Rise of the Krays: Who plays Ronnie and Reggie in movie?

In the movie The Rise of the Krays, which first came out in 2015, the twins are played by actors Simon Cotton and Kevin Leslie.

Cotton plays Ronnie, the more dominant and somewhat harder to control brother, while Reggie, known as the more measured brother, is played by Leslie.

This film shows the Kray twins in their rise to the gangster ranks from childhood to adulthood, focusing on their relationship with their mother, Violet Kray, played by Nicola Stapleton, as well as their fights against rival gangs.

The low-budget movie came out in the shadow of Legend, the Tom Hardy film where the main actor starred in both roles.

Sadly, Legend gained far more attention considering it saw Hardy play both leading roles, and had a far larger budget.

The movie was already in production when news on Legend happened, but The Rise of the Krays had one thing on which it hinged: its authenticity.

The Rise of the Krays was written by Ken Brown and his son Sebastian, and bankrolled by Ken’s brother, the football chairman Terry Brown.

Simon Cotton, who plays Ronnie Kray, said of their film compared to Legend in a 2015 interview with Evening Standard: “We can’t compete in terms of budget.

“But Ken probably knows more about the Krays than anyone else.”

The Browns grew up on the Clapton-Hackney border during the rise of the Krays, and wanted to base the film on “gritty authenticity.”

Cotton added: “He said: “The reality is the Krays were horrible pieces of work and in our film they come out as horrible pieces of work.”

Compared to Legend, a movie which glamorised the Kray Twins and their ‘legend’ the film was received well, while Legend did not achieve as strong reviews.

The Rise of the Krays is on tonight (April 6) on Channel 5 at 11pm