Ray Winstone pursued his acting career because he was ''too good looking'' to be a boxer.

The 60-year-old actor has admitted one of his biggest passions is the sport, but he decided to forge a career in front of the camera because he didn't want to ''ruin'' his appearance.

Speaking to the Metro newspaper about his profession and his journey to where he is now, the hard man said: '' I was too good looking [to be a boxer]. I didn't want to ruin me looks. Why are you laughing?''

The 'Jawbone' star has also admitted his dream of being in the ring instead of in the entertainment industry was also because he simply ''wasn't good enough'' at the physical exercise.

He added: '' I really wasn't good enough.''

And to fill the hole in his life where boxing would be Ray developed a bigger interest in women.

When asked what he replaced boxing with, he said: '' Women. There was a world out there, I done 'Scum' and by 21 kind of thought acting was what I wanted to do.''

Meanwhile, Ray believes the industry has changed since he first started, and has paved the way for ''the posh brigade'' of actors to take over.

The London-born star said: ''When I was starting out there wasn't many kids around like me. When I was a young actor, being a working-class kid was kind of new. That's what they were looking for and because I'd done 'Scum' I was kind of the first name on the list. Today, how can I say it, it's more the posh brigade.''