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Rachel Brooks: Someone put metal in the science oven.
Tim Gutterson: I finally saw that.
Rachel: What'd you think?
Tim: Needs more Jason Statham.
Raylan Givens: What doesn't?
— The cast of Justified discusses American Hustle

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.

Jason is also notable for being one of the very few actors to appear exclusively in theatrically released movies throughout his entire career, NOT ONCE settling for a direct-to-DVD or direct-to-streaming film or for a TV series, not even for a brief guest appearance. He keeps this impressive streak going even in modern times when TV shows are a more respected art form than they once were, and even when some of his films are owned and distributed by entities like Amazon which have no qualms with sending big-budget and big-name movies directly to their streaming service.

He is engaged to Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and they have a son and a daughter.


Films

Video Games


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 — in those films, Frank Martin carries around spare suits sealed in plastic to make sure he's impeccable at all times.
  • 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.
  • The Comically Serious: He has very good comic timing and the ability to deliver the most ridiculously over the top dialogue straight-faced with his trademark growl.Spy makes particularly good use of this.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Knight in Sour Armor: Many of his characters will do the right thing but only because they were forced into it and remain miserable until the plot ends and they can go back to their quiet lives.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Typecasting: Almost all of his roles are grizzled tough guys.

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