are some of his significant flicks. His TV credits include roles in shows such as ‘The Cape,’ ‘Arrow,’ ‘Galavant,’ and ‘Deception.’
Childhood and Adolescence
Jones was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England on January 5, 1965 to Peter Jones and Glenda Harris. His father worked as a keeper of game. He attended Dollis Junior School in Mill Hill in the north of England, where he got close to his Headteacher, Sir Derek Heasman, who was awarded the OBE.
Even after reaching renown, Jones would return to the institution to meet Heasman. He attended Chancellor’s School in Brookmans Park after his family relocated to Hertfordshire. He began playing football as a young lad, and from 1975 to 1977, he was a member of Bedmond Football Club.
Career in Football
In 1984, he joined Wealdstone F.C, an English association football team that competes in the ‘Alliance Premier League.’ Simultaneously, he worked as a hod carrier on construction sites. He played for IFK Holmsund, a Swedish club, for a season in 1986, and helped the squad win Division 3.
Wimbledon F.C. paid Wealdstone £10,000 to take him on as a full-time professional player in 1986. He was a member of the club until 1989. When he was videotaped clutching the testicles of player Paul Gascoigne during a 0-0 draw between Wimbledon and Newcastle United at Plough Lane in October 1987, he garnered media attention.
He moved to Leeds United F.C. in 1989, when he was promoted from the Second Division to the old Division One.
During the 1990-91 season, he departed the club, but returned in 2006 for the testimonial of South African footballer Lucas Radebe. Jones was signed to Sheffield United F.C. by Dave Bassett, who was the club’s manager at the time. In 1991, he was sold to Chelsea F.C. after a year with the club.
His combative on-field demeanor earned him the moniker “hard guy” over time. He was sent off twelve times during his soccer career. He holds the record for being yellow-carded (booked) after only three seconds of play. This happened in an FA Cup fixture between Chelsea and Sheffield United in 1992, when he fouled Dane Whitehouse.
In 1992, he was incorporated back into Wimbledon after a spell at Chelsea.
He became embroiled in a dispute over the video ‘Soccer’s Hard Men,’ which was published on October 19, 1992. He was the host of a film that featured various soccer tough guys. It was heavily chastised, with charges that it glorified dirty play and included tips and methods for aspiring “hard men” of the game on how to frighten their opponents.
While Wimbledon chairman Sam Hammam referred to Jones as “a mosquito brain,” he was fined a record £20,000 and given a six-month suspension (suspended for three years) by the Football Association for “bringing the game into disgrace.”
During his time at Wimbledon, he helped the team equal its best ever league finish in 1993-94 and scored the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Arsenal F.C. at Highbury in the 1996-97 season. Meanwhile, he made his Wales debut under Mike Smith on December 14, 1994, in a Euro 96 qualifying match against Bulgaria, which Bulgaria won 3-0. Through his maternal grandfather, who was born in Ruthin, he qualified for the Wales squad in December of that year.
From 1994 to 1997, he played in nine matches for Wales, the last of which was a World Cup qualifying match against Belgium on March 29, 1997, which Belgium won 2-1. In early 1998, he left Wimbledon to join Queens Park Rangers as a player/coach, appearing in nine games for the team until 1999. Jones announced in a news release in June 2010 that he was donating his 1988 FA Cup winning medal to A.F.C. Wimbledon supporters.
Acting and Other Interests
Jones began his acting career in the British crime comedy film ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,’ which was released on August 28, 1998. He played Big Chris, a mafia enforcer, in the film, which was critically and commercially successful, earning him worldwide prominence and opening the door for subsequent wicked and fiery parts.
In 1998, he wrote his autobiography, ‘Vinnie: The Autobiography,’ which he reissued in 1999 with new facts. In 1998, GQ Magazine named him “Man of the Year.” Jones made his TV debut in 2005, playing himself in the British sitcom ‘Extras’, while also appearing in numerous other films such as ‘Snatch’ (2000), Swordfish (2001), and EuroTrip (2004). Over the years, he has appeared in a number of other TV shows, including ‘The Cape’ (2011), ‘Mind Games’ (2014), and ‘Galavant’ (2015-16).
He was a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother 7, a British reality television show, where he came in third place. In the 2017-18 season of the American TV crime procedural program ‘Deception,’ he will play Gunter Gastafsen.
Cain Marko/Juggernaut, a fictitious super villain from the superhero film ‘X-Men:
The Last Stand,’ based on Marvel Comics’ introduced X-Men superhero team, was one of his most noteworthy cinematic performances. ‘X-Men: The Last Stand,’ starring Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry, was released in May 2006 and became the seventh highest grossing film of the year. It is the fourth highest grossing picture in the series to date.
In the American-British family comedy film ‘Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties’ (2006), he voiced Rommel, and in the American 3D computer-animated comedy film ‘Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted,’ he voiced Freddie The Dog (2012).
Jones played the vicious and violent character of Drake in the action-thriller film ‘Escape Plan,’ which was released in October 2013 and starred Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. ‘She’s the Man’ (2006), ‘Fractured’ (2013), ‘Redirected’ (2014), and ‘The Midnight Man’ (2016) are only a handful of Jones’ other projects.
‘Madness in the Method’ and ‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’ are two of his future flicks.
Personal History and Legacy
He married Tanya Terry in Watford on June 25, 1994. His son is a Life Guard in the British Army.
He openly declares his support for the Conservative Party. His “hard guy” reputation followed him off the field as well, landing him in legal trouble on several occasions, including being convicted of criminal damage and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in June 1998 following an altercation involving a neighbor in November 1997.
In November 2013, it was revealed that he and his wife were both undergoing skin cancer therapy. Between 2014 and 2015, they were healed of their disease.
Estimated Net Worth
Vinnie Jones has a net worth of $10 million as a British actor and former footballer (soccer player). Jones rose to prominence in the English First Division by playing for teams such as Wimbledon. He earned a reputation for being exceedingly tough and violent at this time, and he was a member of the Wimbledon team known as the “Crazy Gang.” Despite their questionable on-field actions, this side was highly successful, winning the FA Cup in 1988.