From his early days with Britain's national swim team to his current status as one of the world's
most bankable movie stars, Jason Statham has lived an interesting life. If you want
to learn more about the iconic English action hero, here's the untold truth of Jason Statham.
If Jason Statham is starring in a movie, you best believe that there's going to be
some action involved. Whether it's an adrenaline-pumping car chase,
a bullet-spraying shootout, or a good, old-fashioned, bare-handed beatdown,
the action star seems to feed off of stunt work. And more often than not,
Statham is actually the one performing the stunts, too. As he explained to IGN -
"I'd do more if they let me. I've never really been frightened to do anything."
In an interview with The Guardian,
the Transporter star talked about how his early ambition of becoming a stuntman
was initially sparked by watching a man doing a high dive into a hotel pool, saying -
"He'd done this sort of reverse layout and I was like [...] 'I'd love to do that!'"
Years later, the young daredevil had mastered the craft of diving,
and he was even selected to compete for the British national team in the 1990 Commonwealth
Games. Although Statham ultimately retired from the sport, perhaps his intense diving
training helped hone his body for the demanding stunt work that his film career would bring.
A lot of today's biggest actors and actresses were taught how to hone their craft through
years of studying drama or performing in prestigious theater productions. Jason Statham,
however, apparently has a bit of a different origin story than your typical A-lister.
When speaking to Esquire, the Crank actor opened up about how his father taught him
to hustle on the London streets when he was just a teenager, saying -
"I'd sit down outside of Harrods, and I'd pitch the jewelry. […] And what I'm selling
is costume jewelry, basically. […] But I'm selling it with a bit of street theater
and having a bit of fun with it, making a living."
An actor is nothing if not a skilled salesman, right?
Statham went on to boast that he was such a talented hustler that he could pull in as much
as $3000 in a weekend. So what did the future Fast & Furious star say he'd spend all that dough on?
"We'd buy cars, and we'd race. [...] Cars I've always loved."
Statham literally went from hawking sketchy goods on street corners to starring in blockbuster
action movies, but throughout it all, the man's love for automobiles has remained strong.
Who says bromance is dead? Jason Statham and Guy Ritchie,
the well-renowned director of action flicks like 2017's King Arthur: Legend of the Sword,
prove that having a dependable go-to guy can be a real asset in Hollywood. The duo make up
a powerful actor-director combo, joining the ranks of other successful tag-teams.
Ritchie is actually the man responsible for jump-starting Statham's acting career,
casting him as Bacon in 1998's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,
despite the fact that he had absolutely zero acting experience. As Statham explained to
Esquire, Ritchie, who he'd met through an earlier modeling gig, approached
him about the role because the streetwise character was similar to Statham, saying -
"He just wanted someone who was authentic. He said, 'I'm gonna get
someone from f---ing drama school to do this? How can they learn what you've learned?'"
After Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, the two collaborated again in 2000's
Snatch and 2005's Revolver.
In an interview with Yahoo Entertainment,
the Sherlock Holmes director had nothing but kind words for his British BFF. As he put it,
"Jason Statham is one of my most favorite people in the entire world. He's grumpy,
and he's one of the few grumpy people that doesn't annoy me in any way."
In 1986, Nestlé executives introduced the world to one
of the catchiest commercials in American history:
"Gimme a break, gimme a break. Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar!"
But over in the UK, candy-lovers were more familiar with a different slogan, one that went -
"Have a break — have a Kit Kat."
That catchphrase lasted for 47 years, up until the early 2000s, when a company spokesperson
announced a change in their market approach. Part of that plan involved a brand new slogan:
"Make the most of your break."
And another piece of that advertising campaign involved one of England's hottest names at the
time — Jason Statham. Riding the success of popular films like 2002's The Transporter
and 2003's The Italian Job, Statham nabbed a partnership with the candy company, making him
"The Break Philosopher." The actor starred in a total of three ads for Kit Kat, and the brand's
then-account director, Emma Stewart-Smith, was very pleased with their selection, explaining -
"Jason Statham was the best choice. He is down to earth and credible when telling the stories.
He hasn't done ads before, so people tend to listen to him more. Also,
women fancy him, and men think he's a good bloke."
Although they've been around for about 20 years, the commercials are still pretty funny today.
Statham's love life proves that age is nothing but a number. The British
stud has dated a number of beautiful women throughout the past few decades,
and most of them have been younger than him by double-digits.
Statham dated English model and media personality Kelly Brook for seven years
before ultimately calling it quits in 2004. He then spent nearly a year with
former Bachelorette starlet Sophie Monk before getting serious with Alex Zosman,
who he'd go on to date until early 2010. After he and Zosman parted ways, the Expendables star was
spotted out with former Victoria's Secret angel, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Despite their 20-year
age difference, the pair, who got engaged in 2016, have now been going strong for over ten years.
Sylvester Stallone's Expendables movies don't exactly shy away from
killing. The total kill count in the 2010 original tallies up to 221 deaths,
a number that's more than doubled in its explosive sequel, 2012's The Expendables 2.
For the third installment in the grizzly franchise, Jason Statham apparently
nearly wound up on the kill count in real life after a dangerous stunt went awry.
When speaking to The Mirror at the Expendables 3 premiere in 2014, Stallone told the tale of
how his co-star had a very close call during the film's production, saying -
"He faced death. He was test-driving a three-ton truck, and the brakes run out."
Statham, doing his own stunts per usual, crashed the runaway vehicle
into the Black Sea. According to Stallone, if had it been anyone else driving the truck,
they most likely would've died, saying -
"We would have drowned. But because Jason is an Olympic-quality diver, he got out of it."
Years later, Statham recalled the near-death experience during
an interview with The Red Bulletin, noting how it changed his attitude.
"It's a real recalibration of everything. From that day on,
I've been so appreciative of life and being able to walk on the ground.
I think we all need [an experience] like that — one that puts things in perspective."
Unlike some of the action heroes he's portrayed on the big screen,
Statham seemingly understands that he's not invincible.
Jason Statham's filmography proves that he's always up for joining a multi-film franchise.
In addition to the wildly popular Expendables and Fast & Furious cinematic universes,
he's also filmed a number of sequels to his own films, such as Transporter 2 and 3, Crank 2:
High Voltage, and Mechanic: Resurrection. Strangely enough, there's one multi-billion
dollar entity that the British bad boy opted out of — the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
When speaking to Den of Geek in 2017, Marvel boss Kevin Feige confirmed that
he had once considered Statham for a role in the MCU, but scheduling conflicts kept
it from happening. Feige had nothing but nice things to say of the action icon,
noting that the actor even called him after the fact to apologize, explaining -
"He was saying, 'Sorry it didn't work out, maybe next time.' He couldn't have been nicer."
The role he was considered for is anyone's guess,
but some fans believe that Statham was up for the part of notorious Daredevil-baddie Bullseye.
This news was somewhat surprising considering that Statham had made
some pretty disrespectful comments about Marvel movies when speaking to Italian website i400
Calci a couple years earlier, saying -
"I could take my grandma and put her in a cape, and they'll put her on a green screen,
and they'll have stunt doubles come in and do all the action — anybody can do it."
Honestly, if Statham's grandma is anything like he
is, then she probably would make a believable superhero!
In 2005's thrilling Revolver, Jason Statham plays a scheming gambler named Jake Green.
While in prison, Green discovers a formulaic game-winning strategy with the help of two
fellow inmates, a skilled con man and a chess master. And as it turns out, Green's skills on
the chess board are apparently something that he shares with the film's star in real life.
In an interview with Cinema.com, Statham spoke about the competitive relationship he has with
Revolver's director and longtime friend, Guy Ritchie, noting that they are fierce chess rivals.
"Ahh it's beautiful man. You have to admire the opponent's elegance. Check."
To hear him tell it, he's clearly the superior player -
"The toughest moment is getting Guy Ritchie to pay his debts when he loses at chess.
He just won't pay up. He won't accept the loss. I have to live with that."
However, Ritchie has also playfully claimed that he doesn't respect Statham as a chess player,
so the jury is still out as to which talented celebrity is the real chess whiz.
In 2013's underrated action thriller, Homefront, Statham plays Phil Broker,
a recently widowed former DEA agent who moves to a small Louisiana town to raise his young daughter.
When things go sideways and the town's drug dealer targets the new family,
it's up to Broker to fend off the bad guys and keep his kid safe. Statham plays the
paternal role with great authenticity, which was perhaps an indicator of things to come.
In June 2017, Statham and his fiancée, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, welcomed their firstborn,
son Jack Oscar, to the world. Since then, Statham has looked every bit the part of a proud and
typical dad. Young Jack certainly has a bright future with such talented parents to look up to.
When speaking to Now This, The Meg's leading man opened up about
how becoming a dad truly changed his life and reshuffled his priorities, saying -
"You learn as soon as you become a dad that […] all your selfish desires are put on a very large
back-burner. […] It's an incredible transition and it's the greatest feeling in the world."
He may be a tough guy onscreen,
but fatherhood proves that Statham may have a soft side, after all.
"I'm a big softie. I get told off for being too soft."
In 2018's thrilling shark tale, The Meg, Statham played Jonas Taylor, a scorned ex-rescue diver
with a personal vendetta against a mysterious massive underwater beast that only he believes is
real. When the creature, which is revealed to be a gargantuan prehistoric shark called a megalodon,
eventually rears its ugly head again, it's up to Taylor and crew to find it
and take it down before it unleashes an aquatic killing spree. It's like Jaws on steroids.
While the film's enormous man-eater is only a product of CGI and bad dreams,
don't get it twisted. Statham probably would have hopped in the water even if the
thing was real! In an interview with Entertainment Weekly,
the notorious English daredevil recalled a time when he went diving with bull sharks in Fiji,
admitting that it was an ordeal being inches away from a swarm of the large, toothy fish, saying -
"All of the fear — or the perceived fear — is done in your own head before you get down there
with them. […] So once you're swimming down there with all the other divers,
it's phenomenal. It's one of the greatest experiences you could have, for me anyway."
Swimming in shark-infested waters is apparently just another relaxing day
in the life of Jason Statham.
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