Jason Statham was born in September 1972 in London England. He excelled in athletics at a young age and has continued to be an athletic figure, doing his own stunts in some of his most recent movies. In 1992 as a member of the British National Diving Team he placed twelfth in the World Championships and went on to perform on Britain's behalf in the Olympics. It was not until sometime in 1998 that he finally appeared on the acting scene in the film Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. He managed to land an acting role through contacts at a modeling agency he was working for at the time called French Connection. French Connection was a major financial supporter in the development of the film and thought Jason Statham would be an asset to the film. During the making of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels he got to meet producer Guy Ritchie. Ritchie is a famous producer and husband of musician Madonna, and also the producer the film. He met Statham, liked him, and encouraged him to audition for a part in the movie. This was to be a wise career move for Jason Statham, as as the initial decision to become a model for French Connection after discontinuing his athletic career.
When Statham auditioned, he was awarded the role of Bacon. For his audition, Ritchie had him act out the part of a tough guy street vendor selling jewelry. His audition and acting in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels stuck with Ritchie and he called uopn Jason Stratham for a role in the movie Snatch in 2000. In this movie Statham gained more mainstream audience fans as he starred alongside popular moviestars Brad Pitt and Benicio Del Toro. Music-themed movie Turn It Up followed immediately in 2000 with another film, a sci-fi thriller, in 2001. Martial arts director Jet Li sought out Jason Statham in 2001 for his action picture The One. Guy Ritchie made the movie Mean Machine shortly after and commissioned Statham as one of the actors for it. Other recent movies Statham has acted in include The Transporter and The Italian Job. His most recent film was Crank, a highly-charged action adventure thriller made in 2006. He has recently popped abck up on the big screen in Hollywood and hopefully there are more works to follow, as the excitement he creates in a movie never disappoints.
His tough guy look is more than just looks. Jason Statham often performs his own stunts during movies he has been commissioned to act in and sometimes does stunt work for other celebrities who do not like to perform their own stunt work. He seems to particularly excel at fight scenes and car battles but does not mind doing a variety of work. He has turned down some stunt jobs in the past though, for reasons undisclosed. Often he chooses to work on only one film at a time and to dedicate himself fully to that particular work, so perhaps this is his logic behind such decisions. His most recent project is being filmed in Canada and is entitled In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale. The release date nor anticipated completion of the project has not yet been announced.