Jason Statham is an actor and producer from England. He is recognised for action thrillers and portraying tough, irredeemable, and machiavellian characters, and he is typecast as an antihero.
While working at local market booths, Statham began doing Chinese martial arts, kickboxing, and karate for fun. He was a member of the British national diving squad and participated for England in the 1990 Commonwealth Games as a footballer and diver. He was soon approached to model for French Connection, Tommy Hilfiger, and Levi’s in several commercial campaigns.
His previous experience working at market stalls led to his roles in Guy Ritchie’s crime flicks Lock, Stock, as well as Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2001).
Statham was cast as Frank Martin inside the Transporter trilogy as just a result of the economic success of these flicks. He established himself as just a Hollywood leading man after acting in a number of heists as well as action movies, including The Italian Job, Crank (2006), War (2007), The Bank Job (2008), The Mechanic (2011), Spy, and Mechanic: Resurrection. He has, however, appeared in films that were both economically and critically unsuccessful, including Revolver (2005), Chaos, In the Name of the King (2007), 13, Blitz (2011), Killer Elite (2011), and Hummingbird (2011).
As part of such ensemble action series The Expendables (2010–2014) as well as the Fast & Furious franchise, he regained commercial success. He plays Deckard Shaw in Fast & Furious 6, Fast & Furious 7, The Fate of the Furious, and the spin-off Fast & Furious Presents Hobbs & Shaw in the latter. Hobbs & Shaw was his first production credit, and he was acknowledged as a co-producer.
Statham’s acting has been criticised for its lack of depth and variation, but he has also been credited with reviving action movies in the 2000s and 2010s. According to a BBC News investigation, his movie career garnered an estimated $1.5 billion in ticket sales from 2002 to 2017, making him one of the film industry’s top earners.