Tim Gutterson: I finally saw that.
Rachel: What'd you think?
Tim: Needs more Jason Statham.
Raylan Givens: What doesn't?
Jason Statham (born July 26, 1967 in Shirebrook, England) is a badass. Using his accent when saying his name is mandatory.
A resident of the UK, expert kickboxer, and former member of the British high diving team, Statham is one of the few remaining straight-up action stars in Hollywood. He first drew attention for his roles in the films of Guy Ritchie (especially Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels), but became a bona fide star with The Transporter and Crank films; he is also a frequent collaborator with Jet Li and has also done voice-overs for Red Faction II and the original Call of Duty.
His perennial Hollywood character is that of a bald antihero with solid asskicking abilities and a very defined style. Also, a good deal of his non-comedy films can be alternatively titled Jason Statham Drives A Car And Kills People While Scowling A Lot. There are rare occasions that he tries something different, such as straight drama in London and psychological thriller in Blitz.
Statham is also a highly trained martial artist who is trained in Karate, Wushu, Wing Chun, Brazilian Jujitsu and Kickboxing.
Holds the honor of being the only major Hollywood action star to NEVER have played a kind, soft-hearted, kid-friendly and/or sensitive character (although they have their own Pet the Dog and Friend to All Children qualities), but judging from the success and popularity of his cold and mean-spirited typecast, he probably never will.
Films
- Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (1998) as Bacon
- Snatch. (2000) as Turkish
- Ghosts of Mars (2001) as Sergeant Jericho Butler
- Mean Machine (2001) as Monk
- The One (2001) as MVA Agent Evan Funsch
- The Transporter (2002) as Frank Martin
- The Transporter 2 (2004)
- The Transporter 3 (2008)
- Collateral (2004) as Airport Man / Frank Martin (cameo)
- Cellular (2004) as Ethan Greer
- The Italian Job (2003) as Handsome Rob
- Revolver (2005) (2005) as Jake Green
- Chaos (2005) (2005) as Quentin Conners
- The Pink Panther as Yves Gluant
- Crank (2006) as Chev Chelios
- Crank: High Voltage (2009)
- War (2007) as FBI Agent John Crawford
- The Bank Job (2008) as Terry Leather
- In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2008) as Farmer Daimon
- Death Race (2008) as Jensen Garner "Frankenstein" Ames
- The Expendables (2010) as Lee Christmas
- The Expendables 2 (2012)
- The Expendables 3 (2014)
- Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) as Tybalt (voice)
- The Mechanic (2011) as Arthur Bishop
- Mechanic: Resurrection (2016)
- Blitz (2011) as Detective Sergeant Tom Brant
- Killer Elite (2011) as Danny Bryce
- Safe (2012) as Luke Wright
- Parker (2013) as Parker
- Spy (2015) as Rick Ford
- The Fast and the Furious (2013 — present) as Deckard Shaw:
- Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
- Furious 7 (2015)
- The Fate of the Furious (2017)
- Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
- F9 (2021)
- Fast X (2023)
- The Meg (2018) as Jonas Taylor
- Meg 2: The Trench (2023)
- Wrath of Man (2021) as "H"
- Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2022) as Orson Fortune
Video Games
- Red Faction II (2002) as Shrike
- Call of Duty (2003) as Sergeant Waters
Tropes associated with characters played by Jason Statham:
- Action Genre Hero Guy: He looks the part, and plays the part well.
- Adam Westing: He gleefully parodies himself in Spy, with his character telling anecdotes that would have been too over the top even for Crank.
- Antihero: Rarely plays a purely good character. His characters are usually willing to kill and tend to have a dark past.
- Badass Driver: Frequently behind the wheel in his movies; the Transporter series is built around this trope. It comes full circle with his role in Furious 7.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: He's no stranger to kicking ass while impeccably-dressed, particularly in the Transporter series.
- Bald Head of Toughness: He has a receding hairline and the remaining hair shaved into close stubble that often merges down into his cheeks.
- Beware the Quiet Ones: He often plays strong and silent characters who try to keep to themselves and stay out of trouble. But there's always that one idiot who can't leave him alone, thus receiving a brutal beating and setting off the plot of many films.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Many characters try to live within a set of rules so that they won't get too involved in certain events. Those rules are invariably broken because of some sort of injustice that they can't let slide.
- Combat Pragmatist: Not shy to use anything to his advantage in most of his movies, with a fighting style that comes across as brutal and direct, no fear of using guns when useful, and a tendency to use his environment to his advantage.
- Deadpan Snarker: Especially in The Expendables and its sequels.
- Death Glare: A master of this. A few of his characters basically have it as their default expression.
- Guttural Growler: His low voice and distinctive accent lend well to him growling nearly every word he says.
- Improvised Weapon: Not to the level of Jackie Chan, of course, but he still usually uses anything lying around for a weapon. The hose fight scene in Transporter 2 is a shining example.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Almost all of his characters usually are this, being gruff and antisocial but having a friendlier and more noble side to them.
- Le Parkour: An adept of this, often using it in his films. Considering he had his grand debut in Transporter, where choreography was done by Cyril Raffelli himself (easily the second most known traceur/freerunner in cinema, and another bald guy to boot), it comes hardly as a surprise.
- No Stunt Double: He's known for doing almost all of his own stunts, both in fight scenes and driving.
- Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Tends to keep his English accent for every role, no matter where it's set.
- Older Than They Look: He's in his early 50s, but hasn't significantly aged since his first appearance as Frank Martin nearly 20 years ago. The fact that he's been a bald the whole time certainly helps.
- Perma-Stubble: His head is almost never shaved, just buzzed very close. He usually has a five o'clock shadow, too.
- Perpetual Frowner: Almost always shown with a scowl on his face. It's gotten to the point that he doesn't mind people making fun of it.
◊ - Pintsized Powerhouse: While not overly short, Statham is about average at 5'9, yet frequently takes on much larger opponents (such as The Rock or Vin Diesel) with ease.
- Playing with Character Type: In Spy, he plays the same type of intense badass that he is known for, except he is a Small Name, Big Ego bumbling buffoon.
- Tranquil Fury: His characters usually fall into this state when they are pissed off or have been seriously wronged, as it usually ends with him tearing apart the goons sent to kill him and/or the Big Bad with nothing but an icy glare to show that he is angry.
