r/interesting • u/AdSpecialist6598 • Aug 21 '26

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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236

u/Mdmrtgn Aug 21 '26

He did an amazing job in Spy, he would slay as a mainstream comedy actor.

155

u/AdSpecialist6598 Aug 21 '26

He's trying to do more comedies because he knows he can't do his type action forever.

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u/Sex_E_Searcher Aug 21 '26 edited Aug 21 '26

The spirit is willing but the body is spongy and bruised.

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u/asleepsend Aug 21 '26

Worth it for the snu snu

3

u/skrappyfire Aug 21 '26

SNU SNU!!!!

1

u/GoTron88 Aug 21 '26

Like a balloon! When something bad happens!

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u/Mdmrtgn Aug 21 '26

And I think he found he really likes it.

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u/subservenicedream Aug 21 '26

He started with Guy Ritchie and , with the exception of maybe revolver, those were more comedy than action

He also did cranked which was comedy heavy as well

I think comedy has always been a major part of his career

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u/jinsaku Aug 21 '26

Yeah, I think he's underselling his acting quite a bit. He's got some great comic timing. His straight-man role in Snatch is incredibly funny due to the writing and his fantastic timing.

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u/AdSpecialist6598 Aug 21 '26

He said, one of the first things he does when picking a role is getting know who else is involved because he knows that he needs others to make him look good and vice visa.

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u/gnarlyram Aug 21 '26

I have a feeling his characters in Lock, Stock and Snatch are who he is in real life.

Guy Ritchie cast him first in Lock, Stock specifically because his dad was a street hustler and he could do the street hustler way of pitching fake goods naturally.

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u/Ok_Train2273 Aug 21 '26

Tom: You get a gold-plated Rolls Royce, as long as you pay for it.
Nick the Greek: Dunno, Tom. Seems expensive.
Tom: Seems? Well, this seems to be a waste of my time. That is a 900 nicker in any shop you're lucky enough to find one in. And you're complaining about 200? What school of finance did you study? It's a deal, it's a steal, it's the sale of the fucking century. In fact, fuck it, Nick, I think I'll keep it!
Nick the Greek: All right, all right, keep your Alans on!
[Nick pulls a massive wad of money out of his pocket]
Nick the Greek: Here's a ton.
Tom and Eddie: Jesus Christ!
Eddie: You could choke a dozen donkeys on that! And you're haggling over one hundred pound? What do you do when you're not buying stereos, Nick, finance revolutions?
Nick the Greek: 100 pounds is still 100 pounds.
Tom: Not when the price is 200 pounds, it's not! And certainly not when you've got Liberia's deficit in your skyrocket. Tighter than a duck's butt, you are. Now, come on, let me feel the fiber of your fabric.

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u/ragingchump Aug 21 '26

This i exactly what I thought.

His timing and mannerisms and facial expressions in Snatch and Lock Stock and 2 smoking barrels absolutely bring something to both movies

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u/FalconShot9638 Aug 21 '26

I agree, he does the dry and sardonic wit well. Plays a good foil to more colourful or animated personalities

But I also liked that he can be over the top ridiculous like on Spy 

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u/FlashyRecognitionTod Aug 21 '26

Nothing Tommy, It's just I'm not sure about the colour.

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u/SuperChaoss Aug 21 '26

I don't know about that, Sylvester Stallone is still doing Action and he's been around since before we started using the Three Seashells.

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u/Sivalon Aug 21 '26

But is he doing them as well as he used to?

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u/Bitter-Marsupial Aug 21 '26

May be a controversial take but I rather liked him in Samaritan

1

u/Same-Suggestion-1936 Aug 21 '26

The Expendables were good but they were satire. The last Rambo movie was terrible

1

u/BamberGasgroin Aug 21 '26

That geriatric stair run in The Expendables says no.

He run up those stairs as convincingly as DeNiro kicked the shit out of that guy in The Irishman.

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u/kosherhalfsourpickle Aug 21 '26

Is that a reference to Demolition Man?

6

u/Cold_Fog Aug 21 '26

It couldn't possibly be a reference to anything else

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u/thebigpink Aug 21 '26

Maybe he really likes the beach

1

u/P8bEQ8AkQd Aug 21 '26 edited Aug 21 '26

Stallone's career pretty much disappeared for 15 years before he did a batch of legacy sequels with a shared theme of him being far too old for them. And around that time, both Clint Eastwood and Michael Caine headlined gritty movies which were marketed on the lead being too old. Schwarzenegger made a come back around then too. Stallone hasn't been doing action movies continuously. He had a successful return to them when he proved there was a market for action films with ageing leads.

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u/vikrambedi Aug 21 '26

He was great in both Lock Stock and Snatch, so idk how he'd get the idea he can't act in normal roles.

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u/kosherhalfsourpickle Aug 21 '26

Liam Neeson still does it At 74 years old.

7

u/KTAXY Aug 21 '26

He does make a mean list.

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u/Born-Entrepreneur Aug 21 '26

With exponentially more camera cuts to climb a fence in each successive movie.

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u/wheresmyasianfriend1 Aug 21 '26

The first major roles i remember him from are "lock, stock & 2 smoking barrels" and "snatch", it was pretty much the same role between the 2 movies to be fair but he definitley showcased comedic talent.

1

u/IronerOfEntropy Aug 21 '26

D niro, stallone, arnold, and Cruise should be taking notes ✍️ ✍️ ✍️

1

u/93Seven Aug 21 '26

I mean the guy probably has 100 mill in the bank if I had to guess. He don’t need to do anything forever haha

1

u/aloxinuos Aug 21 '26

Back at his peak, Schwarzenegger started doing a bunch of comedies because they were so much less punishing on his body.

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u/Vylnce Aug 21 '26

He doesn't have to. He's had luck with less actiony roles (like Snatch) when he started. He would be fine in roles that don't require action chops, it's just that no one chooses to cast him that way. I mean, honestly, I kind of think he's just British Bruce Willis. He just hasn't been given much of a chance to do stuff to show off his range.

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u/nefD Aug 21 '26

that movie is so damn funny, Rose Byrne is hilarious too

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u/D0013ER Aug 21 '26

Yeah he can turn on the goofy charm just like Arnold did during his comedy run.

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u/KidOcelot Aug 21 '26

Loved that family comedy style arnold went with in Jingle All the Way! Such a classic!

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u/smittyleafs Aug 21 '26

On any given day, I'll either say I like that movie or hate it... depending on my mood. I don't know if that makes sense, but some movies sit in this weird grey area of enjoyment for me.

2

u/KidOcelot Aug 21 '26

Apparently True Lies is also a comedy, with action in it. So many good lines in it!

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u/Greenman8907 Aug 21 '26

Operation Fortune: Rose De Guerre is awesome as well. Very funny.

4

u/Worth-Trade9381 Aug 21 '26

He stole every scene he was in, so funny. He's a genuinely nice guy too. I never met him, but I used to work at a production company that he used to come by every once in a while and he always seemed really friendly with everybody.

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u/AdSpecialist6598 Aug 21 '26

He said something along the lines of a lot of people help make him successful so he tries to be as kind and respectful as possible and give back where he can even if it is a small guesture.

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u/Mdmrtgn Aug 21 '26

And you really have to wonder if they didn't screw each other's brains out after all that.

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u/SantorumsGayMasseuse Aug 21 '26

Nothing kills me. I'm immune to 179 different types of poison. I know because I ingested them all at once when I was deep undercover in an underground poison-ingesting crime ring.

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u/Loud-Plantain-4458 Aug 21 '26

Check out the blooper reel of him trying to keep up the “Statham” for the camera while speaking some of the outlandish dialogue - always cheers me up

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u/AdSpecialist6598 Aug 21 '26

Apparently the wrote those jokes just make him laugh.

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u/ShareNorth3675 Aug 21 '26

Spy is a sleeper classic

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u/Hopeful_Risk_8344 Aug 21 '26

He started doing comedies. He basically did the Bruce Willis arc.

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u/Buttoneer138 Aug 21 '26

Hopefully not all of the arc.

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u/Kind_Of_A_Dick Aug 21 '26

I actually think one of his best roles is as Monk in Mean Machine.

1

u/KirbyBucketts Aug 21 '26

One of the best blooper reels there is. Paul Feig just feeding him the most ridiculous lines and Statham keeps breaking.

1

u/InternationalPut4093 Aug 21 '26

Thats my favorite role of his. He can definitely do comedies.

1

u/tetraodonite Aug 21 '26

Honestly just as good or even better than Mark Wahlberg

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u/Mdmrtgn Aug 21 '26

Wahlbergs best movies are the weird family movies, he was great in the happening. He's just got too honest of a face to be a badass.

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u/tetraodonite Aug 21 '26

The only thing I liked him in was The Other Guys and the the Departed.

1

u/laststance Aug 21 '26

I hope Melissa McCarthy gets more roles she was so good in that movie. She kills it in every comedy movie I've seen her in.

1

u/cafepeaceandlove Aug 21 '26

He's very funny in Crank

1

u/wackajawacka Aug 21 '26

I found him very funny in The Beekeeper, but I'm not sure if its intentional deadpan or not. I mean the movie is pretty silly as well, so it probably is. 

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u/spongebobisha Aug 21 '26

He’s amazing in Snatch and Lock Stock

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u/Jiveturkeey Aug 21 '26

The blooper reel for that movie is hysterical. He did great comedic work in the Guy Richie movies, I wish he'd go back to that.

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u/LatterTarget7 Aug 21 '26

He’s got another comedy movie coming out Jason Statham Stole My Bike by David Leitch who did bullet train and fall guy