Sting on 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'

"I play a father of one of the main characters. I don't know how old he is, but I feel good playing his dad. It's nice to be a dad. It's kind of that time in my career - I'm playing people's dads."
MTV, 3/99

"JD won his bar in a game of cards with Hatchet Harry. My son, Eddy has lost more money than he can afford and Harry decides that he wants his bar back. Naturally, I'm not very happy about this. JD's fairly tough. He's not a gangster but he lives in the fringes of that world. He's a a business man who used to be a gambler. My brother owns a bar in Newcastle so I'm actually playing my brother. This is a pacey, funny, very modern British film. Guy's (Ritchie) a young director with some really interesting ideas and an ability to capture the exciting momentum of a film like this on camera."
LS&2SB DVD Liner Notes, 3/99

'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' was THE surprise British hit film of 1998 and went on to launch a disappointing spin-off TV series, and a whole plethora of sub-standard Brit-crime movies over the following two years. Set in London's rough and grubby East End, the film is littered with despicable characters, yet despite this the humour is constant. The basic plot is that Eddy (Nick Moran) loses a vast sum at cards to porn baron Hatchet Harry (P.H. Moriarty) who gives Eddy a few days to come up with the cash or else Eddy's father JD (Sting) will forfeit the bar (which he originally won from Harry in a card game) in lieu of the debt. Eddy hatches a plan with his mates, and they undertake a drugs theft to raise the cash, but cross both Harry's minder Big Chris (an excellent debut by Vinnie Jones) and psychotic drugs baron Rory Breaker (Vas Blackwood). All hell subsequently breaks loose... The film blends several story lines in a Tarantino-esque style that cleverly come together to reveal the full picture. Sting's cameo as JD is excellent - especially his head to head chat with Big Chris - but it's a shame that his character does not got more screen time. Co-produced by Trudie Styler who was responsible for some clever marketing which built a significant buzz around the movie pre-release.
Dave & Wendy / Sting.com