December’s hottie of the month is 51-year-old actor Jason Statham. You probably know the British actor from his roles in the many crime and action films or from his too beautiful fiancé, and baby mommy for a year, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

Besides the fact that this hunk has a very good body, he has been working in the Hollywood industry since 1998. But who is Jason Statham anyway?

Background and career

Jason Statham was born on July 26, 1967 in Chesterfield. He grew up there and later in life moved to Great Yarmouth. He was very interested in sports at school and trained every day.

Statham’s career in the media and entertainment industry began when he was spotted by a talent agent specializing in athletes while training at the Crystal Palace National Sports Center in London. Partly because of this, he later became a model for the clothing brand French Connection. While working for French Connection, he was introduced to up-and-coming film director Guy Ritchie, who was developing a film project. He was looking for someone who could play the role of a con-artist street performer. How Statham got his first role in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) you can read later in this article. From 2002, many other films followed such as The Transporter, The Expendables, and Killer Elite.

Most recent role: Jonas Taylor in The Meg

His most recent role is in The Meg. An action thriller based on the books by Steve Alten. In the film, a research team explores the deep sea with a submarine, everything seems to be going well until they are confronted by a 23 meter long megalodon. Deep Sea Rescue Diver Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) is called in to save the crew from the shark, which was thought to be extinct.

Stunt man

Statham is a kind of British Jackie Chan. He does almost all of his stunts in action movies himself. One of his literal highlights was the helicopter fight in the movie Crank. It hovered over Los Angeles at 700 meters!

A leap of faith

He used to be one of Britain’s best divers. He competed in several Olympic events, the Commonwealth Games and placed 12th at the World Diving Championships.

hustler

Before Statham became famous, he made his living as a seller of perfume, jewelry and watches. This stuff was ‘pushed off a truck’ and The Stath caught it. After this he also sold all kinds of counterfeit goods through which he developed great sales pitches. He got his role in Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels through his sales pitch: Guy Ritchie promised him the role, only if Statham managed to convince him to buy a fake watch from him.

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Strike a pose

In addition to diving, Statham has also modeled for Tommy Hilfiger, Levi’s, and French Connection. This modeling work has even led to a number of video clips! For example, in the clip of Comin’ On by The Shamen, he danced in a Tarzan slip!

Not the best driver

Statham used to alternate with his father on long car trips, but he picked up some bad driving habits before he was even 15 years old. When he was finally allowed to take the exam, he failed three times.

Jason Statham’s latest film, The Meg, is out December 19 on DVD and Blu-ray.