Jason Statham is so underappreciated, but he probably likes it that way. Dude’s carved a solid career out of B-movies, mostly action, and he loves his job. I’m a huge fan of his intense fighting moves, fetching Cockney accent, and angry strut. His fierce growl? Have mercy. Steve Rose of the Guardian writes of Statham, “When he punches the air, the air screams in pain.” A perfect description.
There were some rumors that Statham was being eyed for the role of Bullseye in season 2 of Daredevil. I knew the gossip wasn’t true, and Statham’s feelings wouldn’t be hurt at all by this “rejection.” Let’s just say that the Statham will never be a Marvel company man. He already poked fun at actors who rely upon stunt doubles. Now he’s adding to the conversation in two deliciously bitchy interviews with A.V. Club and The Guardian:
He thinks today’s superheroes are lame:“I could take my grandma and put her in a cape, and they’ll put her on a green screen and they’ll have stunt doubles come in and do all the action. Anybody can do it. They’re relying on stunt doubles, and green screen, and $200 million budgets, it’s all CGI created. To me, it’s not authentic.”
He offers to jump off a Mayfair hotel: “If someone wants me to jump off this balcony and land on a crash pad, that’s a piece of cake for me.”
His idols did their own fighting: “I’m inspired by the people who could do their own work. Bruce Lee never had stunt doubles and fight doubles, or Jackie Chan or Jet Li. I’ve been in action movies where there is a face replacement and I’m fighting with a double, and it’s embarrassing. But if you really are an aficionado of action movies, you know who’s doing what and who ain’t. To me it’s a little bit sad.”
Would he like to play James Bond? “Could I do it? Abso-f***ing-lutely. Would I do it? Abso-f***ing-lutely. Is Daniel Craig a great Bond? Abso-f***ing-lutely.”
[From AV Club & The Guardian]
On one hand, it’s hilarious how Statham is talking about contemporary superhero actors not being “authentic.” Statham makes believe for a living too. Plus, the ending scene of Crank was ridiculously fake (by necessity). Yet he’s correct. Statham’s sentiment runs parallel to Michael Keaton saying it’s not as hard to play Batman as it used to be. Keaton was tossing shade, but what he said is true.
Studios place a lot of focus upon hiring the right person for a job. Getting hired is the biggest hurdle for superhero roles. Actors still have to do the acting, but there’s no longer a real danger in these roles. Green screens, stunt guys, and marketing teams do the heaviest lifting. This is also why it’s perplexing to witness Robert Downey Jr.’s ego and Chris Evans’ neuroses when, ultimately, they’re guys who pose in front of green screens.
Photos courtesy of WENN
I’ll love him no matter how bitchy he gets. I really want him to settle down with Rosie already and make some cute babies.
He is surely proud of the fact that he does his own stunts but the dude is not in anything that really stretches his limited acting chops so maybe he is overcompensating?
CGI and the outrageous fight sequences require stunt doubles; you injure the lead character(s) and everyone is out of work until they can film again….
Love him! And yes, hurry up and marry Rosie!!
I love Jason. Period. But the next JB should be Charlie Hunnam.
sounds like someone is pissy they weren’t asked
There is no room for him in Marvel either way – Renner calls women whores, Evans is either drunk or stupid , RDJ is a plain ass, Hemsworth is invisible, what is left for Statham to do?
Bitch about everything?
Truth is, he is not cute enough to be in Marvel.
He’s cuter than Renner and RDJ combined.
Jason wishes he looked better than RDJ. I think Jason is cute and I’ve been a fan for years but he doesn’t look better than RDJ, come on now. That’s like saying Tom Hanks is better looking than Brad Pitt. Hanks is cute but he’s no Brad Pitt.
I like him, can’t help it.
I’m a big fan of Marvel and their CGI but I still like Jason. Though he does sound a little bitter.
BTW Jason you’re a big fan of Daniel Craig’ s Bond but um Daniel doesn’t do all of his stunts either and rely heavily on stunt doubles.
Exactly. That part made me LOL.
I am laughing so hard but I love him.
He has done alright for himself but what he does isn’t brain surgery either. Maybe he does his own stunts.
To me knowing that Scarlett Johansson was pregnant during the filming of AoU and that it didn’t affect her role or scenes kind of ruined these movies for me. That meant that it was her stunt double in probably 60% of her scenes on the screen and the movie was not affected by it. What exactly do the stars get paid all their millions for? Walking the red carpet and doing interviews?
Scarlett never does any believable acting in movies, if Marvel had cast Emily Blunt for Black Widow her character would have been so much more interesting.
Since Disney bought Marvel these movie have been more and more superficial and dumb, IMHO. Age of Ultron was as complete mess of a movie, Meh!
Stratham sounds stupid and like he just wants some headlines for himself. Actors never do risky stunts in movies, if they are injured the whole production schedule gets messed up.
> Emily Blunt for Black Widow her character would have been so much more interesting
I liked Emily Blunt in the “Edge of Tomorrow”, I thought wow!. But I think she is too androgynous, she doesn’t have enough seductress in her for Black Widow.
Not that Scarlett is perfect, but I see why she was chosen.
God I’d have loved to see Emily Blunt as Black Widow, I know this is mean but ScarJo’s face bothers me. Like the direct center of her face. I think it has something to do with her lips and how she forms words when she speaks. Shame.
You know that Emily Blunt doesn’t do most of her stunts, either, right? The reality is, insurers simply won’t let them. And I guarantee Statham doesn’t do all his stunts, either, because again, the insurance won’t allow it. Either they do it with green screens 10 feet off the ground (like the ending helicopter sequence in Spy), or they use a stunt double. Statham does a higher volume of his stunts because he’s a more capable martial artist, so he can make the punch-throwing look better, but he isn’t doing it all, either. It drives me nuts when actors try to discredit the very skilled, highly trained, largely unsung stunt performers who make modern action movies, *all modern action movies*, possible. Every single actor uses a stunt double at some point, even Tom “I do my own stunts” Cruise.
There was a time stunt doubles weren’t recognised at all, so we’ve come very, v-e-r-y far. It’s really the last 30yrs that they’ve had any recognition publicly, but they can still be shafted – see Natalie Portman’s stunt double in BLACK SWAN.
Further, at least action stunt doubles are receiving some recognition. Other types of stunt doubles are barely recognised – see Natalie Portman’s dancing stunt double again.
Very few people acknowledge body doubles or talent doubles – How many people know Marni Nixon?
Portman’s stunt double didn’t and still doesn’t get enough credit. Major talent.
@LAK scarlet Johanssons stunt double is hiddi moneymaker and she mentions her in every single interview. She even mentions that because of her pregnancy her double did way more work that time. She was very good about giving credit where credit was due in my opinion.
Well obviously these people get paid too much (but mostly they get paid for their brand and Scarlett is more valuable than Crish Evans that way). But if the films look believable who cares? When I watch a film I fist to get so immersed I forget I am watching a film. And it is not like acting or chemistry between actors is completely irrelevant.
Chris Evans had an anxiety disorder before he even started acting. If anything, slipping into character helps him calm down by his own admission.
Also, insurance. You have a guy signed for 10 movies, you’re not letting him get into a male implement waving contest by doing dangerous stunts. Plus it’s giving stunt doubles a job, why not?
Couldn’t agree more.
Plus stunts get more and more outrageous/dangerous.
Excellent post.
I also agree. RDJ injured his ankle while filming IM3 and production shut down for 6 weeks. You can’t have your main characters getting injured or killed , plus stopping production leads to unexpected cost.
I’m also a big Jackie Chan fan. Yes, he did all his stunts but because he did he wasn’t able to be insured. This makes me think that Statham might do some of his stunts but the really dangerous ones there’s a double. He wouldn’t be insured if he did the extremely dangerous ones. Even Willis and Arnold used stunt doubles at times.
While I agree to extent with Jason, then I remember Brandon Lee being killed by a bad stunt and wonder if he’d had a double, might he still be alive?
I think a lot of people doesn’t understand the full extent of what the movie execs classify as a “stunt”.
I remember watching some interview for one of the Crank flicks, and the female lead said she did her own stunts, and that she’d had to really argue to be allowed to do so. Which confused me, because I couldn’t for the life of me remember her doing anything at all dangerous/physical.
The stunt in question turned out to be walking down a fire escape. That is apparently a feat so extreme that your average actress can’t handle it.
> Also, insurance. You have a guy signed for 10 movies, you’re not letting him get into a male implement waving contest by doing dangerous stunts.
Very good point. Daniel Craig got hurt recently while filming Bond, they had to put everything on hold. There is a financial hit and also who knows what health problems for Craig will come out of that,
Or Harrison Ford hurting his ankle during the filming of the new Star Wars. It was six weeks I think before he could come back which is a loooooong time in movie land.
And all Harrison Ford did was trip over the set! He wasn’t even doing a stunt!
“Also, insurance. You have a guy signed for 10 movies, you’re not letting him get into a male implement waving contest by doing dangerous stunts. ”
The exact point I was going to make.
Thank you! What exactly is wrong with being careful and keeping stunt doubles employed? They gotta eat too.
With what can be done with CGI and all I really don’t care if actors do their own stunts or not. Sure, it’s nice if they do, but they are actors. Why should actors be expected to be stunt artists/ athletes, isn’t it more important that they can act? This guy was a competitive diver so that’s easy for him to say.
I don’t see any shame in using stunt doubles?It’s not like we think they really are gods or superhuman assassins or whatever. There’s going to be doubles and CGI.
Maybe they should start having real sex too… for authenticity and such.
Ugh, because CGI action scenes are disgusting.
I’m not expecting Henry Caville to suddenly learn to fly like Superman but for other more realistic fight scenes it’s so ugly to watch when they’re all CGI.
is he under the impression that the expendables movies are a masterpiece of some sort?
They even CGId some of the guns they used. the hell is he talking about?
I just don’t think his comments are meant to be taken as seriously as everyone seems to be taking them. He’s not saying he’s a better actor than those involved (and he’s not), he’s saying he’s one of the old school do it yourself action stars and is better at stunts and fighting than the Mavel actors (and he is). I really think he’s just having a laugh.
Exactly. If anything I got a good chuckle out of him busting the chops of these other actors. Marvel movies are filled with pretty boys (nothing wrong with that) and Jason is a bit more of the rough and dirty type.
I don’t know, I think there’s a real thread of frustration in his comments. Marvel and superhero movies are creating a new kind of action hero, and yes, it’s different from the more rough and tumble action movies of the 1990s and 1980s. Which to me isn’t a bad thing because I prefer to watch good actors on screen, and generally we get better performances from the people in Marvel movies than we do from any of the Expendables.
I agree, he just seemed to be having some fun, shooting his mouth off, talking old school like Bruce Willis, so I still love ol’ Handsome Rob.
The thing is, dear Jason, that most of the Marvel actors tend to do other types of work too.
What is with this guy? Why the p##s and vinegar? He’s carved a nice career, so be nice! That last pic with him and Rosie- she looks like a wax figure!
I’m sure those stunt double appreciate having a job, so I don’t see what the big deal is. Besides those actors are mostly hired to bring the character to life in the form of the character’s personalities. Jason has no acting skills so the lest he can do are the actual stunts because then there would be absolutely no point in him even being in the movie. As for the use of green screen, many actors have said it is harder to get into the feel of the character and scene sometimes because all they have to work with is a green screen, so it is not necessarily easier to work with that technology.
I’m sitting here watching Winter Soldier (Dat Cap A$$!), and it made me think of this story. I don’t think acting in front of a green screen is as easy as some people assume it might be, right? The actors have to use their imagination to get the correct movements, placements, voice intonation and facial expressions to make the audience believe they’re interacting with something that isn’t really there. If they do a lousy job, the movie will be lousy.
He’d be a damned god Bond, but I still want Elba.
Tom Hardy has my vote for Bond. I don’t like Idris Elba, he comes across as so smug.
God no for Hardy. I know everyone finds him hot, but I just don’t see it. Elba for the win.
Watched Mad Max Fury Road the other day… I never find Hardy particularly attractive in photos, but WOW, he is sexy as hell on film. Amazing voice too. *purring while I think about his voice*
I was one of the few people I know who jumped about with delight when they cast Daniel Craig as Bond so I feel like a bit of an expert. Statham – absolutely not. Hardy – no, not after Craig, they need go in a different direction. Idris – if he was even 5 years younger I would say yes for sure. Unfortunately that is where I get stuck, nobody jumps out at me.
Well, for the different direction they can try suave English gentlemen , going back to the original Sean Connery roots.
If I can’t have Tom Hardy because he is “too sexy” )) I want Benny C. That would be different. I know many think he is not sexy enough and don’t like the idea but Benny can do suave.
Elba will be too old by the time the Bond job is up for grabs (he’s got great work to come though). Hardy likely won’t need the Bond job (he was unreal sexy in Mad Max so I would watch him in anything in the future). Statham won’t be considered. The truth is it will likely be someone we’ve never thought of. Was Daniel Craig on anyone’s list? Now he’s billion dollar Bond.
I knew Daniel Craig before Bond, he was in that movie with Angelina, the Tomb Raider and a few other action movies.
But you are right, he wasn’t a household name.
Comments aside, he was hilarious in Spy.
And these comments sound just like his character in Spy, don’t they? I loved him in that!!
I am torn. He is not in the same league of anyone in the MCU in terms of fame and star power, even though the acting abilities are the same, so he sounds kind of petty and bitchy saying something like this.
On the other hands, it seems to be that the actors of these movies’ s job, nowadays, is to go around and promote the movies and little more. their scenes are either done by stuntdoubles or are in cgi. Someone said that they are actors and are not expected to do stunts, but I think that is untrue. Casting means choosing the person who is better fit for a role. If a role requires you to be able to backflip, you should be able to backflip.
As for the insurance point, yes, that is actually a really good point, but maybe producers should stop having contracts for 10 movies and 10 years of the actor? One contract, one movie. I know it’ s a question of money, but signing an actor for 10 flicks before the first is even finished makes me really feel like they are not even trying to do something good, they are just doing it because they are contractually bind.
Marvel’s way of signing actors is a mirror how the studio system of old Hollywood functioned.
The difference is that these actors are allowed to work on other projects instead of being signed to an exclusivity clause for the duration of their 9/10 Marvel picture deal.
> On the other hands, it seems to be that the actors of these movies’ s job, nowadays, is to go around and promote the movies and little more.
Well, you are right there, Sometimes I get irritated that the actors spend several months a year just going around shilling for their movies instead of making more movies. But this is how it is, and I don’t think actors themselves are very keen or not, it is what they have to do to have a job.
Just look at Eddie Redmayne, he has been making promotion rounds for a year and now it looks like major studio are much more comfortable hiring him. They know he’ll do the selling.
Actors who refuse to do so, no matter how talented (Joaquin comes to mind) can only do independent movies. But then independent movies require even more promotion to be successful. I am still recalling the hilarious RDJ rant on the subject.
Oh, I know. I wasn’ t attacking actors who do it (well, not much), I was attacking the way movies are made and marketed at the moment. Yes, studios are comfortable hiring actors who are willing to sell their stuff, but they should look for people who are good at acting and at working in a team. Wishful thinking, I guess.
I like blockbusters, and I know movies of any kind are done for money and little else, but the way they are presented makes me feel that they are done ONLY for money and not because the people involved are genuinely excited or even interested. Especially if they belong to a franchise like Marvel that is set to keep going for at least other 10 years.
And I blame the marketing for this more than anything/anyone else. Because when you see the same guy promoting the same movie for three months or more on any talk show possible, releasing interviews to any magazine or radio network, and doing photoshoots for THAT movie, you start thinking that the only important thing is to sell it. Also, the fact that the marketing process costs more than the actual movie. It is depressing.
I’ m not sure indie movies require the same or bigger level of marketing, though. Most of them are under the radar, and the marketing is next to non-existent most of the time. Indie movies aim at getting their budget back. Having a big marketing campaign would be counterproductive in most cases, because producers know they’ d be lucky to end up even, making that goal harder wouldn’ t be a good move.
> Having a big marketing campaign would be counterproductive in most cases,
I think this is why RDJ loathes them, because they still want the actors to do the marketing, just for free. I think for the actors who care it is even worse.
@ jwq
Generally an actor will work a lot harder to sell an indie movie than a Marvel movie, because Marvel movies sell themselves. For Marvel, it’s a two-week burst once a year to promote your movie (it seems like more to the internet because we’ve been watching the movie from the day it was announced, but the actual press obligations are usually Comic Con + 2 weeks), for an indie movie, you’ll be touring festivals and screenings for a year or more, trying to drum up interest. All movies require selling movies because movies *are* a business, but anyone will tell you that it is easier to sell a movie when you’re passionate about it.
Is it so bad that actors spend a lot of time promoting their film? Afterall, millions of dollars go into making the movie, and the studios want to be ensured they get that money back. Especially since Movie Theaters are having less attendance then they used to.
What’s the point of hiring a stunt double with that face? Nothing lost.
I get what he’s saying, the fight and stunt work in Marvel movies is just OK (Winter Solider had some good stuff, but mostly when helmets are on so the actor is not there).
It’s not stunt doubles, it’s CGI and quick cuts that are the problem. CGI stunt doubles are crap when done wrong (the opening of Age of Ultron had some garbage CGI shots of Thor, it was actually funny). Practical is still best. That’s one of the reasons as an action adventure movie, Mad Max is light years better than 90% of Marvel.
I much prefer practical effects too, and I think it makes a real difference in the film. The Dark Knight movies were great for that. Given that the last Superman movie was CGI overload, I’m expecting the new Batman to be the same way.
Exactly. He is talking about fight scenes, not dangerous scenes.
Even if a fight scene has a dangerous component, the main actors practice the fight scenes, shoot it and get replaced by the stunts in the dangerous part.
In F&F7, the scene he fights with the rock was fully rehearsed and the rock got replaced by his stunt in the most dangerous part. The rock even said the stunt got hurt snd brought to the hospital.
The winter soldier is my favorite marvel movie. The fight scenes are awesome.
I fell asleep during Mad Max – action overload!
Glad someone gets it, close up CGI action scenes look like watching living Gumby’s.
God yes to the practical thing. Even if it is a superhero “with helmet on”, if it’s still two live stunt doubles doing the stunt it looks so much better than anything CGI can come up with. Most of Mad Max was still stunt performers, but it was actual people doing actual stunts and it looked amazing. I don’t care if it’s the actor or a stunt double doing an action sequence, I just like it when it’s real, practical stunt work.
Meh. I’d like to see a little less CGI, but that’s not up to the actors, and stuntmen have been around forever. Statham has yet to do anything that’s interested me, so I don’t really care that his boring results were tough to achieve. (I also don’t care if someone lost 30 pounds for a role or spent a year insisting they be called by their character’s name – I want results, not backstory.)
me thinks marvel was mostly looking for talent in the acting department. that’s why you and your uber roxxor stuntwork weren’t invited. bye.
Absolutely, the standard of acting is great. Just looking at the original Avengers you have 2 oscar nominations each for RDJ, Renner and Ruffalo. Plus it is surely only a matter of time before Scarlett gets nominated. STatham just isn’t an obvious fit.
I’ve never seen a movie in which Scarlett wasn’t mediocre at best. I haven’t seen Her, her voicework is apparently great in that, but she’s not a great actress.
He looks like his girlfriend’s dad.
Somebody sounds just a teensy bit bitter…
Would I hit it ? Abso-f***ing-lutely!!!!
Yes but now I want a Grandma Statham superhero movie.
OTOH, Jason forgot to mention that his Spy co-star Melissa McCarthy did many of her own stunts in that movie. Seriously though, no matter how cheesy CGI may look, Marvel super-hero movies are among the most expensive to make in the industry. So if it costs them upwards of $100M to make the movie and they pay top talent millions per picture — or in the case of RDJ $50M for Avengers. It’s understandable that the studios and their insurance providers don’t want to risk shutting down production for weeks as they had to do on Iron Man if one of the leads breaks or sprains something. Meanwhile, it keeps lots of stunt doubles gainfully & painfully employed.
“Marvel super-hero movies are among the most expensive to make in the industry.”
Patently not true. Marvel is actually making relatively cheap movies, for that type. Every other studio blows them out of the water for superhero stuff. Avengers 2 is their most expensive movie ever at $250 million, and that is just on par for that type of movie. And they’ve never had the kind of budget problems that have dogged Warner Bros’s DC movies, Mad Max, World War Z, etc, all of which have grossly underreported budgets. They also have the cheapest press tours, like hilariously cheap compared to everyone else. Hell, Spy’s press tour probably cost more than the Age of Ultron one did. Marvel’s cheapskate ways are legendary at this point.
…I like him.
Geez he always seems like such grouch. And Grandmother Statham must be a very sassy senior citizen! All my granny does is scrapbook and talk about the olden days and gush over her grandchildren.
If his grandma can do it, why can’t he?
Because he cannot act to save his life.
Let’s be real what these actors do in these Marvel comic movies isn’t really acting, They are all phoneing it in so he would fit right along with them.
Trouble is that they’re better actors phoning it in than he is when he’s trying. I’ve seen him in three films and while he can fight (sort of, I don’t trust it’s all authentic) he definitely can’t act. He’s not even convincing in playing “himself” (his usual macho shtick anyway). That takes special lack of talent.
I don’t think Tom Hiddleston is capable of phoning it in. He cares! Too! Much!
He sounds bitter about something.
That being said, the over-the-top CGI’d stunts in Age of Ultron were ridiculous and distracting. Marvel needs to do a better job of treading that line, like they did in Winter Soldier.
I had that thought, too. I liked Winter Soldier more, and it was just down to action stuff. Although I think it’s harder when you have Iron Man and Thor flying around, and now Vision and Scarlet Witch, both of whom have CGI-heavy powers. But I missed a moment in AOU like the Hawkeye/Black Widow fight in Avengers, where it’s just two people grinding it out.
I think he may have been trying to be funny in his smart ass way. I love Staham and think he’s a riot! Has anyone seen him on Jimmy Fallon reading Oprahs must haves or playing other games with Fallon? Arm wrestling, etc.. Can’t wait to see Spy!
I don’t have a problem with stunt doubles, I just hate movies where so much of the action is CGI. I understand that they can create scenes now that weren’t possible before CGI but just because they CAN do something, should they? So many CGI heavy movies are beyond ridiculous and I can’t bear to watch.
Yeah, I think that ‘doing your own stunts’ – or non CGI-heavy – movies keep the fights somewhat more realistic and exciting… if everything can go any which way, it can become camp/boring… it’s better when they give the laws of physics at least a passing nod.
PSH. Well I like his comments and they cracked me up.
I can’t say he’s exactly wrong either and I like the Marvel Universe movies, personally I think he’s more so busting chops and showing the difference in his style and personality. I have to agree I favor the gritty slightly more realistic action movies too. Marvel movies are about storyline and its help they’re in the superhero genre, but sometimes you do want to see a real action movie.
Is he miffed he didn’t get any part of any Marvels’ movies?
He’s definitely more attractive than RDJ to me. Plus his movies are more watchable and Iron Man and co, as they’re not pretending to be anything other than B grade flicks. My fav is that bank job one. Wildcard was quite eccentric and probably filmed in a month.