ACTOR · BORN 1967
Jason Statham
- Born
- 26 July 1967, Shirebrook, Derbyshire, England, UK
- Known for
- Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), The Meg (2018), Fast X (2023), Meg 2: The Trench (2023)
21 archived facts 4 topics 2 sources Last reviewed Nov 2026
Jason Statham (born 26 July 1967) is an actor best known for Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The Meg and Fast X.
Jason Statham over the years
21 Interesting Facts About Jason Statham
Interesting Facts (9)
- #001
Jason Statham is well trained in mixed martial arts and is proficient in kickboxing and jujitsu.
- #002
Statham performed almost all of his own stunts in The Transporter (2002), including car chase scenes, scuba diving scenes and fight scenes.
- #003
In the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book series, the Vulture's version of the villain in that series was designed by artist Mark Bagley to resemble Statham, on the instructions of writer Brian Michael Bendis.
- #004
Jason Statham appears briefly, for a little over a minute and a half, in the music video for the British group The Beautiful South's "Dream a Little Dream of Me".
- #005
Jason Statham was initially set to play Private Cooper in Dog Soldiers (2002), but left to take a role in Ghosts of Mars (2001).
- #006
Jason Statham appeared in two different films in a scene where his character talks to himself in an elevator in what appears to be a hallucination: once in Revolver (2005) and once in Crank (2006).
- #007
Jason Statham starred in three different films in which his character is attacked with an axe: The Transporter (2002), Transporter 2 (2005) and War (2007).
- #008
Jason Statham appeared in two films that feature The Stooges' song "I Wanna Be Your Dog": Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Transporter 3 (2008).
- #009
An article by Times Higher Education reported that Manchester University Press commissioned an academic study analysing Jason Statham's impact on the British and American film industries from his 1998 debut to 2018. According to the article, professors Steven Gerrard and Robert Shail intend to show "the changing face of British cinematic masculinity" as "one that embraces cinema across a wide range of projects, but one that also uses cross-textual media in his output".
Characters & Cast (4)
- #010
After Vin Diesel was removed from the project, Statham was offered the role of Agent 47 in Hitman (2007). Timothy Olyphant ultimately took the role.
- #011
Because of his commitment to Death Race (2008), he turned down his role in RocknRolla (2008).
- #012
Jason Statham was offered the lead role in Bronson (2008), but he was not available.
- #013
Jason Statham played Parker, a criminal antihero previously portrayed by Mel Gibson in 1999's Payback and Lee Marvin in 1967's Point Blank, though those characters had different surnames.
Career & Awards (7)
- #014
A capable martial artist with a background in kickboxing, Wing Chun and karate, Statham often performs his own stunts and had toyed with the idea of becoming a stuntman himself before his acting career. Throughout his career Statham has repeatedly called for an Oscar to celebrate the work of male and female stunt performers, and was quoted as saying: "I think it's an overlooked category, especially considering how much responsibility these coordinators have for some of the greatest entertainment in action movies. I mean, the stunt guys - they're all unnamed heroes. They really are. Nobody gives them any credibility. They risk their necks. And then you've got the poppy actors who are doing the acting. It's like they're doing [the stunts]."
- #015
Jason Statham was discovered by the sports modelling agency Sports Promotions while he was training at London's Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.
- #016
A spokesperson for the high street chain said Jason Statham was chosen because the brand wanted a model who looked like a normal guy, describing his look as very masculine and not too male-modelly.
- #017
Jason Statham was working as a model for French Connection when he was introduced to filmmaker Guy Ritchie, who was developing a film and needed someone to play a streetwise con artist.
- #018
Although he never won a medal during his 12-year diving career, Statham competed at the 1990 Commonwealth Games and came close three times to competing for Great Britain at the Olympics: 1988, 1992 and 1996. He finished third at each Olympic trial; each time only two of his countrymen made the competition. Saying he did not see it as a waste of time, he stated: "Not winning a medal despite all the hard work made me more disciplined, taught me to focus on hard work and enabled me to achieve success in my future endeavours."
- #019
Jason Statham was paid £5,000 for his role in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), a film that was well received by critics and audiences and helped bring him into the public eye.
- #020
American film critic Armond White praised Jason Statham's rise as an action star, calling his record the best of any contemporary movie star and highlighting Transporter 3 as kinetic pop art.
Life & Family (1)
- #021
Jason Statham also worked as a street seller to make ends meet, saying he sold fake perfume and jewellery on street corners, and appeared in music videos including the Shamen's "Comin' On" in 1993, Erasure's "Run to the Sun" in 1994 and the Beautiful South's "Dream a Little Dream of Me" in 1995.
Related pages
- The Mechanic — Jason Statham comes up in the facts on that page
- Rosie Huntington-Whiteley — Jason Statham comes up in the facts on that page
- Deadpool — Jason Statham comes up in the facts on that page
Continue through the archive
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
Sources for the entries on this page
- Wikipedia Jason Statham — Wikipedia
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