Jason Statham explains how he nearly died on set [video]

British actor, Jason Statham, born on July 26, 1967 has elucidated how he nearly died on set shooting a movie. The actor is known for portraying characters in various action-thriller films who are typically tough, unsentimental, brave, or ferocious.

While filming on location in Varna, the third largest city in Bulgaria for The Expendables 3, he drove a truck off the road into the Black Sea due to malfunctioning brakes. In a 2013 interview with Vanity Fair, he advocated for stunt performers to be given their own Academy Award category: “All of the stunt men—these are the unsung heroes. They really are. Nobody is giving them any standing. They’re risking their necks. And then you’ve got poncy actors pretending like they’re doing the stunts.

In a video posted by ‘Focus on film’ on their official YouTube page, the actor was seen explaining how he approximately died on set shooting the movie in Bulgaria.

“I nearly drowned once. I was doing a stunt in Bulgaria. Literally the car went over the edge so I’m in the truck there and slam on the breaks where I’m supposed to stop but nothing happens. Next thing you know I’ve hit two cameramen I literally thought I’d killed them. It was like a split second later I’m going 9ft over the edge of this sort of concrete jetty, and I’m going down towards the black sea thinking ‘I’ve got to get out of this’. This is really ridiculous, so I’m trying to prise myself from behind the wheel to get out of the window; the windows are down, the truck hits the water, the water slams me back and we’re just sinking fast straight to the bottom. You know eventually you come out of the surface.”

Statham began practicing Chinese martial arts, kickboxing, and karate recreationally in his youth days while working at local market shops. An ardent footballer and aquanaut, he was a member of Britain’s national diving team and competed for England in the 1990 Commonwealth Games. Shortly after, he was asked to model for French Connection, Tommy Hilfiger, and Levi’s in various advertising campaigns. His past history working at market shops inspired his casting in the Guy Ritchie crime films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000).

The commercial success of these films led Statham to star as Frank Martin in the Transporter trilogy (2002–2008). Let’s take a quick glance at some of the movies he has acted over the years.

These movies have led him establish himself as a Hollywood leading man. He received his first production credit after he was credited as a co-producer on Hobbs and Shaw. He has acted with stars like Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas, Jet Li etc making him famous globally.

Statham’s acting has been criticized for lacking depth and variety, but he has also been praised for leading the resurgence of action films during the 2000s and 2010s.  According to a BBC News report, his film career from 2002 to 2017 generated an estimated $1.5 billion (£1.1 billion) in ticket sales, making him one of the film industry’s most bankable stars.

EARLY LIFE

Jason Statham was born in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, the son of dancer Eileen (née Yates) and street seller Barry Statham. His father also worked odd jobs as a house painter, coal miner, and singer in the Canary Islands. Statham moved to Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, where he initially chose not to follow his father’s career working the local market stalls, instead practising martial arts. He grew up with football player Vinnie Jones, alongside whom he would later act. Jones introduced him to football, and Statham went on to play for the local grammar school (1978–1983), which he had attended since age 11, a passion that he shared with diving. He practised daily in perfecting his diving techniques, and was a member of Britain’s National Swimming Squad for 12 years. He competed for England at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in the 10 metre, 3 metre, and 1 metre competitions. He said in a 2003 interview with IGN that his time with the national squad was “a great experience” and one that “teaches you discipline, focus, and certainly keeps you out of trouble”.

Statham’s life in the media began when he was spotted by the agency Sports Promotions specialising in sports modelling while he was training at London’s Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. He was also signed by Tommy Hilfiger, Griffin, and Levi’s for various modelling contracts during their 1996 spring/summer collections. In 1997, he became a model for the clothing brand French Connection. A spokesperson for the high street clothing chain said, “We chose Jason because we wanted our model to look like a normal guy. His look is just right for now: very masculine and not too male-modelly.” However, he was still forced to follow in his father’s footsteps as a street seller to make ends meet, stating that he sold “fake perfume and jewellery on street corners”. He made small appearances in a few music videos, including “Comin’ On” by The Shamen in 1993, “Run to the Sun” by Erasure in 1994, and “Dream a Little Dream of Me” by The Beautiful South in 1995.

 STATHAM ON WHY HE LEFT THE TRANSPORTER FILMS

Actor Jason Statham has the assertion that his time with the transporter films came to an end because the proposal was not auspicious.

“You know what? It was obviously a great experience doing those films, and I would have loved to keep doing it. But they wanted me to sign on and do three mor films without even seeing a script, and they offered me less money to do three than I’d get paid for one!” Statham told Vulture in an interview.

“So, it was a business decision. I would have loved to have done it, but you can’t really sign on without doing a script, and to sign on for three of them? And to get paid a pittance? I just couldn’t see the value in the. Statham starred in the first three Transporter films, which are soon to be rebooted with an all-new cast in the transporter refueled

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