Vinnie Jones

Vinnie Jones (born Vincent Peter Jones, 5.1.1965)

Vinnie Jones is an ex-professional footballer and British film actor.

Vinnie Jones: Childhood

Vinnie Jones was born in Watford, England. His father was a gamekeeper.

Vinnie Jones: Football Career

Vinnie Jones' football career began in 1984, when he played for the Alliance Premier League team, Wealdstone. Outside of football, he worked as a hod carrier. Two years later, he played one season with a Swedish team, IFK Holmsund and helped them to win their league.

Later on in 1986, Vinnie Jones moved to Wimbledon, for £10,000. Over the ensuing few years, the team earned the media nickname of 'Crazy Gang', with Jones, Dennis Wise and John Fashanu being the key players of the team at that time, renowned for their boisterous behaviour and practical jokes they would play on each other and their manager, Dave Bassett.

Jones then moved to Leeds, under Howard Wilkinson's management. However, the opportunity to play regularly was lost when David Batty and Gary Speed were favoured over him. Vinnie Jones then played for Sheffield United and Chelsea before returning to Wimbledon. In 1998, he briefly played for and coached Queens Park Rangers.

Vinnie Jones was a notorious player, mainly due to his brutal and boisterous antics. He once distracted Paul Gascoigne (on the opposing team) by grabbing his testicles. He also ended Tottenham's Gary Stevens' career with a vicious tackle.

In 1992, Vinnie Jones presented a video entitled Soccer's Hard Men. He was subsequently fined £20,000, banned for six months and suspended from the FA for three years, for bringing the game into disrepute.

Vinnie Jones: A Life Away From the Football Pitch

Vinnie Jones published his autobiography, Vinnie: The Autobiography in 1998. It was reprinted the following year, to include details about his time working on the Guy Ritchie film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. The film became a huge success and also starred Nick Moran, Jason Statham, Sting and Dexter Fletcher. Guy Ritchie later cast him in Snatch, playing the role of Bullet-Tooth Tony. Snatch also starred Benicio Del Toro, Brad Pitt and Dennis Farina.

In 2002, Vinnie Jones appeared in a Westlife video, for the single 'Bop Bop Baby'. He also released an album of his own; a collection of blues and soul songs, entitled Respect. The album was released by Telstar in the UK.

In February 2005, Vinnie Jones became the first guest host on The Friday Night Project on Channel 4. The programme was hosted by Jimmy Carr, Lucy Montgomery, Rob Rouse and Sharon Hogan.

Vinnie Jones then landed a small part in the 2006 film She's The Man, a romantic comedy, which starred Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum. Later that year, he also appeared in the box office hit X-Men: the Last Stand, starring Hugh Jackman, Sir Ian McKellen and Halle Berry. Jones plays the role of a mutant named Juggernaut.

In 2008, Vinnie Jones hosted the ITV4 show Vinnie Jones' Toughest Cops.

In January 2010, Vinnie Jones became a contestant on that year's edition of Celebrity Big Brother, along with Lady Sovereign, Ivana Trump and Stephen Baldwin.

Vinnie Jones: Personal Life

Vinnie Jones lives with his wife, Tanya, in Los Angeles, as well as having a home in Hertfordshire. His son Aaron is in the British Army.

In 1998, Jones was convicted of assaulting a neighbour. The following year, he was also convicted of 'air rage'. He was also the subject of a two-day trial in the USA in 2009; he was accused of misdemeanour assault but was found not guilty.