Tough guy Jason Statham is somewhat underestimated.
Jason Statham has made a career out of playing harsh, rugged, and bullheaded characters, from Frank Martin in the Transporter trilogy to Deckard Shaw in the Fast & Furious films to Lee Christmas in The Expendables series. Jason’s crazy, aggressive, and macho personality is consistent throughout the film. That is exactly why his admirers adore him.
Indeed, he’s been the uncompromising hardman for so long that many people forget there’s a charming human being beneath the steely glare. The typecasting does not detract from the truth that Jason’s origins were as humble and human as everyone else. While he shares some characteristics with some of his most powerful characters, we must remember that he is his own person and should not be defined solely by his body of work.
Here’s what we can learn from Jason Statham’s journey:
Jason Statham, a former professional swimmer, grew up “selling watches” on street corners.
Eileen Yates and Barry Statham gave birth to Jason on July 26, 1967, in Derbyshire, England. His mother was a professional dancer, and his father worked mostly as a street vendor, selling anything from jewelry to perfume to knockoff watches. Barry’s eclectic career included work as a house painter, coal miner, and sometimes performer.
Jason grew up in the working class and followed in his father’s footsteps. Hawking a jumble of off-brand things to busy passersby is not an easy profession, but Jason took it in stride and embraced the opportunity to hone his sales abilities. “He smiles wide and winks often, and periodically announces, “My name is Billy, not foolish,” to comic effect,” according to a New York Times profile of the actor.
Jason also drew on his father’s musical heritage as a child, playing drums in their family band alongside his brother, who played guitar and their father sang lead. He dabbled with music on occasion, but his true passion was the water. Statham swam for his local grammar school team and excelled in competition diving, earning a position on Britain’s National Swimming Squad. He trained with the team for twelve years and was picked to represent Great Britain at the 1990 Commonwealth Games. He placed 12th in the World Championships for springboard diving. In an interview, Jason stated that his career as a competitive diver taught him “discipline, focus”.
Statham attained superstardom without taking a single “acting lesson” in his life.
Though he excelled at competition diving and took it seriously as a young man in his twenties, Jason discovered that amateur sports did not provide a steady enough income to support him over the long term. He returned to the streets as a vendor, “selling perfume and jewelry, and other goods that were supposedly expensive.”
The father of one stated that his time as a hawker on Oxford Street inspired him to pursue a career in performing arts. Statham’s engaging antics piqued the interest of shoppers. Because of this, they were more likely to buy products from his stall. One of his amusing antics piqued the interest of onlooker Guy Ritchie, who was so taken with Jason’s charisma that he put him in the film Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels as nothing else but a street hawker.
The rest, as you know, is history. Jason Statham was in his early thirties when he made his first film, which differs from the bulk of active actors who enter the industry in their late teens or early 20s. However, this did not deter him from seizing fresh possibilities that presented themselves. He went into the profession and set out to establish himself as an action star. Jason stated that as a child, he aspired to be a stuntman; being a dashing, dangerous actor was simply the cherry on top.
You have no idea when your big opportunity will arrive. You must be patient and continue your drive, knowing that opportunities will arise at their own speed. And once they do, it’s up to you to grab the wheel and jump. Jason Statham never expected to be one of the world’s biggest movie stars, so he continued working at his day job until something better came along.
It’s never too late to follow your interests or realize your ambitions. Everyone’s lives proceed at a different pace, therefore you can’t compare yourself to others. All you can do is have a little faith and a lot of ambition from time to time; your calling will reveal itself to you before you realize it.
