If there is cinematic butt to be kicked, rest assured that Jason Statham will be at the front of the line. Since he burst onto the scene in Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in 1998, he’s left a lot of broken bodies and wrecked cars in his wake. And when Expendables 4 rolls out on September 20, he will be nearing his 50th film, the lion’s share being unapologetic explosive action.
Statham makes movies with staying power. He’s made four Expendables films (2010, 2012, 2014 and 2023), three Transporters (2002, 2005 and 2008), two Mechanics (2011 and 2016), tw0 Cranks (2006 and 2009) and two Megs (2018 and 2023). Oh, yes, he also jumped into the Fast and Furious universe, making Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017), Fast X (2023) and the spinoff Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw (2019), teaming with Dwayne Johnson.
As a leading man, his films have delivered $1.8 billion worldwide, according to The Numbers. All told, his movies have made nearly $7.9 billion.
Not everything is action, mind you. Statham was in John Carpenter’s Ghost of Mars (2001), played a prisoner/football player in Mean Machine (2002) and lends his voice to the animated Gnomeo and Juliet (2011). He also did a fantasy film, In the Name of the King (2008); a crime thriller, 13 (2010); and a comedy, Spy (2015) with Melissa McCarthy.
And who can forget the tender moments with his wee daughter Maddie in Homefront (2013) or his gentle care of a nun played by Agata Buzek in Hummingbird (2013). Of course, the tender moments came before he had to take out a meth gang and a group of mobsters, respectively.
But that’s what you get with Statham. When things get touchy-feely, well, you know it’s not going to end well for someone.
Take a look back with us at Statham’s career in pictures … just stay on your toes.
‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ (1998)
From left, Nick Moran, Jason Statham, Dexter Fletcher, and Jason Flemyng, 1998.
Photo : Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection
‘Snatch’ (2000)
Photo : Screen Gems/Everett Collection
‘Ghosts of Mars’ (2001)
Statham with Ice Cube, left, and Clea DuVall.
Photo : Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection
‘The One’ (2001)
Photo : 20th Century Fox/Everett Collection
‘The Transporter (2002)
Statham with Qi Shu, 2002.
Photo : Paramount Pictures/Everett Collection
‘The Italian Job’ (2003)
Statham with Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron.
Photo : New Line/Everett Collection
‘Cellular’ (2004)
Statham as Detective Ethan Greer.
Photo : 20th Century Fox/Everett Collection
‘The Transporter 2’ (2005)
Photo : Everett Collection
‘Revolver’ (2005)
Statham as confidence trickster Jake Green.
Photo : Sony Pictures/Everett Collection
‘London’ (2005)
Statham as banker Bateman.
Photo : Screen Gems/Everett Collection
‘Chaos’ (2005)
Statham with Ryan Phillippe.
Photo : Lionsgate/Everett Collection
‘Crank’ (2006)
Photo : Lionsgate/Everett Collection
‘Crank 2: High Voltage’ (2009)
Photo : Lionsgate/Everett Collection
‘War’ (2007)
From left, Statham, Mathew St. Patrick and John Lone.
Photo : Lionsgate/Everett Collection
‘The Bank Job’ (2008)
Statham with Daniel Mays.
Photo : Freestyle Releasing/Everett Collection
‘In the Name of the King’ (2007)
Statham with Ron Perlman, center, and Will Sanderson.
Photo : Universal Pictures/Everett Collection
‘Death Race’ (2008)
Statham with Natalie Martinez.
Photo : Lionsgate/Everett Collection
‘Transporter 3’ (2008)
Statham with Natalya Rudakova.
Photo : Anchor Bay/Everett Collection
’13’ (2010)
From left, Sam Riley, Ray Winstone, Statham, Mickey Rourke and Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson on U.S. poster art.
Photo : Lionsgate/Everett Collection
‘The Expendables’ (2010)
Statham with Sylvester Stallone in the first of the ‘Expendables’ trilogy.
Photo : Patti Perrett/CBS Films/Everett Collection
‘The Mechanic’ (2011)
Statham with Ben Foster, left.
Photo : Walt Disney Studios/Everett Collection
‘Gnomeo & Juliet’ (2011)
Statham was the voice for Tybalt.
‘Blitz’ (2011)
Statham as London cop Tom Brant.
Photo : Open Road Films/Everett Collection
‘Killer Elite’ (2011)
Statham with Robert De Niro.
Photo : John Baer/Lionsgate/Everett Collection
‘Safe’ (2011)
Statham with Catherine Chan.
Photo : Lionsgate/Everett Collection
‘The Expendables 2’ (2012)
Statham as knife specialist Lee Christmas.
Photo : Jack English/FilmDistrict/Everett Collection
‘Parker’ (2013)
Statham with Jennifer Lopez.
Photo : Daniel Smith/Lionsgate/Everett Collection
‘Hummingbird (2013)
Statham as ex-Special Forces soldier Joseph Smith.
Photo : Open Road Films/Everett Collection
‘Homefront’ (2013)
Statham with Izabela Vidovic.
Photo : Phil Bray/Lionsgate/Everett Collection
‘The Expendables 3’ (2014)
From left: Sylvester Stallone, Randy Couture, Antonio Banderas, Statham, Wesley Snipes and Dolph Lundgren.
Photo : Lionsgate/Everett Collection
‘Wild Card’ (2015)
Photo : Scott Garfield/Universal Pictures/Everett Collection
‘Furious 7’ (2015)
Statham with Dwayne Johnson.
Photo : Larry Horricks/20th Century Fox/Everett Collection
‘Spy’ (2015)
Statham with Melissa McCarthy.
Photo : Jack English/Summit Entertainment/Everett Collection
‘Mechanic: Resurrection’ (2016)
Statham with Michelle Yeoh.
Photo : Matt Kennedy/Universal Studios/Everett Collection
‘The Fate of the Furious’ (2017)
Statham as former intelligence agent Deckard Shaw.
Photo : Warner Bros./Everett Collection
‘The Meg’ (2018)
Statham with Shuya Sophia Cai.
Photo : Universal Pictures
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
Statham with Dwayne Johnson.
Photo : MGM/Everett Collection
‘Wrath of Man’ (2021)
Statham with Josh Hartnett.
Photo : STX Entertainment/Everett Collection
‘Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre’ (2022)
Statham with Josh Hartnett and Aubrey Plaza.
Photo : Warner Bros./Everett Collection
‘Meg 2: The Trench’ (2023)
Jason Statham with the Meg.
Photo : Lionsgate/Everett Collection
‘Expend4bles’ (2023)
The new team, from left: Randy Couture, Andy Garcia, Megan Fox, Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson, Tony Jaa, Dolph Lundgren and Iko Uwais.
‘The Beekeeper’ (2024)
