Some Jason Statham characters turned out very different from his usual roles. Universally regarded as one of the greatest action movie stars of all time, Statham is one of the most bankable and successful actors currently plying their trade in Hollywood today. The star of iconic action staples in the vein of The Transporter, Fast & Furious, and Crank, Statham is one of cinema’s quintessential tough guys, consistently taking on roles where his character does little more than beat up hordes of mismatched enemies while alternating between scowling and cracking wise in his signature Cockney accent.
With that being said, there have been occasions where the former professional diver has bucked the trend of his usual movie roles. The frequent Guy Ritchie collaborator has also been known to take on a selection of projects where he plays a very different kind of character to his usual action hero, with Statham’s best non-action movies highlighting the impressive degree of range and versatility that the actor slyly keeps in his back pocket.
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Spy (2015)
Rick Ford
The highest-rated movie of Jason Statham’s career with an approval rating of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, 2015’s Spy saw the actor play against type with sidesplitting results. Cast alongside Melissa McCarthy as the impulsive field agent Rick Ford, Statham’s charge in Spy can best be described as a parody of his usual action hero. A purported super-spy who isn’t nearly as slick as he thinks he is, Ford’s well-meaning, but bumbling, antics serve as some of the movie’s funniest moments.
Statham’s unexpected comedic masterclass was one of Spy’s most entertaining aspects, highlighting the considerable range possessed by an actor dismissed by many as an action genre cut-out. The Englishman turns in such a surprisingly excellent performance that it has likely had many longtime fans wishing that he took on comedic projects with more frequency.
4
Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)
Tybalt
An animated comedy chronicling the burgeoning romance between the star-studded movie’s тιтular garden gnomes, 2011’s Gnomeo & Juliet is the last film one would expect to feature action icon Jason Statham. Providing his voice to the role of Gnomeo’s arch-enemy, Tybalt, Statham’s unmistakable tones seem so jarringly out of place in this bizarre Romeo & Juliet parody that it somehow ends up working.
However, while he doesn’t have a great deal to do this time around, the actor still delivers a quality performance that showcases his surprisingly impressive voice-over skills in sharp relief. It’s not enough to fully redeem what is a firmly mediocre animated movie offering, but it’s arguably Statham’s furthest career departure from his usual action heroes.
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Mean Machine (2001)
Monk
A 2001 British adaptation of The Longest Yard that saw Statham reunite with his fellow Guy Ritchie collaborator Vinnie Jones, cult classic Mean Machine featured the Fast & Furious star as “The Monk,” the prison football team’s psycH๏τic goalkeeper. A devoted martial artist and supremely aggressive maximum security inmate brought in to bolster the team, Statham’s tattooed charge is alleged to have killed 23 men with his bare hands before he even took up karate.
One of the actor’s best comedic roles, Statham clearly relishes in the creative freedom that is afforded to him by playing this gloriously unhinged individual. Plagued by hilarious visions of unabated violence as he guards the posts, Monk’s murderous antics on the pitch might share Chev Chelios’ levels of intensity, but he’s a far cry from Statham’s usual action movie characters.
2
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Bacon
What Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrel’s Bacon lacks in action hero credentials, the fast-talking conman more than makes up for in wisecracks. The Cockney career criminal’s array of instantly quotable one-liners, ice-cool cadence, and unflappable demeanor would go on to form the comedic basis for a horde of Statham’s future characters; an array of individuals including, but not limited to, action heroes.
However, Bacon is far from an action hero. One of Guy Ritchie’s best characters, you’re more likely to find him hawking stolen goods, ripping off a marijuana crop, or thumping a traffic warden than during a car chase or trying to escape a mᴀssive explosion. It’s an ironic state of affairs, given the fact that the man tasked with playing Bacon in his feature film debut would go on to become a cinematic action icon.
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Snatch (2001)
Turkish
The second collaboration between Statham and Guy Ritchie, Snatch saw the actor tasked with a similar role to his debut in his sophomore movie outing. Ritchie’s 2000 crime-comedy caper cast The Expendables star as Turkish, an unscrupulous boxing promoter and the movie’s narrator. Another role that allowed Statham the opportunity to flex his comedic muscles through an array of iconic one-liners, Turkish remains one of the actor’s most significant roles.
Delivering some of the most hilariously withering soundbites that Ritchie’s filmography has to offer, the sarcastic promoter is no coward, but he’s decidedly not Frank Martin. Turkish’s only physical confrontation throughout the movie sees him easily overpowered by Brick Top’s thugs. When confronted with a scenario that requires an action hero, Jason Statham‘s charge is far more likely to “freeze and pull a stupid face.”
