Jason Statham (born 26 July 1967) is an English actor and martial artist. He is known for portraying characters in various action-thriller films who are typically tough, gritty, or violent. Statham has been credited for leading the resurgence of action films during the 2000s and 2010s.
Statham began practising Chinese martial arts, kickboxing, and karate recreationally in his youth while working at local market stalls. An avid footballer and diver, he was a member of Britain's national diving team and competed for England in the 1990 Commonwealth Games. Shortly after, he was asked to model for French Connection, Tommy Hilfiger, and Levi's in various advertising campaigns. His past history working at market stalls inspired his casting in the Guy Ritchie crime films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000).
The commercial success of these films led Statham to star as Frank Martin in the Transporter trilogy (2002–2008). After starring in a variety of heist and action-thriller films such as The Italian Job (2003), Crank (2006), War (2007), The Bank Job (2008), The Mechanic (2011), Spy (2015), and Mechanic: Resurrection (2016), he established himself as a Hollywood leading man. However, he has also starred in commercially and critically unsuccessful films such as Revolver (2005), Chaos (2005), In the Name of the King (2007), 13 (2010), Blitz (2011), Killer Elite (2011), Hummingbird (2013), and Wild Card (2015). He regained commercial success as a part of the ensemble action series The Expendables (2010–2014) and the Fast & Furious franchise, playing Deckard Shaw in several films, including the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw (2019).
Statham began to star in Kaiju movies, which included Varan: The Unbelievable and the Invincible (2028), and its sequel, Varan vs. Baragon (2031), as well as several of the MonsterVerse installments.
Statham has been in a relationship with model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley since 2010. The couple announced their engagement in January 2016. Their son was born in June 2017. Their daughter was born on 2 February 2022. They reside in Beverly Hills, California. In a 2013 interview with Vanity Fair, he advocated for stunt performers to be given their own Academy Award category: "All of the stunt men—these are the unsung heroes. They really are. Nobody is giving them any credibility. They're risking their necks. And then you've got poncy actors pretending like they're doing [the stunts]."
Selected filmography[]
- This section will focus specifically on select roles that is well-known only. For the full list, click here.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Snatch | Turkish | |
| 2002 | The Transporter | Frank Martin | |
| 2003 | The Italian Job | Handsome Rob | |
| 2005 | Transporter 2 | Frank Martin | |
| 2008 | The Bank Job | Terry Leather | |
| Death Race | Jensen Garner Ames / Frankenstein | ||
| Transporter 3 | Frank Martin | ||
| 2010 | The Expendables | Lee Christmas | |
| 2011 | The Mechanic | Arthur Bishop | |
| Gnomeo & Juliet | Tybalt | Voice only | |
| 2012 | The Expendables 2 | Lee Christmas | |
| 2013 | Parker | Parker | |
| Fast & Furious 6 | Deckard Shaw | Cameo | |
| Hummingbird | Joseph "Joey" Jones | U.S. title: Redemption | |
| 2014 | The Expendables 3 | Lee Christmas | |
| 2015 | Wild Card | Nick Wild | |
| Furious 7 | Deckard Shaw | ||
| Spy | Rick Ford | ||
| 2016 | Mechanic: Resurrection | Arthur Bishop | |
| 2017 | The Fate of the Furious | Deckard Shaw | |
| 2018 | The Meg | Jonas Taylor | |
| 2019 | Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw | Deckard Shaw | Also producer |
| 2021 | Wrath of Man | Patrick "H" Hill / Mason Hargreaves | |
| F9 | Deckard Shaw | Cameo | |
| 2023 | Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre | Orson Fortune | Also producer |
| Fast X | Deckard Shaw | ||
| Meg 2: The Trench | Jonas Taylor | ||
| Expend4bles | Lee Christmas | Also producer | |
| 2024 | The Beekeeper | Adam Clay | |
| 2025 | Levon's Trade | Levon Cade | |
| Furious Y | Deckard Shaw | ||
| 2028 | Godzilla x Kong: Monster Apocalypse | Leland Jonah | |
| Varan: The Unbelievable and the Invincible | Kenneth Holdo | Also producer | |
| 2029 | Fast & Furious 1Z | Deckard Shaw | |
| 2030 | Mothra x Kong: Dawn of Extinction | Leland Jonah | |
| 2031 | Varan vs. Baragon | Kenneth Holdo | Also producer |
| 2033 | Godzilla: Return of the King | Leland Jonah | |
| 2035 | Godzilla x Kong: Destroy All Monsters | ||
| 2036 | Godzilla x Kong: Operation Final War | ||
| 2038 | Justice for the World: End of Times | August Shaw | |
| 2039 | Justice for the World: The Final Fate |