Ray Winstone insists he's just a ''dad'', not a ''hardman''.

The 57-year-old actor has a reputation for being a tough guy thanks to his roles in gritty movies like 'Nil By Mouth' and 'London Boulevard', but he insists he's nothing like the characters he plays on screen.

Ray explained: ''People write things like I'm a hardman, they just write things like that.

''I'm not like that - I'm a dad. I've got three daughters. I look after my family and that's that. I'm not a hardman.''

As father to three daughters - 32-year-old rapper-and-model Lois, 29-year-old actress Jaime and 13-year-old Ellie - and husband to his wife of 35 years, Elaine, Ray admitted that spending time with his children is what he cherishes most and revealed he takes inspiration from his black cab driver father Raymond J. Winstone and his late mother, Margaret Richardson.

He told Loaded magazine: ''I had a good life growing up. There wasn't the money but my dad and mum kept a family together. My gran and granddad were the same. We've tried to have the same approach towards the girls. I sometimes think I've been a bit strict - but I'm also a big softie really. I worry for them, obviously.''