Jason Statham
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| Jason Statham | |
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| Born | September 12, 1972 (age 34) Sydenham, Lewisham, London, England |
| Notable roles | Frank Martin in The Transporter and The Transporter 2 Turkish in Snatch Bacon in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Chev Chelios in Crank |
Jason Statham (born on 12 September 1972, in Sydenham, Lewisham, London) is an English actor, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Revolver and Snatch. Statham also appeared in supporting roles in several American films, such as The One and The Italian Job, as well as playing the lead role in The Transporter, Transporter 2 and Crank. Statham is currently working on The Brazilian Job, a sequel to The Italian Job, and has recently signed up for Baker Street.
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[edit] Early years
According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), Jason Statham was born on 12 September, 1972, in London. Several sources, including The New York Times, have incorrectly reported his birthday to be 10 September 1968, which is in fact the birthday of Guy Ritchie.
Statham is the second son of a lounge singer and dressmaker-turned-dancer who ran a black market operation. He grew up, initially, following his parents' trail to master the art of street theatre.
[edit] Statham's careers
[edit] Diving
Statham developed an interest in sports, diving in particular, which led him to become an excellent athlete in the sport; he finished 12th in the World Championships in 1992 and he was on the British Olympic Team in 1988 as a member of Britain's National Diving Squad for ten years.
[edit] Modeling
Statham's life in media began when he was spotted by a talent agent specialising in athletes while training at London's Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in the late 1990s. Afterwards, he became a model for the clothing brand French Connection where he was introduced to then-fledgling British director Guy Ritchie.
[edit] Acting
Ritchie was working on a film project and needed to fill the role of a street-wise con artist. After learning about Statham's past, Ritchie cast him to play the role of Bacon in Ritchie's breakout 1998 hit, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. The movie was well received by both critics and audiences, which helped catapult the unknown actor into the public eye.
Statham's second collaboration with Ritchie came in the 2000 film Snatch. Cast alongside popular actors Brad Pitt, Dennis Farina and Benicio Del Toro, and with the movie earning more than $80 million in box-office revenues, Statham was able to break into Hollywood and appeared in two movies in 2001: John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars and the Jet Li vehicle, 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. A sequel, Transporter 2, followed in 2005. He also appeared in supporting roles in The Italian Job (2003), Cellular (2004) before taking the lead role in Crank (2006). Statham compares his role in Crank to his real life in the September 2006 issue of Maxim Magazine In 2005, Statham was once again cast by Ritchie to star in his new project, Revolver and has been billed to appear in three film projects in 2006: In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale and The Italian Job sequel The Brazilian Job.
In January 2007 it was reported that Statham has been offered the part of The Doctor in the BBC series Doctor Who if David Tennant leaves in 2008.[1] It has not, however, been confirmed that Tennant will indeed leave the role.
[edit] Personal life
Statham dated English model and actress Kelly Brook for seven years but the couple split when Kelly met actor Billy Zane on the set of Survival Island.
In 2005, Statham dated former Bardot singer Sophie Monk but they are no longer together.[2]
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels | Bacon | |
| 2000 | Snatch | Turkish | |
| Turn It Up | Mr. B | ||
| 2001 | Ghosts of Mars | Sgt. Jericho Butler | |
| The One | MVA Agent Evan Funsch | ||
| Mean Machine | Monk | ||
| 2002 | Thai Boxing: A Fighting Chance | Narrator | |
| The Transporter | Frank Martin | ||
| 2003 | The Italian Job | Handsome Rob | |
| 2004 | Collateral | Airport Man | |
| Cellular | Ethan | ||
| 2005 | Transporter 2 | Frank Martin | |
| Revolver | Jake Green | ||
| London | Bateman | ||
| 2006 | Chaos | Quentin Conners | |
| The Pink Panther | Yves Gluant | ||
| Crank | Chev Chelios | ||
| 2007 | In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale | Farmer Daimon | |
| War | Jack Crawford | ||
| The Brazilian Job | Handsome Rob | ||
| Artemis Fowl | Domovoi Butler |
[edit] Video game voice-overs
- Red Faction II (2002) – Shrike
- Call of Duty (2003) – Sgt. Waters
[edit] References
- ^ Statham to be new Doctor Who. Retrieved on April 5, 2007.
- ^ Jason Statham Is Dating Again. Retrieved on March 9, 2007.
