Who Is Vinnie Jones on 'Law & Order: OC'? Details on His Character, Wife, and Past Roles

Season 2 of Law & Order: Organized Crime is underway. Its return was highly anticipated by fans worried it would get the ax after just one season. Thankfully, it's here for a second season, welcoming back American Horror Story's Dylan McDermott as crime lord Richard Wheatley and Oscar-winner Ellen Burstyn as Bernadette "Bernie" Stabler, along with a few new cast members.

On this season of NBC's Organized Crime, fans will meet newcomers Congressman Leon Kilbride, played by This Is Us star Ron Cephas Jones, and Albi Briscu, played by The Big Ugly star Vinnie Jones. It's the latter character, an Eastern European gangster, who has sparked much interest. Just where have we seen that face? Well, we're here to fill you in on everything Vinnie Jones. From his wife to his past roles, here's everything you need to know.

Before you saw the British tough guy on the big screen or the small screen, he was busy being a professional footballer in the '80s and '90s, a defensive midfielder to be exact. He transitioned to acting head-on in the late '90s, appearing in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Gone in 60 Seconds, Snatch, and eventually landing the lead role of Danny Meehan in 2001's Mean Machine. Crime comedies and action heist films became his thing, which makes sense if you take one measly look at the guy.

Vinnie later scored an impressive role as antagonist Juggernaut in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand. But scoring a string of roles in blockbuster after blockbuster eventually ended for the macho man, as it often does. “If you look at my career, it flew off the rails,” Vinnie told The Guardian in August 2021. “Went up, went to Hollywood, everything else: bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. The wheels were going, it was a downhill train and everybody was on it – the train was full!"

Things were really good for Vinnie in the 2000s; he had a booming acting career, a beautiful wife, Tanya Terry, a stepdaughter, Kaley Terry (who he later adopted), and a son, Aaron Elliston Jones. Though he married Tanya in 1994, the couple had known each other since they were kids living in Watford, a town in Hertfordshire, England. They later reconnected and fell in love.

Sadly, Vinnie's wife, Tanya, whom he was madly in love with, died at 53 years old on July 6, 2019, after a six-year cancer battle. Tanya wasn't so lucky when it came to her health. She had a heart transplant at 21 years old, beat cervical cancer twice, and was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2013. The cancer eventually spread to her lungs and brain, causing her untimely death. Tanya passed with her family right by her side, holding her tightly.

"I’m content with crashing my way through the last 10, 20, 30 years of my life in God’s waiting room, in Tanya’s waiting room," Vinnie tearfully told Piers Morgan on Piers Morgan's Life Stories in 2020. "I’d let her down so many times, but she’d catch me." Vinnie, clearly more than his macho man exterior, proves you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Vinnie shared that he sees a therapist, at one point three times a week, to cope with his beloved wife's death.

Vinnie has obviously been to hell and back, but it hasn't stopped him from taking on new roles in both TV and movies. Not only did he star in 2020's mob drama The Big Ugly, but it was the first movie he ever co-produced! He's clearly worn many hats, which has earned him an impressive net worth of approximately $10 million.

However, acting seems to have Vinnie Jones' heart. “With Law & Order I find myself totally at home in a big role," he told The Guardian. Well, we're sure fans of the Dick Wolf universe will be pleased to know that.

Law & Order: Organized Crime airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST on NBC.