Ray Winstone almost turned down a part in Russell Crowe's new Biblical epic Noah because he couldn't fathom how the story could possibly work onscreen.

The British actor appears opposite Crowe and Emma Watson in Darren Aronofsky's big screen re-telling of the famous Bible story, but admits he found the concept preposterous when he was first offered the job.

He says, "It's Noah's Ark - I laughed when it first came through. 'What am I going to do in Noah's Ark? It's a Biblical piece'. I laughed again when they said Russell Crowe's playing Noah - 'How can Russell play Noah?'"

However, Winstone changed his mind after giving the offer some thought. He adds, "I thought 'I've never seen Russell in a bad film'. Then I read the script and I went, 'You know what? Lovely'. I turned up and had four wonderful months on a film with really clever people. I had a ball."

Noah is due for release next year (14).