British actor Jason Statham is known for his tough guy action roles in movies such as The Meg, The Expendables and various Fast and Furious sequels.
However, the 56-year-old took some time to achieve success. He didn’t begin to make a name for himself until appearing in Guy Ritchie’s 1998 crime drama, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in 1998.
Before this, in his early 20s, Statham had a fledgling athletics career as a diver. He competed, aged 23, for his country in 1990 at the Commonwealth Games in New Zealand. However, he failed to win a medal and did not qualify for any Olympic Games.
Besides diving, Statham also tried his hand at martial arts. He now thinks choosing diving was a mistake.
“It’s a bit of a sore point that I never got to the Olympics,” Jason Statham said in 2016 at one of his movie premieres. “I started too late. It probably wasn’t my thing. I should have done a different sport.”
After his diving career went by the wayside, Statham began to look at other career options.
Many of his fans will be unaware that he showed off his body in a couple of music videos at the time. In 1994, Statham, in silver body paint, flexed his muscles behind singer Andy Bell in a video for the Erasure single, “Run For The Sun”. The video was filmed in Berlin.
The year before, in 1993, and again in skimpy briefs, an oiled-up Statham danced in the video for “Comin’ On” by British rave-era band, The Shamen.
He’s also credited as a “swimmer” in a video by Yellow in 1997 for the track “To The Sea”, although he’s more difficult to make out in that one.
Controversy and apology
Following the success of Lock, Stock…, Statham’s career exploded. His most recent offering was The Beekeeper earlier this year.
Statham has amassed a large gay fanbase, even though he once found himself in hot water over his alleged use of language.
Back in 2018, a recording was purportedly circulated to the media that alleged to capture Statham using homophobic language. The argument was with a producing partner a few years earlier on a movie set.
Statham was allegedly heard to say “fucking f*gs” during the row.
When Statham heard about the existence of the audio, he rushed to issue a statement before it was released saying, “I have never heard the recording and my multiple requests to hear the recording have been refused.
“I have no recollection of making any of these offensive comments.
“However, let me be clear, the terms referenced are highly offensive. If I said these words, it was wrong and I deeply apologize.
“Anyone who knows me knows it doesn’t reflect how I feel about the LGBTQ community.
“While I cannot fix what was said in the past, I can learn from it and do better in the future.”