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Jason Statham

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Jason Statham
Jason Statham, 2011
Born (1967-09-12) 12 September 1967 (age 56)[1]
Shirebrook, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom
Occupation(s)Actor, producer, martial artist
Years active1998–present

Jason Statham (/[invalid input: 'icon']ˈsteɪθəm/;[2][3] born 12 September 1967)[4][5][6][7][8][9] is an English actor, producer, martial artist, and former diver 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 and The Expendables 2. He usually performs his own stage combat and stunts.[10]

Early life

Statham was born in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, the son of Eileen (née Yates) and Barry Statham, a lounge singer.[7][11][12][13] He 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 football player 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, a passion that he shared with diving.[14] He practised daily in perfecting his diving techniques – in particular, he finished 12th in the World Championships in 1992.[15] He was also a member of Britain's National Diving Squad for twelve years.[16][17]

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

Career

Statham in 2007

While working as a model for French Connection (FCUK), he was introduced to fledgling British director Guy Ritchie[18] 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.[19] 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 he was responsible for his own stunts (Statham has made this choice for all of his films).[20] He has studied Wing Chun kung fu, karate, and kickboxing.[21] The film spawned two sequels, Transporter 2 (2005) and Transporter 3 (2008).

He also played 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.[22] He played a dramatic role in the independent film London in 2006. That same year he played the lead role as Chev Chelios in the action film Crank which spawned the sequel Crank: High Voltage (2009).

In 2008, Statham starred in the British crime thriller The Bank Job and Death Race, a remake of Death Race 2000 (1975). 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."[23] Later in 2008, White praised Statham's Transporter 3 as a great example of kinetic pop art.

Statham in 2006

In 2009, Statham started to develop a new movie written by David Peoples and Janet Peoples (12 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."[24]

In 2010, Statham appeared alongside fellow action stars Sylvester Stallone, 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.[25] In August 2011, he began 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.[26]

His 2012 releases were The Expendables 2, in which he reprised his character Lee Christmas, and Safe.

Personal life

Statham was in a seven year relationship with model Kelly Brook, until 2004.[27][28] Since April 2010, he has been dating Victoria's Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.[29]

Filmography

Main article: Jason Statham filmography

Box office performance

Since 1998, Statham has appeared in over thirty films. Several have been box office hits, such as Snatch and The Bank Job. He has starred in three film series, The Transporter, Crank and The Expendables. 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.

References

  1. ^ "Man of Action". People. 64 (10). Time Inc. (Time Warner). 5 September 2005. Retrieved 16 November 2010. Jason Statham. 38. established himself as a new breed of action star... {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ BBC "Jason Statham interview" (video). BBC. Retrieved 18 May 2009. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  3. ^ "Jason Statham interview on ROVE (live in studio) – Bank Job" (video). Rove. Australia. 13 July 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  4. ^ Nguyen, Lan N. (7 October 2002). "NOT THE USUAL STUNT CASTING HOW REFRESHING! ACTION STAR ISN'T AFRAID TO BREAK A SWEAT". New York Daily News. Retrieved 16 November 2010. Statham, now 35, has left his scruffy past well behind. He has his first leading role in an action flick...
  5. ^ Graham, Renee (7 March 1999). "Crime and comedy do pay With `Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,' Guy Ritchie launches his career with a bang". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 15 November 2010. He's new to this acting thing, having spent a good chunk of his 31 years as a street huckster with an eye for suckers.
  6. ^ "Director riding high – lock, stock and barrels". The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution. 7 March 1999. Retrieved 16 November 2010. For "Lock, Stock," Ritchie hired several nonprofessionals for the cast, including Statham, 31, who spent five years selling stuff on the streets.
  7. ^ a b Born July–September 1967, according to the Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.
  8. ^ "Jason Statham stays true to himself". London: The Star-Ledger News. 3 June 1995. Retrieved 5 March 2011. The best exponent of this burgeoning movement is French Connection's current choice of male model. His name's Jason Statham, he's 26, he's an ex-high-diver and his hair is unmistakably sparse. "We chose Jason because we wanted our model to look like a normal guy," says Lilly Anderson, a spokesperson for the high street clothing chain. "His look is just right for now – very masculine and not too male-modelly."
  9. ^ Whitty, Stephen (30 January 2011). "To baldly go where no mane's grown before". The Star-Ledger News. Retrieved 21 February 2011. "It's funny," the 43-year-old says with a tight grin. "They never ask me to play lawyers." ...
  10. ^ Endelman, Michael (1 September 2006). "Five Things You Should Know About Jason Statham". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  11. ^ Khayyat, Oday (January 2009). "Fast Action Hero". NOX. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  12. ^ "STATHAM, Jason". BFI. 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2010. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ Corcoran, Monica (3 September 2006). "Action Bloke". The New York Times.
  14. ^ www.dirt.com (14). "Jason Statham Bio". dirt.com. www.dirt.com. Retrieved 18 August 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  15. ^ Head, Steve (6 June 2003). "Interview with Jason Statham". IGN. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
  16. ^ Iley, Chrissy (5 October 2008). "Jason Statham, last action hero". The Times. UK. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
  17. ^ Barlow, Helen (13 July 2008). "All action". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  18. ^ AskMen (1996–2012). "Jason Statham". AskMen. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  19. ^ Filmbug (1998–2012). "Jason Statham". Filmbug. MISJA.COM. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  20. ^ Sidrah Zaheer (2011). "10 Most Popular Actors Who Do Their Own Stunts". Tip Top Tens. Tip Top Tens. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  21. ^ Jason Statham interview USAToday.com, 10 October 2002.
  22. ^ Silver, James (3 October 2005). "How to flog a turkey". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  23. ^ White, Armond. "Transcendent Thrill Drive". Nypress.com. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  24. ^ Sampson, Thomas (17 September 2008). "Jason Statham up for The Grabbers". The Hollywood News. Retrieved 26 January 2009. [dead link]
  25. ^ Swart, Sharon (14 May 2009). "Jason Statham embraces 'Killer Elite'". Variety. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
  26. ^ Mike Fleming, "FilmDistrict Acquires Taylor Hackford-Helmed 'Parker' With Jason Statham," Deadline.com, 20 June 2011.
  27. ^ Nashawaty, By Chris (24 August 2007). "Cut To The Chase". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  28. ^ Day, Elizabeth (1 November 2009). "Kelly Brook". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
  29. ^ "It must be love! Smitten Jason Statham takes Rosie Huntington-Whiteley to Cartier". Daily Mail. UK. 21 April 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2010.

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