Jason Statham
Born	September 12, 1972 (1972-09-12) (age 34) Sydenham, Lewisham, London, England

Jason Statham (born 12 September 1972) is an English actor, known for his hard man 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, The Italian Job, and Collateral, as well as playing the lead role in The Transporter, Transporter 2, Crank, and War. Statham is currently working on The Bank Job, The Brazilian Job (a sequel to The Italian Job), and Death Race (a remake of Roger Gorman's Death Race 2000).

Biography

Early life & diving career

Statham was born in Sydenham, Lewisham, London, 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. 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[1] and he was also a member of Britain's National Diving Squad for twelve years.[2]

Modeling & acting career

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.[3] Afterwards, he became a model for the clothing brand French Connection where he was introduced to then-fledgling British director Guy Ritchie.[4]

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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] A sequel, Transporter 2, followed in 2005.[8] He also appeared in supporting roles in The Italian Job (2003) (in which he also played a driver),[9] Cellular (2004)[10] before taking the lead role in Crank (2006).[11] 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 2007/8: In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale and The Italian Job sequel The Brazilian Job. He has also been tipped to play Domovoi Butler in the upcoming Artemis Fowl movie.

In numerous American films Statham can be heard speaking with a slight American accent.

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. They got back together temporarily after Kelly Brook broke up her engagement with Billy Zane. In 2005, Statham dated former Bardot singer Sophie Monk but they are no longer together.[12]

Filmography

Video game voice-overs

• Red Faction II (2002) â€" Shrike
• Call of Duty (2003) â€" Sgt. Waters

References

External links

• Jason Statham at the Internet Movie Database
• Jason Statham in War 2007
• Jason Statham does Gumball 2007
• Jason Statham fan site