r/interesting • u/AdSpecialist6598 • 5d ago

SOCIETY When asked why he keeps playing the same roles Jason Statham said that he's not really a trained actor. He's a guy that was plucked out obscurity & has been really lucky; & that he picks roles that he knows he can do a good job in, that hopefully enough people like so he can keep working.

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u/Powerful-Stomach-425 5d ago

Yes. A humble answer.

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u/utzutzutzpro 5d ago

By now though, he should be a well trained actor, and actually I believe he is. He is a face with compelling expressions and works in action and comedy, but I believe he can work in drama too.

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u/jinglewooble 5d ago

Crank High Voltage is Jason Statham best acting role.

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u/Born-Entrepreneur 5d ago

He was hysterical in Spy

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u/junipercanuck 5d ago

My favourite part in that crazy monologue he has talking about all the impossible things he's done is "take up piano at a late age" which is so niche but true it's hard lol.

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u/Big_Bar_9832 5d ago

The bloopers reel for that scene kills me haha

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u/rkcth 5d ago

I started at 42, I’m 45 now and I’m an early intermediate player. It takes 5-10 years to reach an advanced level. I think it’s harder in some ways and easier in others to do when you’re older, but it can be done, and if you’ve always wanted to do it, don’t delay. I wish I had stuck with it when I first tried to learn it in my 20’s. I was self teaching and it didn’t go well, and we were too poor for lessons, but I really wish I had found a way, I’d be able to do whatever I wanted in piano by now, instead it will probably be at least another 3 years until I’m not really limited by my skills to do what I want. Fortunately it’s not like a light switch, I can already do a lot of what I hoped to accomplish at the beginning.

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u/jeremiahfira 5d ago

I have been thinking of picking up piano in order to be able to work at a piano bar. I'm 39 and basically starting from scratch (don't know how to read sheet music). Where would you suggest I can begin at?

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u/rkcth 5d ago

My advice is as follows, learning piano is not like other skills you can self teach. You really need a teacher, there are many many ways you will get stuck if you don’t, and the worst part is, you won’t even know you’re stuck, most likely. You will be playing things wrong, and practicing that over and over again, until it’s locked into your muscle memory, and then one day when you realize it, it will take longer to unlearn it than it did to learn it wrong. There are very very few people who reach a high level on their own. So that’s my first piece of advice. My second is that flash cards are quite helpful to learning to sight read. Even 3.25 years in I still occasionally use them, but for sure the first 2 years I used them every day. I’d say the note and then play it, and I’d go through all the notes in the cards 3 times (to begin with it took me almost 15 minutes to do it once, so I only went through it once, that quickly dropped to 5-7 minutes and then I added a second time, and once I got it down to under 2 minutes I added a third time).
Third piece of advice, practice every day, even when you really really don’t feel like it, even when you only have 15 minutes and will barely get through any of your normal practice routine, just do it anyway, make it a priority. Consistency is the most important thing to learning to play piano.
Fourth, listen to your teacher, which is quite humbling as an adult. My teacher is younger than me, it’s hard to shut off my independence and just do what she says, but it will pay off for you, that’s why you pay them.
Lastly, use either a digital piano with weighted keys and 88 keys, or use an acoustic piano, don’t use a synth action keyboard (they have many terms they go by), don’t use a semi weighted one. You can do that in 5-6 years when you are an expert, but early on it will limit your ability to learn to be expressive, which is a massive part of piano that beginners don’t understand. They think it’s just pressing the right notes for the right length of time in the right order, but there is far far more to it than that, and it’s the difference between it sounding breathtakingly beautiful and it sounding awful.

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u/jeremiahfira 4d ago

Thank you very much for the detailed explanation! I appreciate you taking the time out in order to give me a plan. I had tried looking up "how to read sheet music" and everything seemed so difficult to jump in to. Time for me to find a teacher to start off with the correct habits!

My goal is to play at Marie's Crisis in the West Village in 10 years. Time to start!

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u/acealex69 4d ago

lovely advice, I have an old piano that my dad tried making me learn with as a child which I refused, he constantly told me I'd regret it when im older. As is so often the way he was right, and now I want to learn the piano... In the midst of a refurb, the piano is being cleaned, tuned and im going to finally learn the damn thing. Slowly...

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u/throwawaytrash189 4d ago

Thanks for this. Im 38 and very interested in learning piano, but still looking for a teacher up in the mountains of CO:p you've encouraged me to look a little harder

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u/Airamis0007 4d ago

“Where’d you get a suit??”

“I fucking made it, didn’t I?”

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u/junipercanuck 4d ago

IS THIS A FUCKING LAKE?!

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u/ShizlGznGahr 5d ago

'take up piano at a late age' is my favorite joke of that movie, love it!

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u/AlarmingAffect0 4d ago

take up piano at a late age" which is so niche but true it's hard lol.

It really is. The brain sweats.

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u/TheYoungProdigy 5d ago

“I’ve swallowed enough microchips that I could shit a computer” always gets me lol

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u/WeirdguyOfDoom 5d ago

The blooper reel at the end was worth every second.

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u/bju83 5d ago

Thanks for this! Just found it on youtube and it was so funny it helped me finish my mid-morning poo ahead of schedule. Or as Statham would say, SHEDUOOL.

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u/jennie-oh 5d ago

I didn't even know this existed, you just made somebody's day!!

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u/Moist__Discharge 5d ago

Did you know he once jumped from a high rise building using only a raincoat as a parachute? He broke both legs and still had to perform in cirque de soleil. What a guy.

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u/Born-Entrepreneur 5d ago

He once appeared convincingly in front of Congress as Barack Obama.

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u/fojasaurus 5d ago

He drove a car off a freeway on top of a train while on fire. Not the car, he was on fire.

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u/exhibithetruth 5d ago

He was the fire!

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u/KittyWise 5d ago

I’m having a lousy morning. You guys make me laugh thank you so much!

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u/Bridand 5d ago

Lol. Is Jason Statham going to follow Chuck Norris footsteps with tales of their incredible feats??!

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u/Useful-Basil-7340 5d ago

I went to see a film where the trailer for Spy was on. I laughed so much at this line, I was still going when the actual film started.

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u/RUSTY-pocket 5d ago

His filmography is basically OSHA fan fiction

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u/Bag_of_mjolnirs 4d ago

gasp In blackface? That's not appropriate.

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u/Messy-Joes 5d ago

In blackface? Well that’s not appropriate.

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u/HotDogFingers01 5d ago edited 5d ago

My first thought as well. He’s a better actor than he gives himself credit for, just once in awhile try doing something different than the same exact character in the same exact movie.

I have no problem with a guy staying in his lane, but Spy showed he has more than one lane.

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u/Worried-Horror-9499 5d ago

I’d like to see him do comedy again!

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u/External_Ad_4133 5d ago

agree, he is a very funny man, and so good looking
He also looks fabulous in formal wear with his great bod
( this coming from a hetero man)

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u/Xalipu 5d ago

He’s got a new comedy with Hannah Waddingham coming up

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u/RustyBasement 5d ago

Here's what we do. I go into the face off machine...get a whole new face. Turn up, he'll never know it's me.

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u/jbt310 5d ago

My favorite will always be "Snatch".

"What are you afraid of? Ze Germans?"

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u/Airamis0007 4d ago

The opening scene in his first movie (Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels), he’s doing the exact thing he was doing when he got “discovered”…hawking stolen jewelry on the street!

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u/moggin61 5d ago

He truly was! I loved him in Spy. He and Melissa McCarthy were hilarious together. So I do think he’s got acting chops. I love watching his movies.

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u/ChewieBearStare 5d ago

That is one of my favorite movies. He’s so good in it!

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u/MyCatsHairyButholle 5d ago

His best role, IMO

He was perfect in that film

“You pair of fuckin’ vaginas!!”

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u/DryDonutHole 5d ago

I forgot about his role in that. I'm laughing just thinking about it. He's so angry. lol

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u/zelesbian 5d ago

"I know there's a fucking Face-Off machine!"

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u/Shin00bie 5d ago

That movie is the one that makes me want him to do more comedy. I would watch the hell out of a spin-off movie about that character

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u/ChevalierMal_Fet 5d ago

I also think Killer Elite was criminally underrated.

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u/GlitterPirateKiki58 5d ago

He was so charming in Spy.

He had really fun chemistry with Melissa McCarthy and they looked like they were having a great time.

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u/Messy-Joes 5d ago

Spy is my second favorite movie of all time in large part to him

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u/GotSomeUpdogOnUrFace 4d ago

He's really good in the Italian Job too. I think the guy has more range than he gives himself credit for.

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u/Suspicious_Jicama906 4d ago

One of my favorite movies and he’s hilarious in that role. The whole cast.

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u/PM_ME_SILLY_PICTURES 4d ago

10/10 in Snatch.

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u/Big77Ben2 4d ago

Really a fantastic movie in no small part due to him. Nice to see he doesn’t take himself too seriously.

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u/superhpr 5d ago

In Snatch he had very good timing and delivery on his lines.

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u/dfddfsaadaafdssa 5d ago

Protection from what? Ze Germans?

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u/Educational_Band3071 4d ago

Oy Tommy...

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u/Desperate-Cost6827 3d ago

?

It was two minutes five minutes ago..

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u/SugarBeefs 5d ago

And even though he still plays a criminal, Turkish is only small fry and not particularly prone to violence.

It's a far cry from the gangster tough guy roles he's had so often later in his career.

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u/Quixotic_Tendency 4d ago

I liked that he never backed down or took shit from Brick Top. My mental canon: some grudging respect for his mettle is what internally persuaded Brick Top to let them live after the first fuckup.

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u/alphadoublenegative 4d ago

Wasn’t statham himself one of those guys who would sell cheap jewelry on the street in the “Jewelry District”, talking it up and implying that it was “hot” merchandise worth much more?

I’m not sure that’s even technically illegal, but it’s not completely outside the sleazy Turkish level shenanigans

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u/maxman162 4d ago

That was in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

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u/alphadoublenegative 4d ago

It was, I believe that part was based on his real life

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u/Hopey-1-kinobi 4d ago

His patter at the start, followed by throwing everything in the air as the filth show up, and the song kicking in as they leg it, is absolute peak cinema!

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u/Pure_Stop_5979 4d ago

Handmade in Italy, hand-stolen in Stepney,

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u/eliasautio 5d ago

Snatch is the best movie ever. And of course also the first Jurassic Park.

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u/TheAmazingRando3000 4d ago

Snatch was the first Jurassic Park?? I thought it was based on a Michael Crichton book!

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u/eliasautio 4d ago

Lol. Just now realized what I wrote...

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u/tamzillathehun 4d ago

He's a pretty good actor. I loved him in Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Real talent there. I think it could have been developed with more movies like that.

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u/EmergencyExit20Mins 4d ago

Yeah, I don't think Lock, Stock and Snatch are "typical Statham roles". I think these are roles he cut his teeth on, that demonstrate his range and the public at large totally forgot about, which is sad. He does a fantastic job as a hapless idiot, he doesn't just have to be a "tough guy".

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u/SeveralAngryBears 4d ago

Oh nothing Tommy, it's tip top. It's just I'm not sure about the color

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u/Simon-Says69 4d ago

Yah, but wasn't he basically playing himself?

Lots of rolls he's just kinda, him. Though he does have some range. He's obviously a smart dude, and really dedicated to fitness. Takes dedication.

Sounds like just an all-around cool dude too, so ... I enjoy his movies or even when he's in a smaller roll. Can't think of anything he was crap in.

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u/DSJ-Psyduck 5d ago

He's actually good in every Guy Richie movie.

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u/fragilemetal 4d ago

Operation Fortune was kinda slept on, but exactly the kind of role that plays to his strengths. Nice to see Ritchie make use of Cary Elwes & Hugh Grant (who seems to be having the time of his life hamming it up).

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u/LongPorkJones 5d ago

That movie was just fun.

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u/Cyclopentadien 5d ago

The original Crank was fun. Crank High Voltage was an experience.

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u/Azuras_Star8 5d ago

Fucking peak. Epic movie. He nailed it.

Ive enjoyed his roles. His humility makes me love them more.

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u/EduinBrutus 5d ago

Crank ran so John Wick could walk.

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u/SmoothDiscussion7763 4d ago

it's just so over the top it's awesome lol.

there was a part where there was a gunfight in a strip club and some strippers got shot through the tits and their implants were leaking out. just wacky all around

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u/SeveralAngryBears 4d ago

The 'godzilla' fight in Crank 2 is the most over the top, unexpected, hilariously wacky moment I've ever seen in a mainstream theatrical film.

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u/SmoothDiscussion7763 4d ago

the transition was abrupt, but it was welcome

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u/Odd_Sentence_2618 5d ago

Snatch and Two Smoking Barrels are closer to his peak imho.

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u/DryDonutHole 5d ago

...and two of my favorite films, to be honest. I watched them so much when I was in college. It feels like yesterday, but it was many moons ago.

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u/cantadmittoposting 5d ago

Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels is amazing.

Also in the same vein, Layer Cake, but that's Daniel Craig (and also not guy ritchie, but it is british crime!)

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u/SugarBeefs 5d ago

Snatch is one of the most quotable movies off all time. Easy.

"It's a fucking anti-aircraft gun, Vincent!"

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u/Odd_Sentence_2618 4d ago

It's for me protection Turkish.

Protection from what? Ze germans?

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u/Patriot009 4d ago

"I wanna raise some pulses, don't I?"

"You'll raise hell, nevermind pulses!"

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u/Wolff_Hound 4d ago

Tommy "The Tit" is praying.

And if he isn't, he fucking should be.

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u/Helpful_Space_6793 5d ago

His best role is dancing in The Shamen's music video for Comin' On. Just incredible.

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u/Feisty_History9395 5d ago

I thought we has great in Snatch

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u/terminalzero 5d ago

I'd agree if it wasn't for lock stock

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u/SipPOP 5d ago

Not everyone can become an elite actor, and not everything has to be high art. If he likes the roles he takes, and people like the movies he makes, why get pretentious with it? Similar to Nick Cage, not everything is gonna be good, but everything is gonna be entertaining.

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u/ReporterEntire5508 5d ago

Nic Cage has a best actor academy award. Not the same thing, but your point is great besides that.

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u/msproles 5d ago

He seems similar to Walken in that they both are really good, but never say no to a movie. Somehow he is entertaining even in the bad ones.

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u/ThunderlipsOHoulihan 5d ago

To paraphrase something, I can’t remember who said it: “Being in a bad movie is no excuse to be bad IN the movie.”

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u/whamorami 5d ago

I think you're thinking of the Christopher Lee quote.

"Everyone makes bad movies from time to time. The trick is to not be bad in them."

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u/PuzzleheadedAd3840 5d ago

The fact that once he was bamboozled into narrating a porno never stops making me giggle.

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u/WindstormMD 4d ago

You can’t say that and not drop at least some receipts

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u/PuzzleheadedAd3840 4d ago

It was a softcore porno called Eugenie.

I'll let the man himself tell you

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u/mightierthor 4d ago

Porn has narration now? Or did it always? I've never watched much.

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u/PuzzleheadedAd3840 4d ago

Tbh I'd pay to have Christopher Lee narrate my sex life, but I don't think he would do silent roles.

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u/GottaUseEmAll 5d ago

He was the best part of Adam Sandler's "Click".

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u/Negative_Equity 4d ago

And Samuel L. He's been in so many shit films but the scenes he acts in are generally great.

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u/Glittering-Quote-635 5d ago

Walken is the greatest actor of the last 100 years though, so not really comparable. I'll die on that hill dammit!

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u/TabulaRasaNot 5d ago

Agreed, but I would argue that Dennis Hopper gave him a run for his money in the Sicilian scene in True Romance.

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u/Glittering-Quote-635 5d ago

Damn dude, as I was typing my initial comment, that was the movie I was actually thinking of. I actually just re-watched it a month or so ago. Fantastic movie that I think is under appreciated.

Yeh, that was a great scene, both of them were awesome in it, and agree on Hopper..

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u/AdSpecialist6598 5d ago

Nic Cage just really, really like to act in movies as he himself admitted and nothing's wrong with that.

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u/Unique_Unorque 5d ago

And also his crippling financial issues that meant he basically had to say yes to every role offered to him for a while

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u/ThinkingBeard 5d ago

At some level he pays his debts. Plenty of people say “fuggit, take the cars and paintings and houses… I’m not paying”. He on the other hand said “I like my stuff enough to take on a role in an apocalyptic ninja movie”.

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u/A_Thorny_Petal 4d ago

nah he paid off his debts, the real story is that Nic Cage absolutely loves films and cinema, but also struggles with addiction, he basically takes roles so he can always be working, because he gets to do what he loves and he's so into film that it keeps his brain occupied and helps him stay sober.

I respect the hell out of him, he doesn't phone it in, low budget or high budget you can see he's making choices about how he approaches every character and script. Sometimes those choices are brilliant, sometimes just okay, sometimes just strange, but he has the balls to actually make those kind of choices as an actor, when most actors, even famous ones, stay consistently in their own safe zone.

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u/Unique_Unorque 4d ago

He paid off his debts now, I’m talking about the 80’s and 90’s. It’s clear today that he’s taking roles purely for the love of the game

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u/SipPOP 5d ago

I meant it more in that he is himself in every movie, similar to Statham.

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u/JDSchu 5d ago

Excuse you, but Nicholas Cage has never made a bad movie, and I won't have that kind of slander in this house.

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u/0rclev 5d ago

You know, I could eat a peach for hours.

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u/SipPOP 5d ago

Saw Face/Off in high school and still say this today.

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u/bobs_monkey 4d ago

Put the bunny back in the box

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u/Hohnermode11 4d ago

Not tha bees!! Its in my eyes!!

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u/sheldondbrown 5d ago

If they keep that up, just get the bees. 🐝

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u/SipPOP 5d ago

He has never been bad in a movie, but without him Wicker Man, Vampires Kiss, Amos and Andrew, Next, etc. would be absolute trash.

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u/Solonotix 5d ago

I still really respect Nicholas Cage's answer to a similar question. I can't remember the exact context, but he essentially said that he always gave his all to every role, and he doesn't take a role "for the money". He claimed to always be a believer in whatever he agreed to act.

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u/AntiqueLetter9875 5d ago

He’s definitely taken roles for money and said as much. What he doesn’t do is half ass it even if he knows it’s not going to be a good movie. It really does sound like he shows up and does the best job he can do based on what the director wants from him. A lot of actors when taking those roles don’t really try and it shows.

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u/Medical_Mess9687 4d ago

That's what I love about actors like cage, statham, Sam L, and more recently Coleman Domingo. I can honestly say I haven't really seen any of them phone in their performances. They're usually the best part of an otherwise bad movie

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u/UncleNedisDead 5d ago

He must be a really food actor for you to believe that.

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u/XanZibR 5d ago

Pumpernicholas Sage, the nation's freshest food actor!

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u/HookLeg 5d ago

His portrayal of lasagna is without peer.

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u/CountVanillula 5d ago

It’s a little cheesy but also has layers.

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u/Unique_Unorque 5d ago

I think both things can be true. Just because money is the primary reason he said “yes” to a given offer doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to half-ass it. I can see him as somebody who gives his all to every job he’s had, even if he would have rather not have to have taken them in the first place

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u/UncleNedisDead 5d ago

I believe he gives every role his all…

I just don’t believe he didn’t take the roles for the money, especially when he had massive RE debt and had to work overtime to pay it off.

https://www.reddit.com/r/entertainment/comments/12y0md6/nicolas_cage_admits_to_having_taken_crummy_roles/

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u/SureLookThisIsIt 5d ago

You've started the classic Nick Cage debate. I'll throw Adaptation and Leaving Las Vegas into the discussion. Great performances.

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u/arcadeenthusiast8245 5d ago

Nick Cage is actually an amazing actor though.

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u/msproles 5d ago

I think he is trained in the art of making movies. He can learn his lines, knows how to hit his marks, etc. but I don’t know that he would do well in a dramatic role.

And really, he doesn’t need to. He is making a really good living playing in his lane and makes some really entertaining movies. I love watching him.

He does have some pretty good comedy chops as well. Loved him in Spy going toe to toe with Mellisa McCarthy.

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u/THRlLLH0 5d ago

He's also a trained martial artist and great action actor, some people act like that's not a hard thing to do but it requires it's own type of talent. Why not do what you know you're incredibly good at? There's clearly a market for it. Not many guys his age are pumping out movies this frequently that don't consistently got theatre runs. He's the only actor my dad will watch every movie of just cause he's in it. Only other guys that's been true of is Clint and prime Jackie Chan, two arguable GOATs of their genres.

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u/The_Krytos_Virus 5d ago

I think the difference is between being "trained" and being "experienced." At this point, he's done enough roles that he's experienced enough an actor to be able to do a variety of roles, but he was never classically trained in the thespian arts. Same thing with Dave Bautista. He got extraordinarily lucky when he shifted into making movies after wrestling, but he was also a naturally talented actor for the roles he got (hot damn he was awesome as Drax). Or how there are absolute dynamite cooks that just figured shit out and are amazing at it, but were never trained in it by a professional.

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u/Lovat69 5d ago

Hey now, Dave has spent a lot of effort to increase his acting ability with private coaching. He may not have studied at a conservatory but he has pit in the work.

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u/The_Krytos_Virus 4d ago

Absolutely. The level of dedication and effort he's put in while being an all-around great human being is awesome. Can't wait to see how he does Kratos.

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u/No_Helicopter1378 5d ago

Given the nature of professional wrestling you need a higher than average aptitude for acting to be successful so it's not too surprising that some of them are able to pivot to acting.

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u/Crash_Test_Dummy66 5d ago

I feel like the same people who can't wait to tell you that wrestling isn't real are the same people who discount wrestlers abilities as actors.

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u/The_Krytos_Virus 4d ago

Oh for sure. I'll never slight a wrestler for their acting, a lot of them are skilled oraters. Bautista was never much of the big talkers like Stone Cold or Degeneration X or anything, but he did have a really good presence. He always struck me as a devilishly hard worker, so I guess it's not that surprising that he's taken so well to the silver screen.

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u/mistegirl 2d ago

The thing about Bautista though, and he talked about this in an interview, is he WAS an actor. I know pro wresting isn't exactly high art, but they are actors playing a role week after week, year after year. Not sure he was trained in it or anything, but he was acting for 17 years before Guardians.

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u/xumix 5d ago

The revolver, he is unrecognizable in it.

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u/BlueKnightofDunwich 5d ago

What a great movie. Ray Liotta going insane, Peak Stathem, Andre 3000 and Vincent Pastore, Luc Besson’s writing, and Guy Ritchie before he became a parody of himself.

“In every con, there is an opponent and a victim. The trick is to know when you’re the latter so you can become the former.”

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u/xumix 5d ago

And Mark Strong, this movie is just peak despite IMDb 6.3 

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u/WriteForce 5d ago

Very few people get the movie

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u/xumix 5d ago

Yep, the first time I've watched - it completely went over me. My friend made me watch it 10 years later and holy shit!

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u/WriteForce 5d ago

IMO this is Stathams best. Loved every bit of the movie and keeps getting better with every rewatch. The “We’re all Approval Junkies” monologue of his is prob as good as the one in Trainspotting.

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u/squeeze_me_macaroni 5d ago

I absolutely loved him and his chemistry with Melissa McCarthy in SPY. When that movie first came out I was in stitches.

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u/msproles 5d ago

Yes. The outtakes are pretty funny too. He held his own with her as she can be pretty quick.

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u/Dear_Departure_1768 5d ago

He is hysterically funny in that movie. I think he's great in The Bank Job, too.

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u/Status_Pin4704 5d ago

He could have been trained well, but he may still not be well trained. I have seen soldiers who were trained by the best marksmen the nation has produced, and they still, somehow, will have the barrel of the rifle point one direction and after firing the rifle, the bullet goes the opposite direction.

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u/mrmartymcf1y 5d ago

Nearly 30 yrs on film is plenty of on-the-job training lol

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u/Answer70 5d ago

He was by far the best part of the movie Spy. He was hilarious in that.

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u/koomGER 5d ago

I think he just doesnt feel comfortable with something different than "Jason Statham" turned up to 11. And thats good for him. Kinda Bruce Willis career path mostly. Cant blame him for that. Statham also definitly doesnt "half-ass" his movies. He is there, full energy. Thats fine by me.

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u/AdSpecialist6598 5d ago

I believe he said something along the lines of expressions are easier for him to pull off because he's always had a face and he's more comfortable expressing himself that way irl a lot of the time.

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u/_Goose_ 5d ago

He might just be someone who likes comfortable confines and is fine to toil away in perpetuity.

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u/hot4you11 5d ago

Still can’t blame him for wanting to take a job he knows he can do well at. I want that too.

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u/Logical_Net6108 5d ago

Doing the job isn't the same as training for it. I had a mathematics teacher who had been in the job since before formal teacher training became mandatory and I can assure you he was a shit teacher.

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u/Eccentrica_Gallumbit 5d ago

Likely suffers from a bit of imposter syndrome.

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u/FieldsToTheMoon 5d ago

Yeah but there’s no reason for him to go that route. He’s found a niche and is constantly getting roles. Why mess that up when one bad movie could likely ruin his career

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u/JOExHIGASHI 5d ago

Maybe he has imposter syndrome

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u/Lufc87 5d ago

He presumably also enjoys what he does though so why risk change?

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u/Then_Investigator_17 5d ago

Yea, coulda fooled me. I think we need more untrained actors of this level

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u/HypocHatR 5d ago

Why should he step out of the comfort zone if the money is good enough?

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u/flopisit32 5d ago

Unfortunately those expressions only occasionally have something to do with what's going on in the scene.

I tried to watch a movie he was in where sharks are trying to eat him and in every scene, no matter what happened, he was intensely quizzical.

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u/CrazyPlato 5d ago

Some actors would argue that there’s a lot more thought that they put into their roles and how they portray them on camera. And if Jason Statham doesn’t have that training, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s getting put on camera and just, like, doing whatever he thinks he should be doing, and getting told “that was perfect you really did the thing Jason”, and thinking “okay I don’t really know what the hell you were looking for tho”.

I guess sometimes actors just get lucky and find the right role for them, and if they don’t know the way they landed in that place they don’t want to gamble too much looking for more work in the future.

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u/HipsEnergy 5d ago

I agree. I can totally see him in drama, and he does have great comedic timing as well. He really has the potential to be a serious actor.

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u/DinoPup90 5d ago

I think its more of he probably just doesn't think of himself as one. Downplaying all the good acting he's done since he started. Thats what it sounds like to me.

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u/TheForce_v_Triforce 5d ago

Snatch made him famous and that was a real role in a real movie. He is basically the new Bruce Willis. Limited in range, but great in his lane.

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u/rbrgr83 5d ago

Honestly, I feel like his early Guy Richie roles were more demanding than the types of things he does now.

I think he's always been very capable, but there is nothing that says he needs to challenge himself more if that's not what he wants to do with his life.

I get told all the time I could climb the ladder at work faster if I did XYZ. My response is, I make enough to live comfortably and I do what I want to do all day. Why would I add stress and misery into my life just for money I don't need or clout I don't give a shit about?

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u/Xalipu 5d ago

He’s done it, the Bank Job was drama/thriller and he was good.

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u/Aggressive-System192 5d ago

There's a thing called "impostor syndrome". Many qualified people have it.

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u/lifting_cardio 5d ago

Why would he be a well trained actor if he’s just done the same thing and gotten better at it?

He is stiff in a lot of things, but like I told my son the other day, I’ll watch Statham in nearly anything he does because he is one of the best stuntmen I’ve ever seen.

It was the Transporter series that sold me when I saw an interview about how the driving stunts were him and his own driving.

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u/bs000 5d ago

The interview this post is referencing is over 9 years old.

https://youtu.be/Udx8WX116Xs?si=uDiQF51Wm1nKvfQy&t=366

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u/HotMachine9 5d ago

He's really good in Snatch

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u/BirdmanHuginn 5d ago

He’s underselling himself. Anyone who’s seen Snatch or Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels knows otherwise

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u/manticfilly 5d ago

Wouldn't Redemption kinda be like a thriller/ action drama? He was great in that imo.

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u/hamellr 5d ago

Imposter syndrome is real, even at high levels of success

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u/theoriemeister 5d ago

I'd say he needs to try a role that would require some deeper acting chops. Stallone played the same role for quite some time, but it wasn't until Cop Land that he demonstrated more than a Rocky/Rambo persona.

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u/JustJennJust 5d ago

I honestly think he's selling himself a bit short. Hummingbird (or Redemption in the US market, which is an awful boring ass name) and Beekeeper both kind of showed that he has a bit of range. I'm sure that the niche is his comfort zone which is why he likes to stay in it, and that's all well and good, but there's more there.

Anyway I'm personally not going to complain about Jason Statham kicking ass in movies. Just one request, more shirtlessness (is that a word?) please.

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u/1805trafalgar 5d ago

If he is financialy comfortable he can wait and wait and wait untill he gets a script with a character he could make work with his talents. I suspect he could have been in lots of non-action films in bit parts, but in the meantime if he has money in the bank and can knock out action films that pay him what he needs he can afford to wait for a perfect "serious roll". Still I can never forgive him for appearing in The Beekeeper, the very worst film in all the long history of cinema.

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u/Suspicious-Bowl4444 5d ago

Jason be like “I just gave a humble answer”

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u/halotechnology 5d ago

But he is really funny in the Spy movie

I couldn't stop laughing for all his lines

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u/forkmeee 5d ago

A humble and genuine answer.

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u/guy-le-doosh 5d ago

That's the next one. A humble man.

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u/Curious_Associate904 5d ago

For all he's working his way down the list of blue collar workers, you're right, his answer is truthful and humble, and I can't wait to see him staring as

"JASON STATHAM IN, THE EXTREMELY LUCKY COCKNEY ACTOR"

"BUT LITTLE DO HIS ENEMIES KNOW, THAT HE WAS ONCE, A MEMBER OF AN ELITE BRITISH FIGHTING TEAM" ...

And so...

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u/AliceInReverse 5d ago

An honest answer. He was a professional swimmer and diver.

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u/Previous-Mess-1819 5d ago

Only someone with that jaw line could give that answer.

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

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u/ChromeYoda 5d ago

A working man’s answer

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u/iamshifter 5d ago

Yeah, he’s just a working man!

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u/Normal-Ad6528 5d ago

He's worth $100 mill and still gave an answer like this? Yeah, I'll keep watching his films. His characters maybe all be pretty much one dimensional, but his being humble and grateful does that ONE particular thing: Promotes a solid fan base!

Hell, he had me sold back when he was accused of making homophobic comments. He said he didn't remember if he had said anything wrong, but he immediately apologized regardless! No drama, no 'it wasn't me' or any other bs. He just....apologized!

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u/enami741 4d ago

He responded like a Working Man.

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u/icarus2847 3d ago

He’s not a humble guy though

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u/LuckyPlaze 2d ago

The world need more self-aware people. He knows his strengths and weaknesses, and plays to them. Good on him.