Jason Statham is a charismatic, lucky, and astute actor. Since he ‘emerged’ 25 years ago, in 1998, via Guy Ritchie‘s success, Lock, stock and two smoking barrels, he has become an international star, occupying the space of “action film actor” left orphaned without Bruce Willis, who had ‘evolved’ into ‘more serious’ content. Since then, Jason has practically reigned alone in a genre that never loses an audience: action films, but specifically, scams or espionage.

In addition to having the perfect biotype for the roles, Jason Statham has the right talent between humor and action, perhaps the closest thing to Sean Connery as James Bond, the one who convinces us as an athlete, as a leader, as charming, as fun and even hilarious. And the fact that he understands his strengths and weaknesses, without bothering to be occasionally supporting and always seems to live the same persona, makes him an interestingly intelligent star that gives fans confidence in what he delivers, as is the case of Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, another film of his trademark and signed by Guy Ritchie, now available on Amazon Prime Video.

When he was growing up in England, Jason certainly never would have guessed that he would one day be one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Son of a dancer and a street vendor, the actor lived closely with the universe that is often portrayed in his films – surrounded by scammers and bandits – as his parents also organized fake auctions with which they deceived people, something he started to take part as soon as you can. A childhood friend of football player Vinnie Jones, Jason took advantage of his aptitude for sports to try a serious career as an athlete. He excelled in diving, becoming part of the British diving team for twelve years, and represented the British team in the Commonwealth Games in springboard diving, in 1990. He passed through the Army but did not find himself in the Armed Forces and started to dedicate himself to martial arts.

Survival, however, was not paid enough because reportedly, to earn a living, Jason followed the path of childhood and held fake auctions and sold fake perfumes and jewelry on the street, where he began to make theatrical forays too, becoming successful. He didn’t have to follow this line for long because in the 1990s he left the streets for magazines, as a model and boyfriend of actress Kelly Brook. It was in this circuit that he crossed paths with director Guy Ritchie, who called him for a role in his debut film, which was a huge worldwide success and the double was repeated two years later, with Snatch, opening the doors to Hollywood at the right moment in which actors who excelled in action movies wanted to move on to dramas. Jason has arrived to take the crown.

The Transporter franchise has proven its ability to lead the cast, but it did not deny any opportunity, even with minor roles. He has been in The Expendables, Hitman, The Italian Job, Collateral, Crank, War, The Bank Job, and Adrenaline, among others. His stint in the extremely lucrative Fast & Furious franchise yielded a spin-off, Hobbs and Shaw. One of his favorite and funniest roles was in the comedy The Spy, where he played an “anti-Bond” like Rick Ford and which has already yielded a sequel in production.

Jason has been living with English model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley for 13 years, with whom he has a son. In Hollywood, his skill in martial arts helps him to give veracity to the films he stars in. He’s reteamed with Ritchie in recent years, and despite the lukewarm reception of Big Risk, it’s clearly another fun franchise to its name, especially with the perfect Audrey Plaza tune.

From the streets and trampolines to stardom, Jason is now as in demand as Dwayne Johnson, Tom Cruise, and Keanu Reeves, to put his importance into context. A success story that Hollywood loves as much as we do.

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