The Transformation Of Jason Statham From Childhood To 54 Years Old

As one of Hollywood's least pretentious movie stars, the transformation of Jason Statham from childhood to 54 has seen the action star leaving his working-class roots behind, without ever losing sight of his background. As the actor's performances, star status, and growing net worth have evolved, the "Crank" star has remained refreshingly free of any illusions that what he's doing has deeper merit than "just pretending to be somebody else," per an interview with Esquire.

The result is a career which lacks any flashy acting ambition — instead, Statham's work exists simply to entertain. The actor's films are for fist flinging, big kabooms, sharp quips, and fast cars, not for anything that could cause unnecessary brain strain. In representing a modern form of masculinity without ever being pedantic about it, the actor's version of on-screen machismo can seem as antiquated as it can be progressive, and as tough and gritty as it can be satirical and hilarious. 

Sartorially, Statham's simple personal style conjures this idea perfectly, as Slate demonstrates. All the man needs is a perfectly tailored suit, and one or two elements of comfort, and he's a happy man. There are no embellishments or bells and whistles. He's here to speak for the clothes, not the other way around — and that's always been the case, as evidenced by his transformation. So, rev up your engine, raise a Corona, and keep a tight hold of your strawberry tart, because this is Jason Statham's transformation from childhood onwards.

Although the stuntman ambition was a "real dream" for Jason Statham, it was also a difficult one for him to access. He explained to Great British Life that "to get on the stunt register you had to be expert in six different skill sets" — something which he described as "a tick list of extreme pursuits." Unfortunately, he only boasted "three of the six," and had to put his dream on hold. Luckily, he had a backup plan. 

In the late '80s and early '90s, Statham's career as a diver was showing such great promise that he almost qualified for Britain's Olympic team on three separate occasions. Despite becoming "the world's 12th-best diver at that time," he got burnt out and hung up his Speedos, per The Guardian. He told the outlet, "I thought, 'F*** it, I've got to waste another four years training? You know what? Nah.'" However, he kept busy by practicing martial arts, and in a weird way, it paid off. 

As reported by the Mirror, Statham was picked up as a model after being "spotted at a sports center," leading to modeling contracts including Tommy Hilfiger, Levi's, and French Connection. In an admittedly incredible 1995 Independent piece celebrating how "bald is cool and sexy," a spokesperson for French Connection explained that Statham's appeal lied in him being "very masculine and not too male-modelly" and "a normal guy." Soon, a British independent film would make great use of that appeal. 

Now in his thirties, Jason Statham would take full advantage of his newfound movie career by seemingly taking on any and every film that came his way. Being open to opportunities was apparently just part of his ethos. "It's that peasant mentality," he told Esquire. "Make hay while the sun shines." So he did. It just might not have been the highest quality of hay, strictly speaking.

For the start of the '00s, the action star appeared in one flop after another, including soccer flick "Mean Machine," the critically panned Jet Li martial arts vehicle "The One" — wherein Statham debuted what's been dubbed one of the worst American accents put on film — and John Carpenter's schlocky sci-fi flick "Ghosts of Mars." According to Screen Rant, the latter movie was originally pitched by the legendary director as having Statham in the lead role. 

It would have been a huge deal for the rising British star, except that "the studio didn't think he had the star power to sell" it. That position was instead filled by Ice Cube — the most reliable rapper-turned-monotone-script-slinger of '90s B-movies. Not that the actor cared about his popularity, either way. As Statham told Men's Health, once he arrived in Los Angeles, he was there to hustle some more bread and honey. "I wasn't coming here to schmooze and find out where the cool places are," he said. "Screw that. I wanted to come out here and get some work done."

His self-aware attitude was just as well given that Jason Statham would continue his cinematic hustle with a pair of movies that could hardly be considered Oscar gold — but they were cult gold, at the very least. "Crank" and "Crank: High Voltage" saw the actor starring as Chev Chelios — a hapless assassin who, for various insane reasons, has to keep his adrenaline levels topped up in order to stay alive. It would be the first time since "Lock, Stock" that Statham could properly flex his comedic skills, but it also pushed his stunt performance to the next level.

As he explained to IGN, "Crank" gave him a chance to show off what "separates [him] from most of the other Hollywood action guys": His athletics background had prepared him for the day when he could do his own stunts, including "hanging out of a helicopter 3,000 feet above downtown L.A." for the former flick. "It's a little [something] that I kept in my back pocket," he proudly explained to the outlet.

Though successful in his own right, Statham was still operating on the fringes of mainstream Hollywood — and was dressing like it. For years, the actor's sense of style, which mostly rested on the safety of grey and blue color palettes, seemingly expressed the same one-note sentiment: I'm off down the boozer with the missus, rather than, I'm on a red carpet and I belong here. Thankfully, that was about to change.

Soon after, Jason Statham attempted to apply a little more brains to his brawn — with mixed results. In films like "Blitz," "Safe," and "Homefront," the actor tried his hand at performances which yielded deeper dramatic focus. These were stories with a little more depth to them than just fisticuffs and damsels in distress. But were they right for him?

The Guardian reported that the actor's "attempt to develop his 'brand' by trying more adventurous parts" had impressed some film critics. However, they also noted that "tellingly," his films "that aim at greater dramatic purchase" — "Blitz" and "Homefront" — were "the worst box office performers among Statham's recent films." Incredibly, the actor was already attuned to the problem: Audiences had certain expectations with his films, and he knew he owed it to them. "You can't have a sushi restaurant and then put cheese on toast on the menu," he philosophically mused to The Guardian in 2013.

Despite having originally "tak[en] a pass" at joining the "Fast & Furious" universe (via Screen Rant), Statham put sushi back on the menu, so to speak, by joining the film's cast. The star enjoyed an exhilarating post-credits cameo in "Furious 6," which he filmed in "one afternoon," per Empire. It'd arguably be one of the greatest moves of his career. In his personal life, Statham was also making moves, showing up on red carpets as the proud and dashing boyfriend of supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. 

As he continued to clink Coronas with the family of his "Fast & Furious" engine-revving brethren, Jason Statham drew deeper acclaim for his performances. "Fast & Furious 8" saw the actor flexing more of his comedic skills, and critics were as crazy for his scene-stealing antics as audiences. IndieWire, for instance, stated, "Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw makes for some of the most fun moments" of the film, while NME applauded how "[Statham and Dwayne Johnson] bickering like an old married couple, is used as liberally and amusingly as you'd hope." 

Notably, the film also featured an absolute gift of a scene: Shaw fighting off a plane full of baddies while pulling reassuring faces at a baby left in his protection. If Statham was still wanting to reshape on-screen modes of masculinity, then this was a strong first step. In the "Fast & Furious" world, after all, next to baldness, beer drinking, and beating on bad guys, being a family man is the most macho thing there is. 

Significantly, this fact would be reflected for Statham at home, too, when he and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley brought Jack Oscar Whiteley — their first child — into the world in 2017. Still, he wasn't completely family friendly just yet. When the actor starred in mega-shark movie "The Meg," he expressed disappointment that the PG-13 flick had seemingly had its teeth removed. Statham told Collider that he'd asked, "'Where's the f***ing blood?'" when it came out. Honestly, same. 

From 2020 onwards, Jason Statham had proudly perfected his recipe for on-screen gold: He added five dashes of cockney charisma to six scoops of pure machismo, and served it gloriously unrefined with a knowing wink and a smile. There was no changing or adapting it at this point, which is probably why much of his work moving forward saw the star hitting several comfort zones — and thriving in them. 

Leading roles in "Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre" and "Wrath of Man," for instance, saw the actor returning to his roots by reuniting once again with director Guy Ritchie. As he told Entertainment Weekly, the filmmaker's talents were complimentary to Statham's own physical skill set. "[Ritchie] can capture the emotion without really getting the actors to say much," he explained and jokingly noted that the director was "going to be sick" of him now from working together so much.

Meanwhile, the actor was also making a return as Lee Christmas for "Expendables 4" — another installment of the cinematic retirement-home for action stars. Only this time, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, "Statham will be the one with the biggest gun," as opposed to head honcho Sylvester Stallone: A potentially symbolic passing of the baton from one working-class action hero to the next. In his personal life, the actor was also continuing to thrive when baby No. 2 with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Isabella James Statham, was welcomed to the world in February 2022.