Jason Statham (/ˈsteɪθəm/STAY-thəm; born 26 July 1967) is an English actor. He is known for portraying tough, gritty, or violent characters in variousaction thriller films, and has been credited for leading the resurgence of action films during the 2000s and 2010s.[1] By 2017, his films had grossed over£1.1 billion ($1.5 billion), making him one of the industry's mostbankable stars.[2][3] Films in which he has appeared have grossed over $8.5 billion worldwide.[4]
Statham has also starred as Lee Christmas in the ensemble action film seriesThe Expendables (2010–2023) and asDeckard Shaw in theFast & Furious franchise (2013–2023), including the spin-offHobbs & Shaw (2019), which he co-produced. His voice acting work includes the documentariesThai Boxing: A Fighting Chance (2002),Truth in 24 (2008) and its2012 sequel, and the animated filmGnomeo & Juliet (2011).
Early life and education
Jason Statham was born inShirebrook on 26 July 1967,[6][7] the son of dancer Eileen (née Yates) and street seller Barry Statham.[8] His father also worked odd jobs as a house painter, coal miner, and singer in theCanary Islands.[9] Statham moved toGreat Yarmouth, where he initially chose not to follow his father's career working the local market stalls, instead practisingmartial arts. He grew up alongside football playerVinnie Jones, with whom he would later act; Jones introduced him tofootball, and Statham went on to play for the localgrammar school, which he attended from 1978 to 1983. He was also passionate aboutdiving, practising daily to perfect his techniques.[10] He was a member of Great Britain'sNational Swimming Squad for 12 years,[11][12] and competed for England at the1990 Commonwealth Games in the 10 metre, 3 metre, and 1 metre events, coming tenth, eleventh and eighth respectively.[13] He said in a 2003 interview that his time with the national squad was a "great experience" that taught him "discipline, focus, and certainly [kept him] out of trouble".[14]
Statham was spotted by the sports modelling agency Sports Promotions while training at London'sCrystal Palace National Sports Centre. He was signed byTommy Hilfiger, Griffin, andLevi's for various modelling contracts during their 1996 spring and summer collections.[15] In 1997, he became a model for the clothing brandFrench Connection. A spokesperson for the high street clothing chain said, "We chose Jason because we wanted our model to look like a normal guy. His look is just right for now: very masculine and not too male-modelly."[7] However, he was still forced to follow in his father's footsteps as a street seller to make ends meet, stating that he sold "fake perfume and jewellery on street corners".[9][16] He made small appearances in a few music videos, including "Comin' On" byThe Shamen in 1993, "Run to the Sun" byErasure in 1994,[17] and "Dream a Little Dream of Me" byThe Beautiful South in 1995.[18][19]
Career
2000–2010: Rise to prominence
Statham in 2007
While working as a model for French Connection, Statham was introduced to fledgling filmmakerGuy Ritchie,[20] who was developing a film and needed to fill the role of a streetwise con artist. After learning about Statham's past as a market stall salesman, Ritchie cast him in the crime comedy thrillerLock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998).[21] The film was well received by both critics and audiences, and helped put Statham in the public eye; for his role, he was paid£5,000.[9] Statham's second collaboration with Ritchie came withSnatch (2000), which earned more than $80 million at the box office. For his role inSnatch, he was paid £15,000.[9] He was then able to break into Hollywood and appeared in two films in 2001: the science fiction action horror filmGhosts of Mars and the science fiction martial arts action filmThe One.
In 2002, he narrated the martial arts documentaryThai Boxing: A Fighting Chance (2002), which follows the lives of three individuals who come from very different backgrounds that are all trainingMuay Thai, each with their own unique motivations and stories, as they prepare for their next fight.[22]
In 2005, Statham was once again cast by Ritchie to star in his new project,Revolver, which was a critical and box office failure.[25] He played a dramatic role in theindependent filmLondon in 2006. That same year he played the lead role in the action filmCrank. Statham was asked to promoteCrank during the 2006San Diego Comic-Con Convention.[26] In 2008, Statham starred in the British crime thrillerThe Bank Job andDeath Race, a remake ofDeath Race 2000 (1975). American film criticArmond White hailed Statham's ascension as an action film star. On the occasion ofDeath Race, White championed Statham's "best track record of any contemporary movie star."[27] Later in 2008, White praised Statham'sTransporter 3 as a great example of kineticpop art. Chris Hewitt ofEmpire Magazine, noted the film as "a dour, drab affair", but credited the film with "establishing Statham as a new action hero, as at ease with gruff one-liners as he was with Jackie Chan-esque high-kicking".[28]
In 2009, Statham started to develop a new movie written byDavid Peoples andJanet Peoples. Statham stated "We've got a movie we're trying to do, written by David Peoples and Janet Peoples, in the vein of an old film,The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. It's not a remake or anything, but it's a little bit like that, about relationships and how greed contaminates the relationships these three people have. The working title isThe Grabbers."[29] He reprised his role as Chev Chelios in the 2009 sequelCrank: High Voltage.[30]
In his first film of 2011, Statham starred inthe remake of the 1972Charles Bronson filmThe Mechanic as Arthur Bishop. Atheatrical trailer depicting Statham's character "shooting a man's head off"was banned from circulation by theAdvertising Standards Authority for showing excessive violence.[33] His role inThe Mechanic was positively reviewed by the critics both in the United States and the United Kingdom.The Guardian praised his performance as possessing a "now-customary efficiency" in attaining "an entertaining hitman thriller".[34]The New York Times noted Statham as "sleek as a bullet"; and the film "a more powerful recharge" of the original.[35] UK newspaper,The Daily Telegraph hailed Statham as "England's best export to action movies in just about forever, a businesslike brute with gentlemanly soul."[36] He returned to British film by starring in the police dramaBlitz asDetective Sergeant Tom Brant. The film received mixed reviews with Cath Clake ofThe Guardian reviewing it as "not half bad" and "oddly entertaining".[37] He was then cast in the action filmKiller Elite. The film was based on real events, which were the subject ofSir Ranulph Fiennes' novelThe Feather Men. Statham played an assassin named Danny who comes out of retirement to save an old friend, played byRobert De Niro.[38] The film grossed returned a negative budget, and was panned by the critics.[39]
In August 2011, he began filmingParker for directorTaylor Hackford; the film was released in January 2013. Statham playedParker, the criminal antihero previously played byMel Gibson in 1999'sPayback and byLee Marvin in 1967'sPoint Blank (though their characters were given different surnames).[40]A. O. Scott ofThe New York Times said of the actor in the film: "[Statham], who seems to be made entirely of muscle and scar tissue, is comfortable with his limitations as an actor. His Parker, in any case, is more of an axiom than a fully rounded human being."[41] A 2012BBC News report estimated that his ten-year film career to date (2002 to 2012) yielded over one billion dollars in the box office, making him one of the industry's mostbankable stars.[3] He was signed on to reprise his role as Lee Christmas inThe Expendables 2 in 2012.[42]
In 2013, Statham had a cameo appearance at the end ofFast & Furious 6 asthe brother of the film's antagonist Owen Shaw (Luke Evans).[43] He reprised the character, this time as the main antagonist, inFurious 7, which was released in April 2015.[44][45][46] He also starred oppositeJames Franco in the thrillerHomefront, written bySylvester Stallone,[47] and headlined the British thrillerHummingbird. The latter film was praised by critics for pushing Statham's acting abilities to new heights. His "attempt to develop his 'brand' by trying more adventurous parts" noted byThe Guardian'sMark Kermode, "[broadened] his dramatic palette".[48][49] Statham made a cameo in the 2014 music videoSummer ofCalvin Harris as one of the car racers. In 2014, he returned as Lee Christmas inThe Expendables 3. Although critically panned,[50] the film would go on to gross $215 million against a $90 million budget.[51]
In 2015, he starred in the action comedySpy alongsideMelissa McCarthy,Jude Law, andRose Byrne. The film, a commercial success, was particularly praised for showcasing Statham's comedic side in contrast to his more serious roles.[52][53][54][55] According to an article byEmpire magazine, aSpy 2 was development in late 2015, with more screen time dedicated for Statham's character, Rick Ford.[56] He was nominated for theCritic's Choice Award for Best Actor in a Comedy for his role inSpy.[57]
Statham was offered a three-film contract toreboot theTransporter series in late 2015, but turned it down because he was not given the script before the signing date and unhappy with its compensation package.[58][59] According to an article byThe Guardian, Statham expressed interest in playingJames Bond in the upcomingSpectre film. Its author, Steve Rose noted that "there was no doubt Statham can walk the Bond walk. And talking his talk can hardly be an issue with a character whose accent has fluctuated betweenSean Connery's Scottish brogue andTimothy Dalton's Welsh."[60] After the interview there were multiple calls from critics and the public to instate him as James Bond in a future film.[61][62][63]
2016–present: Continued success
The sequel to his 2011 filmThe Mechanic was scheduled for production in late 2016 and announced to open asMechanic: Resurrection. The film went on to become highly commercially successfully in international film markets grossing $109.4 million worldwide.[64] According toForbes, the film was Statham's "seventh-biggest earner" and most commercially successful solo film venture of his career.[64]
Spy 2 was confirmed on 15 February 2018.[72][73] But later in 2018, Feig explained that although a sequel toSpy could still happen, "there hasn't been any interest from the studio" in the project.[74][75]
Statham played the lead, former Naval captain Jonas Taylor, in the 2018 action-horror filmThe Meg, which was released on 10 August. The film would go on to gross $527.8 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing U.S.-Chinese co-production of all time.[76]
In 2022, Statham established his own production company, Punch Palace Productions.[citation needed]
Public image
An article by Adam Gabbatt inThe Guardian noted that Statham's character contributions to his industry and film niche are "tough [and] uncompromising".[80][81] Some critics note his presence as a "defining feature" that signals to movie-goers the content of a film.[82] The same exposé commented, "You know what you're getting with a Jason Statham film. He will beat people up. He will crash cars. He will do an unconvincing American accent."[80]Statham's impact on the action-thriller genre has been seen by Gabbatt as a replacement of the same undertaken byArnold Schwarzenegger,Sylvester Stallone, andJean-Claude Van Damme during their runs as headliners throughout the 1980s and 1990s.[80] Statham himself cites Stallone,Bruce Lee,Paul Newman,Steve McQueen, andClint Eastwood as his inspirations.[83]
An article byTimes Higher Education reported thatManchester University Press commissioned an academic study analysing the impact Statham has had on the British and American film industries from his debut in 1998 to 2018. According to the article, professors Steven Gerrard and Robert Shail are looking to show "the changing face of British cinematic masculinity" into "one that embraces cinema across a wide range of projects, but one that also uses cross-textual media in his output".[2]
In popular media
In 2003, Statham appeared in three British television commercials for theKit Kat chocolate bar. Described as a "break philosopher", he philosophised about salmon swimming upstream, a Mexican fisherman, and the relative speeds and ages of animals, before ending with a reminder that "taking a break" (alluding to the Kit Kat slogan) is an important part of life.[citation needed]
Statham has been in a relationship with modelRosie Huntington-Whiteley since 2010.[86] The couple announced their engagement in January 2016.[87] Their son was born in June 2017.[88] Their daughter was born on 2 February 2022.[89] They lived inBeverly Hills for a number of years[90] before moving back toLondon in 2020.[91][92][93]
In a 2013 interview withVanity Fair, Statham advocated forstunt performers to be given their own category at theAcademy Awards: "All of the stunt men, these are the unsung heroes. They really are. Nobody is giving them any credibility. They're risking their necks. And then you've got poncy actors pretending like they're doing [the stunts]."[82]
