With Jason Statham’s latest actioner “The Beekeeper” hitting theaters this week, it’s an apt time to look back at the bald British bruiser’s extensive career — the highs, the lows and everything in between. It’s January, the perfect time for an action movie binge, and there’s no better star than Statham to begin with.
Statham got his start as an athlete and model, competing for England’s national diving team, and modeling for Tommy Hilfiger and French Connection. But it was his background as a street salesman that got him his first role in Guy Ritchie’s 1998 black comedy crime indie “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” playing a character named Bacon, alongside his childhood friend Vinnie Jones (stream it on Starz or rent it elsewhere). He later played Turkish in Ritchie’s breakout hit “Snatch” (2000), an ensemble crime comedy starring Brad Pitt, Dennis Farina and Stephen Graham (rent it on all digital platforms).
Statham has since gone on to a long collaboration with Ritchie, including appearing in the recent “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre,” but that silly trifle is not worth the time. Instead, focus your efforts on Guy Ritchie’s take on “Heat,” the big, bruising drama “Wrath of Man,” which is one of Statham’s best performances, as a grieving father planning a heist in order to avenge his son’s death. Rent it on all digital platforms.
“Snatch” led to Statham’s casting in Luc Besson’s “The Transporter” (2002) as driver Frank Martin, which also led to two sequels in 2005 and 2008. A fun bit is to imagine that it’s Frank Martin dropping off a briefcase to Tom Cruise’s assassin in Michael Mann’s 2004 thriller “Collateral,” thanks to Statham’s brief appearance. Stream “The Transporter” on Starz or rent it elsewhere, and stream “Collateral” on Paramount+ or rent it elsewhere.
