JASON STATHAM

 

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Jason Statham (nickname Jay) has done quite a lot in a short career, with plenty more to come. As an Olympic Diver on the British National Diving Team he finished 12th in the World Championships in 1992. He was a fashion model, black market salesman and finally he took to acting - for action movie fans by far his best move. His background, including his interest in the martial arts has to a large extent shaped his screen character. He is 5' 9" (1.75 m) tall and of athletic build - perfect for the roles his rugged good looks cast him in. I'm nearly always entertained by his films, the Transporter series in particular, though I think he deserves a franchise with a bit more scope. But who am I to moan, these are practically cult movies.

 

 

Jason Statham in Transformers 4

 

Jason Statham in Transformers 4

 

 

Jason was born 12 September 1967. He is an English actor known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Revolver, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Statham appeared in supporting roles in several American films, such as The Italian Job, as well as playing the lead role in The Transporter, Death Race, Crank, The Bank Job and War (opposite martial arts star Jet Li). Statham also appeared alongside established action film actors Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jet Li and Dolph Lundgren in The Expendables. He usually performs his own fight scenes and stunts. Nice one Jason, but don't take too many chances.



Early life

 

Some websites report him as a Londoner, while his wikipedia page says Statham was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, the son of Eileen (née Yates) and Barry Statham, a lounge singer. He reportedly moved to Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, where he chose not to follow his father's career working the local market stalls, and decided to pursue the arts. He grew up with Vinnie Jones, alongside whom he would later go on to act. Jones introduced him to football, and Statham went on to play for the local grammar school (1978–83), which he had attended since the age of eleven, but his real passion was diving. He practiced daily in perfecting his diving techniques – in particular, he finished 12th in the World Championships in 1992. He was also a member of Britain's National Diving Squad for twelve years.

Statham's life in the media began when he was spotted by a talent agent specialising in athletes while training at London's Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. Afterwards, he became a model for the clothing brand French Connection.

 

 

The Transporter starring Jason Statham Crank, starring Jason Statham
The Transporter    Crank

 

           
Career 

 

While working for French Connection (FCUK), he was introduced to fledgling British director Guy Ritchie who was developing a film project and needed to fill the role of a street-wise con artist. After learning about Statham's past as a black market salesman, Ritchie cast him to play the role of "Bacon" in his 1998 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. The movie was well received by both critics and audiences, and helped catapult Statham into the public eye. Statham's second collaboration with Ritchie came in the 2000 film Snatch, playing the role of "Turkish". Cast alongside popular actors Brad Pitt, Dennis Farina and Benicio del Toro, and with the movie earning more than $80 million in box-office revenue, Statham was able to break into Hollywood and appeared in two movies in 2001: Ghosts of Mars and The One.

Statham was offered more film roles and in 2002 was cast as the lead role of driver Frank Martin in the action movie The Transporter, in which his background in martial arts enabled him to do most of his own stunts. He has studied Wing Chun kung fu, karate, and kickboxing. The film spawned two sequels, Transporter 2 (2005) and Transporter 3 (2008). He also played in supporting roles in Mean Machine (2002), The Italian Job (2003) (in which he played Handsome Rob), and Cellular (2004) in which he played the lead villain. In 2005, Statham was once again cast by Ritchie to star in his new project, Revolver, which was a critical and box office failure. He also played a dramatic role in the independent drama London in 2006. In 2006 he played the lead role in Crank. Statham compares his role in Crank to his real life in the September 2006 issue of Maxim. The success of Crank led to a sequel in 2009 titled Crank: High Voltage.

In 2008, Statham starred in the British crime thriller The Bank Job which was both a critical and box office success. In 2008, American film critic Armond White hailed Statham's ascension as the leading international action film star. On the occasion of Death Race, White championed Statham's "best track record of any contemporary movie star." Later in 2008, White praised Statham's Transporter 3 as a great example of kinetic pop art.

 

Jason Statham demonstrating his Martial Arts skills

 

Jason demonstrating his Martial Arts skills

 

 

In 2009, Statham started to develop a new movie written by David Peoples and Janet Peoples (Twelve Monkeys). 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 is The Grabbers."

In 2010, Statham appeared alongside fellow action stars Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jet Li and Mickey Rourke, among others in The Expendables. Statham plays Lee Christmas, a former SAS soldier and expert at close quarters combat using knives. In 2011, Statham starred in the remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson film, The Mechanic, and returned to British film in the police drama Blitz.

He also starred in the action film Killer Elite. The film was based on real events, which were the subject of Sir Ranulph Fiennes' fictional novel The Feather Men. Statham played an assassin named Danny who comes out of retirement to save an old friend, who was played by Robert De Niro. In August 2011, he is to begin filming Parker, for director Taylor Hackford; Statham will star as Parker, the criminal antihero previously played by Mel Gibson in 1999's Payback and by Lee Marvin in 1967's Point Blank.

Personal life

 

Statham was in a seven year relationship with model Kelly Brook, until 2004. Since April 2010, he has been dating Victoria's Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

 

 

Death Race movie starring Jason Statham

 

Statham in Death Race 2008

 


Filmography

 

 

Year Title Role Notes
1998 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Bacon Film debut
2000 Snatch Turkish
Turn It Up Mr. B
2001 Ghosts of Mars Sgt. Jericho Butler
The One MVA Agent Evan Funsch first time partnered with Jet Li
Mean Machine Monk
2002 The Transporter Frank Martin
2003 The Italian Job Handsome Rob
2004 Collateral Airport Man Cameo appearance
Cellular Ethan Greer First film to appear as a villain
2005 Transporter 2 Frank Martin
Revolver Jake Green
London Bateman
2006 Chaos Det. Quentin Conners
The Pink Panther Yves Gluant Uncredited role
Crank Chev Chelios
2007 War FBI Agent John Crawford second time partnered with Jet Li
2008 The Bank Job Terry Leather
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale Farmer Daimon
Death Race Jensen Garner "Frankenstein" Ames
Transporter 3 Frank Martin
2009 Crank: High Voltage Chev Chelios
2010 13 Jasper Bagges
The Expendables Lee Christmas third time partnered with Jet Li
2011 The Mechanic Arthur Bishop
Gnomeo & Juliet Tybalt Voice
Blitz Detective Sergeant Tom Brant
Killer Elite Danny Bryce
2012 Safe Luke Wright post-production
Parker Parker post-production
Echelon Nick Stone pre-production
The Expendables 2 Lee Christmas filming, fourth time partnered with Jet Li

 

 

 

Jason Statham in sunglasses 2011

 

Jason Statham in sunglasses 2011

 


Box office performance

 

Since 1998, Statham has appeared in over twenty films. Several have been box office hits, such as Snatch and The Bank Job. He has starred in two film series, The Transporter and Crank. The films he has been in have grossed a total of more than $1 billion USD at the box office, with the highest individual film being The Expendables. Jasons is quoted as saying: “They never ask me to play lawyers.”

Salary examples

 

The Italian Job (2003)

$450,000

The Transporter (2002)

$750,000



Jason Statham's stern look

 

Jason Statham - don't mess

 

LINKS:

 

http://www.people.com/l "Man of Action" People (Time Warner) 5 September 2005

BBC "Jason Statham interview" (video) BBC 18-5-09.

"Jason Statham interview on ROVE (live in studio) – Bank Job" (video) Rove, Australia. http://www.youtube.com/ 18 May 2009.

"ACTION STAR ISN'T AFRAID TO BREAK A SWEAT" New York Daily News 7 October 2002 http://www.nydailynews.com//2002-10-07_not_the_usual_stuntl 16 November 2010.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels The Boston Globe 7 March 1999 http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/ 15 November 2010. He's new to acting.

"Director riding high – lock, stock and barrels" The Atlanta Journal 7 March 1999. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_ 16-11-10. "For "Lock, Stock,"

"Jason Statham stays true to himself" London: The Star-Ledger News. 3 June 1995. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/to-baldly-go 5 March 2011

To baldly go where no mane's grown before The Star-Ledger News 30 January 2011. http://www.nj.com/movies/jason_statham_stays_true_to_himself. 21 February 2011 

"Five Things You Should Know About Jason Statham" Entertainment Weekly 1-9-06. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1516061,00.html 1 November 2009.

http://www.nox-mag.com/Action+Hero January 2009.

"STATHAM, Jason" BFI 16-11-10.

"Action Bloke" The New York Times 3 September 2006. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/03/fashion/03NITE.html.

"Interview with Jason Statham" 6 June 2003

"Jason Statham, last action hero" The Times (UK) 5 October 2008 http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/ 8 June 2009.

"All action" The Sydney Morning Herald 13 July 2008

Jason Statham at askmen.com

Jason Statham at Filmbug

Jason Statham interview USAToday.com 10 October 2002.

"How to flog a turkey". The Guardian (UK) 3 October 2005 http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/ 22 May 2010.

"Transcendent Thrill Drive" Nypress.com. http://www.nypress.com/article-19048-transcendent-thrill-drive.html. 22 August 2010.

"Jason Statham up for The Grabbers" The Hollywood News 17 September 2008) http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/Jason-Statham-up-for-The-Grabbers 26-1-09.

"Jason Statham embraces 'Killer Elite'" Variety 14 May 2009.

"Cut To The Chase" Entertainment Weekly 24 August 2007

"Kelly Brook" The Guardian (UK) 1 November 2009 http://www.guardian.co.uk/2009/nov/01/kelly-brook-interview-elizabeth-day 2-11-09.

Smitten Jason Statham takes Rosie Huntington-Whiteley to Cartier Daily Mail 21-4-10.

Jason Statham at the Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

 

 

Jason Statham in 2007

 

Statham in 2007

 

 

A - Z FILMS INDEX

 

 

 

13 GOING ON 30

16 BLOCKS

20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA

A PERFECT STORM

ALIEN

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

ATONEMENT

AUSTIN POWERS

BABE

BACK TO THE FUTURE

BATMAN

BIG MIRACLE

BRAVEHEART

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S

BRIDGET JONES' DIARY

CASABLANCA

CASINO ROYALE

CAST AWAY

CATWOMAN

CHRISTINE

CON AIR

CROCODILE DUNDEE

DEAD CALM

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

DIE HARD

DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS

DISCLOSURE

DOLORES CLAIBORNE

DR. NO

DUMB AND DUMBER

ERIN BROCKOVICH

FATAL ATTRACTION

FIRE ON THE AMAZON

FLIPPER

FLY AWAY HOME

FREE WILLY

FRENCH KISS

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

GLADIATOR

GOLDFINGER

HARRY POTTER

HORNBLOWER

INDIANA JONES

JAMES BOND

JAWS

JURASSIC PARK

JUST LIKE HEAVEN

KING KONG

KUNG FU HUSTLE

LEON

MAN ON FIRE

MASTER and COMMANDER

MEAN GIRLS

MEDICINE MAN

MEN OF HONOUR

MISERY

MISS CONGENIALITY

MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY

 

 

NAKED GUN

NATIONAL TREASURE

OUT OF TIME

OVERBOARD

PARENT TRAP

PAYBACK

PEARL HARBOUR

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

PLANET OF THE APES

PRETTY WOMAN

PSYCHO

P2 DEAD MANS CHEST

RACE THE SUN

RAMBO

ROB ROY

ROBIN HOOD PRINCE OF THEIVES

ROBOCOP

ROXANNE

SCHOOL OF ROCK

SCOTT OF THE ANTARCTIC

SEABISCUIT

SHORT CIRCUIT

SPEED

SPIDERMAN

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

STAR GATE

STAR TREK

STAR WARS

THE 39 STEPS

THE AVIATOR

THE COUNT OF MONTE CHRISTO

THE DA VINCI CODE

THE DAMBUSTERS

THE FLY

THE MASK

THE MATRIX

THE MUMMY RETURNS

THE PATRIOT

THE PERFECT STORM

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

THE TERMINATOR

THE THING

THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH

THE WORLDS FASTEST INDIAN

THUNDERBALL

TITANIC

TOP GUN

TRADING PLACES

TREASURE ISLAND

TROY

TRUE GRIT

UNFORGIVEN

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE

WAR OF THE WORLDS  

WATERLOO BRIDGE

ZULU

 

 

 

 

 

A - Z ACTORS INDEX

 

 

 

Al Gore

Alec Baldwin

Angelina Jolie

Anthony Hopkins

Arnold Shwazenneger

Arnold Vosloo

Ben Stiller

Brad Pitt

Brendan Fraser

Bruce Willis

Burt Lancaster

Catherine Zeta Jones

Charley Desborough

Charlize Theron

Chris Cooper

Clint Eastwood

Daniel Craig

Demi Moore

Dennis Hopper

Denzel Washington

Drew Barrymore

Eric Bana

Eva Green

George Clooney

Gerard Depardieu

Glen Close

Goldie Hawn

Gregory Peck

Halle Berry

Harvey Keitel

Hugh Jackman

Humphrey Bogart

Ian Holm

Ingrid Bergman

Jack Black

Jack Nicholson

James Caan

James Cromwell

James McAvoy

Jean Reno

 

 

Jeff Bridges

Jeff Daniels

Jim Carrey

Joaquin Phoenix

John Hurt

John Travolta

John Wayne

Johnny Depp

Judi Dench

Julia Roberts

Julie Andrews

Kate Hudson

Kate Winslett

Kathy Bates

Keanu Reeves

Keira Knightley

Kevin Spacey

Kim Basinger

Kirk Douglas

Kirsten Dunst

Kurt Russell

Leonardo di Caprio

Lera Ghanie

Liam Neeson

Linda King

Linda Kozlowski

Lindsay Lohan

Mads Mikkelsen

Mandy Giltjes

Marilyn Monroe

Marlon Brando

Matthew McConaughey

Mel Gibson

Michael Cain

Michael Douglas

Michael J Fox

Michael Keaton

Michelle Pfeiffer

Mike Myers

 

 

 

Morgan Freeman

Naomi Watts

Nicholas Cage

Nicole Kidman

Orlando Bloom

Owen Wilson

Paul Bettany

Paul Hogan

Pierce Brosnan

Rachel Weisz

Rebecca De Mornay

Reese Witherspoon

Rennee Zellweger

Richard Gere

Robert de Niro

Roger Moore

Russell Crowe

Sally Edwards

Sam Neil

Samuel L Jackson

Sandra Bullock

Sean Connery

Sharon Stone

Sigourney Weaver

Stanley Baker

Stephen Chow

Steve Martin

Steve McQueen

Steven Segal

Slyvester Stalone

Tim Roth

Tobey Maguire

Tom Cruise

Tom Hanks

Tommy Lee Jones

Uma Thurman

Willem Dafoe

Will Smith

Yul Brynner

 

 

 

 

Jason Statham in Safe

 

Jason Statham in Safe 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

Healthier alternative tastes for adventure capitalists

 

Solar Cola PET soft drink bottle trademark Middle East design

 

 

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