Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is perhaps best known for his "hard man" roles (usually delivered in his distinctive London accent). The first of these was the character Carlin in Scum, the 1979 film remake of a BBC television play in which Winstone had originated the role, and which was not broadcast due to its violent nature.
Ray Winstone has been described as one of the UK's "seminal screen hard nuts". He has appeared in a wide variety of feature films, including Nil by Mouth (1997), Sexy Beast (2000), Ripley's Game (2002), The Magic Roundabout (2005), The Proposition (2005), The Departed (2006), Beowulf (2007), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), 44 Inch Chest (2009), London Boulevard (2010), Hugo (2011), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), Point Break (2015), Cats (2019) and Black Widow (2021).
Winstone next starred as Arjan van Diemen in the film Tracker with Temuera Morrison He had a role as CIA agent Darius Jedburgh in the Edge of Darkness remake, replacing Robert De Niro. In 2012, Winstone played the role of Detective Inspector Jack Regan in a remake of The Sweeney (having had a minor role in the original series). Ray Winstone also starred in the slasher-thriller film Red Snow, directed by Stuart St. Paul and based on a short film by Adam Mason.
In 2011, Winstone starred in the British independent film The Hot Potato, a comedy thriller about two men who come into possession of a lump of uranium. The film, which is set in the East End of London in the 1960s, also stars Winstone's eldest daughter Lois Winstone, Jack Huston, Colm Meaney, and David Harewood.