Guy Ritchie‘s career has grown considerably since his early lower-budget movies, but there is one aspect of these films missing from his recent blockbusters. Ritchie has become one of Hollywood’s busiest directors. This year alone, he has delivered the star-studded Fountain of Youth, as well as the popular crime series MobLand.

Starting with the Sherlock Holmes movies, starring Robert Downey Jr, Ritchie moved away from the smaller films that built the foundation of his career and has focused on big-budget projects. However, many of the best Guy Ritchie movies are from that earlier era of his career and remain beloved by fans.

MobLand and The Gentlemen have kept Ritchie close to his British gangster movie roots, which started with the likes of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. However, there is still one element from these classic Ritchie movies that is sorely missing from his more recent, bigger тιтles.

Guy Ritchie’s Early Movies Excelled At Casting Unproven Actors

Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels Was Filled With First-Time Actors

Guy Ritchie’s recent movies have continued his trend of working with A-list stars. The cast of MobLand is a star-studded affair, with Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, and Helen Mirren leading the ensemble. In his movies, Ritchie has worked with the likes of Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Henry Cavill in recent years.

Though these are all great actors who are exciting to see in Ritchie’s worlds, the filmmaker has stepped away from his old habits of taking chances on unproven actors. While it is not unusual for directors of smaller movies to turn to lesser-known actors to fill the casts, Ritchie actively sought out people who had never acted in their lives.

From athletes to musicians to people who operated somewhat outside of the law, Ritchie gave significant roles to people he felt had the right feel for these characters. Jason Statham was a former professional diver who was now selling counterfeit jewelry on the street when he was cast as Bacon in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.

Another actor Ritchie worked with frequently, Vinnie Jones, was fairly well known as a professional footballer with a reputation for playing dirty. Ritchie used that aggressive persona for the mob enforcer Big Chris in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. While not Oscar-worthy performances, these actors worked perfectly for Ritchie’s world.

Ritchie’s Early Casting Strategy Added Authenticity To His Movies

Real People Enriched These Low-Budget Stories

Guy Ritchie’s early casting strategy worked because he was smart about how to approach it. Ritchie was not taking random people and trying to shape them into great actors. Instead, he was drawn to interesting people and built characters around them that would not require a lot of acting on their part.

Statham’s character of Bacon begins Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels by selling fake jewelry on the street, simply showcasing the very thing Statham did in his own life. It felt like a real moment and showed a charismatic side to Statham that made him immediately interesting.

Lenny McLean was a boxer known as “The Guv’nor” who was cast to play the intimidating mob henchman, Barry the Baptist, in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. McLean clearly did not have a lot of range as an actor, but the role required him to be tough and imposing, something McLean pulled off easily.

These roles were key to a small movie like Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. With such a small budget, Ritchie had few resources to add to the movie. Having performers who bring authenticity to the characters was invaluable in making these stories feel richer. The world in which the film takes place suddenly feels more layered.

The professional delivery of the lines or complex emotions does not matter so much when the audience simply believes that this actor is really this character. Having such an authentic feel to that one aspect of the movie draws the audience in so much more.

Ritchie’s Early Movies Prove He Doesn’t Need Star-Power To Succeed

Ritchie Has Made Movie Stars On His Own

It is impressive the kind of star power Guy Ritchie has worked with over the years, from huge blockbuster stars like Robert Downey Jr. and Will Smith to Oscar winners like Natalie Portman and Matthew McConaughey. However, as effective as some of these actors have been in Ritchie movies, he doesn’t need stars to make a great movie.

Ritchie’s early movies announced him as an exciting new filmmaking talent, and he earned that reputation because of the fun energy of his movies, not the stars appearing in them. There are a number of key actors in those early movies who have rarely appeared in anything since, but fans still remember their performances in Ritchie’s movies.

As much as Ritchie builds characters to suit his actors, he has been able to find first-time actors like Jason Statham who prove to be capable of being movie stars. Similarly, Vinnie Jones never acted before working with Ritchie, but has maintained a career in movies and television ever since.

Ritchie’s more recent movies are much larger, and the studios would likely be nervous about entrusting the success of the film to an unproven talent. However, it would be nice to see Ritchie scale back and return to the style that started his career. This could even lead to him discovering the next hidden star.