Jason Statham biography

Jason-Statham Jason Statham was born in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, England, as the son of Eileen and Barry Statham, a lounge singer.

In his youth, Statham didn't dream of becoming an actor. His great passion was diving and he went on to finish 12th in the World Championships in 1992 and for twelve years, he was a member of Britain's National Diving Squad.

He first came into the public eye as a model for French Connection, a clothing brand. It was Guy Ritchie who introduced him to big movie audiences with his first major hit 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'. The director was looking for a street-wise conman when he found out about Statham's past as a black market salesman. Their collaboration continued in later films shot by Ritchie including: 'Snatch' (2000) and 'Revolver' (2005).

Afterwards, Statham was able to break into Hollywood and appeared in the action hit 'The Transporter' (2002) which had two sequels, 'Transporter 2' (2005) and 'Transporter 3' (2008). In 2010, Statham appeared alongside his fellow action heroes including Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li and Mickey Rourke, in 'The Expendables'. He reprised the role of Lee Christmas, a former SAS soldier, in 'The Expendables 2', released on August 17th, 2012.

Statham is in a relationship with a Victoria's Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

Notable performances

Lee Christmas: The Expendables (2010)
Terry Leather: The Bank Job (2007)
Jake Green: Revolver (2005)
Frank Martin: The Transporter (2002), Transporter 2 (2005), Transporter 3 (2008)
Mr. B: Turn it up (2000)
Turkish: Snatch (2000)
Bacon: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)

Awards and recognitions

In his short career, Jason Statham has played in more than thirty films. Although he has never been nominated for any significant awards, he was praised for acting, especially for his portrayals of witty, street-wise characters in Guy Ritchie movies.