Kingsley is a Sexy Beast

The sexy beast of the title is played by Ray Winstone - Gal, an ex-villain living in contented retirement in Spain. I play his old partner, Don, who arrives to get him to return to London for one more heist.

Don's loyalty to the tribe, his warrior's refusal to lose face and his devotion to the job, however simplistic, are real. That devotion - and the code of honour - I found energising and very playable. I knew where I was with Don.

He was completely, obsessively committed to being a good sergeant, knowing in his heart he'll never make a general - so he tries to be the greatest sergeant ever. He's admiring of the type of warrior that Gal used to be but can't understand why he's given it up. "What happened? You used to be the best."

Ray is a generous, big-hearted, brave, vulnerable actor, who allows himself to soften in front of the camera to portray his love for his wife, for the sun, for barbecue and beer - his lifestyle which is antithetic to prison and his sensuality - all the things that my character finds questionable and threatening. Ray brought them to scenes time after time, making my character look great - and my job was to make Ray's character look complex, extraordinary and torn apart. Ray is torn by tribal honour and commitment to his wife, played by Amanda Redman, and my character by my tribal honour and love for Jackie, played by Julianne White.

This film happened because ICM are the agents of myself and writer/director Jonathan Glazer. They sent me the script. Don on the page said, "Mr Kingsley, you have to play me."