Jason Statham (pronounced /ˈsteɪθəm/;[1][2] born 12 September 1972)[3] is an English actor and martial artist, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels; Revolver; and Snatch. Statham appeared in supporting roles in several American films, such as The Italian Job, as well as playing the lead role in The Transporter, Crank, The Bank Job, War (opposite martial arts star Jet Li), and Death Race. Statham solidified his status as an action hero by appearing alongside the old-school action film actors Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Dolph Lundgren in The Expendables. He normally performs his own fight scenes and stunts.


Early life
Statham was born in London, England,[5][6] the son of a lounge singer and dressmaker-turned-dancer. He later moved to Great Yarmouth, Norfolk and grew up initially following in his parents' footsteps to master the art of street theatre. He also played football for the local grammar school (1978–83), but his real passion was diving - in particular, he finished 12th in the World Championships in 1992.[7] He was also a member of Britain's National Diving Squad for twelve years.

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. Afterwards, he became a model for the clothing brand Tommy Hilfiger.

Career
While working for French Connection, he was introduced to fledgling British director Guy Ritchie[8] who was developing 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.[9] 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.[10] 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: Ghosts of Mars and 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, in which his background in martial arts enabled him to do most of his own stunts.[10] The film spawned two sequels, Transporter 2, in 2005[10] and third Transporter film in 2008. He also played in supporting roles in The Italian Job (2003) (in which he played Handsome Rob)[10] Cellular (2004) where he played the lead villain[10] and had a cameo in Collateral (2004). In 2005, Statham was once again cast by Ritchie to star in his new project, Revolver which was a critical and box office failure. He also played a dramatic role in London that same year. In 2006 he played the lead role in Crank [10]. Statham compares his role in Crank to his real life in the September 2006 issue of Maxim. He subsequently starred in the critical and box office failures War (2007) and In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2008). That same year he starred in the British crime thriller The Bank Job which was both a critical and box office success. Recently he reprised his role from 2006's Crank in Crank 2: High Voltage which did not do very well both critically and commercially.


In 2008, American film critic Armond White hailed Statham's ascension as the leading international action film star. On the occasion of Death Race, White championed Statham's "best track record of any contemporary movie star."[11] Later in 2008, White praised Statham's Transporter 3 as a great example of kinetic pop art.

In 2010 Statham is set to appear alongside fellow action stars Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jet Li and Mickey Rourke among others in The Expendables. Statham will play Lee Christmas, a former SAS soldier and expert at Close Quarters Combat using knives.

Statham is currently[when?] developing The Grabbers, written by David Peoples and Janet Peoples (Twelve Monkeys). Statham stated “We’ve got a movie we’re trying to do, written by David Peoples and Janet Peoples, in the vein of an old film, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. It’s not a remake or anything, but it’s a little bit like that, about relationships and how greed contaminates the relationships these three people have. The working title is The Grabbers."[12]

He will also star in the action film, The Killer Elite.[13] According to Variety the film will be based on real events, which were the subject of Ranulph Fiennes' fictional book The Feathermen. Statham will play a former Navy SEAL named Danny who comes out of retirement in order to save an old friend who will be played by Clive Owen. "IAE Magazine" cited that Robert De Niro will play Hunter, Statham's mentor and bestfriend.

Personal life
Statham is unmarried, but was in a seven year relationship with model Kelly Brook until 2004.[14][15] He is now dating Victoria's Secret Angel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.[16]

Statham is also a fan of mixed martial arts (MMA) and has attended many mixed martial arts pay per views, usually put on by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Statham