WHO knew? Before he was a Hollywood heart-throb, English actor Jason Statham used to be a professional diver. Not a very good one, though.
Footage of Statham’s less than impressive diving performance at the 1990 Commonwealth Games leaked online a while ago, but recently resurfaced among the excitement over the Glasgow Games.
Prior to his successful acting career playing the leading man in major blockbusters Statham competed in diving for the British national squad for twelve years.
While he failed to rank as a top diver, the exposure landed him modelling contracts, and eventually he fell into acting after meeting Guy Ritchie who would go on to cast Statham in the cult classic, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
But Statham isn’t the only sportsman Ritchie has cast in his wildly popular gangster films.
ADAM FOGERTY
Australian audiences will best remember Adam Fogerty for his role as bare-knuckle boxer ‘Gorgeous George’ in Guy Ritchie’s cult classic, Snatch. The character was a tip o’the hat from Ritchie to notorious underground boxing champion, Lenny McLean, who died after making his acting debut in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels as ‘Barry the Baptist’.
Fogerty similarly played an intimidating hardman, but his acting resume extends to Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and Emmerdale — the holy trinity of UK soaps.
Before dabbling in acting however, Fogerty was an enforcer for Halifax, St Helens (with whom he won the Super League title) and Warrington between 1991 and 1998.
His league career may long be over, but his exploits live on via YouTube, where his headbutt and subsequent punch-up with Neil Cowie on Boxing Day in 1994 has been viewed over 50,000 times. Fogerty also flirted with a tilt at boxing after hanging up his footy boots.
VINNIE JONES
Renowned for being a hot-headed footballer during his playing days at Wimbledon, Leeds United and Chelsea, Vinnie Jones capitalised on his aggressive image in acting, regularly being cast in roles as a ‘tough man’. Jones grew up alongside Statham, whom he introduced to football before his interest in diving became his number one priority. And like Statham, Jones made his debut on screen in Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
The success of the film would lead to Jones securing a healthy acting career which has spanned 16 years. Pretty good for an average footballer who was sent off 12 times and holds the record for the quickest ever booking in a football match — three seconds.