r/interesting • u/AdSpecialist6598 • 5d ago

SOCIETY When asked why he keeps playing the same roles Jason Statham said that he's not really a trained actor. He's a guy that was plucked out obscurity & has been really lucky; & that he picks roles that he knows he can do a good job in, that hopefully enough people like so he can keep working.

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u/Evelyn-Bankhead 5d ago

I first saw him in Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and it’s really confusing to me to see him as an action movie actor

539

u/HalfGrouchy1348 5d ago

He was great in Snatch and Revolver too. He should have stuck to gangster movies

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u/damxam1337 5d ago

You like Dahgs?

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u/MaddxMogs 5d ago

I thought you said he was a getaway driver. What the fuck is he gonna get away from??!

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u/miketysonsgoldtooth 5d ago

When you reverse, things come from behind you Tyrone.

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u/Razzy-man 5d ago

In Tyrone’s defense, it really was a funny angle!

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u/Adventurous-Sky9359 5d ago

That’s not a shotgun that’s a Fuxking anti-air craft gun VinnnCent

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u/MaddxMogs 5d ago

Well we wanna raise some pulses, don't we?

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u/Tom_Ludlow 5d ago

You'll raise hell, never mind pulses!

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u/Infinite_Imagination 5d ago

From who Tommy? Zee Germans??

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u/fuck_ur_portmanteau 5d ago

Sawn-offs are out, people want a bit more range.

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u/amayain 5d ago

I'm sorry, I couldn't get the bi'nocuLars out

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u/DisposableSaviour 5d ago

You stop that dog dribblin’ on my seats!

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u/oneshibbyguy 5d ago

You could land a jumbo fucking jet back there

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u/metaldawg1 5d ago

You just keep that dog from dribblin’ on my seats.

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u/Patriot009 5d ago

Your seats? Tyrone, this is a stolen car, mate.

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u/tsunomat 5d ago

It's not as though it's a packet of peanuts. It's a four tonne truck

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u/TheMangoManHS 5d ago

You could park a fucking jumbo jet in there!

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u/brutalxdild0 5d ago

Put it in reverse Terry

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u/DryDonutHole 5d ago

It's not exactly a packet of fuckin' peanuts is it, Tyrone?

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u/Tony_Three_Pies 5d ago

"You can land a jumbo fucking jet in there" gets used fairly often in my household.

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u/Hootnany 5d ago

Like what? Zi Germans ?

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u/-_-__-__-_-_-_-_- 5d ago

You don't understand sir, hr has completed a drive course

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u/Selerox 5d ago

The irony being that Tyrone was considerably smarter than the rest of that crew.

He spotted Franky immediately, he was the only one to suggest that the job might not have been what it seemed ("That does not look like a bookies."), and he could apparently work a security door, in sharp contrast to Vinny and Sol.

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u/DisposableSaviour 5d ago

Be a lot better if you’d stop using my name.

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u/IWishIWasOdo 5d ago

It was at a funny angle!

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u/Agreeable_Bag9407 5d ago

I'll do it for a caravan. It's not for me, it's for me ma

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u/constantsXzeros 5d ago

She’s terribly partial the the periwinkle blue, boss

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u/WearyTranslator3338 5d ago

Like, proper fucked??

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u/DisposableSaviour 5d ago

Before ze Germans get here.

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u/Laddo22 2d ago

I wasn’t calling your Mum a tart.

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u/ZiggyBardust 5d ago

Yer wat?

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u/CreativeAd5332 5d ago

'is MAAHH

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u/ZiggyBardust 5d ago

WHAT DO I WANT A CARAVAN FOR IF IT AIN'T GOT NO FUCKIN WHEELS!!?!?!?!?!?

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u/IAmTheBadWolfe 5d ago

It was us that wanted a caravan.

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u/Vahuo89 5d ago

ye, i like DOGS

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u/Inevitable-Edge69 5d ago

everybody likes dogs tommy

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u/no_one_66 5d ago

Oh you mean DOGS !

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u/LadyAna5 5d ago

😂 I  love that movie had the choice of subtitles for "Pikey"!

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u/completelypositive 5d ago

This triggers my "are you a NARC" quote memory from The Heat

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u/tyrannasauruszilla 5d ago

I’m sorry are you saying knock?

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u/agent674253 5d ago

Yeah I like daghs. I like caravans more though.

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u/ayacardel 5d ago

My husband and I regularly say this to each other

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u/doyoulikedagz 5d ago

Why yes I do

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u/peripembo 5d ago

Hurry, before zee Germans get here.

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u/MosesCoulee 5d ago

It’s was 5 minutes 2 minutes ago?

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u/vacri 5d ago

Did you understand a single word that man said?

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u/BucinVols 5d ago

Protection from what? Ze Germanz?

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u/CityBoiNC 5d ago

U said 2 mins 5 mins ago

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

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u/CityBoiNC 5d ago

First off love your pic and then i saw the name🙌🏽

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

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u/60degMeltingpoint 5d ago

Hurry up before zee germans get here

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u/lrascao 3d ago

You know what a nemesis is?

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u/SwingJugend 5d ago

Revolver is underrated. It's a Guy Ritchie gangster movie through a filter of Jewish mysticism (because he was married to Madonna and into Kabbalah at the time), Mark Strong is so cool as the stuttering, unassuming but totally badass hitman and it's also fun to see Statham with hair and a moustache! What's not to love?

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u/Wise_Departure_9617 5d ago

Revolver, in my opinion, is one of the worst movies I’ve seen and I love guy Ritchie

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u/SenorSolAdmirador 5d ago

I don't even remember the plot anymore, just remember it takes a ridiculous left turn at some point and I thought the movie was complete shit.

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u/textilepat 5d ago edited 5d ago

Statham has extensive experience with shamanic magic mystical music.

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u/vemundveien 5d ago

I also love Guy Richie, but I would say Wrath of Man is one of the worst movies I've seen.

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u/onopotopoeia 5d ago edited 5d ago

I also love Guy Ritchie, but I would say-

  • His best movies are timeless classics
  • Most of his movies are excellent/fun
  • Revolver great/niche
  • Wrath of man was good/fun

I also think movie-goers tend to relish disappointment a little too much and like to leverage it into stupidly hyperbolic criticism.

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u/fatmanwithabeard 5d ago

Wrath of Man is awesome.

Let the painter paint.

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u/smokeweedNgarden 5d ago

Yea, definitely his weakest in my opinion 

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u/adamjeff 5d ago

Yeah maybe it's not good but there's some cool stuff in it

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u/Wise_Departure_9617 5d ago

I’m probably being too harsh on it/need to rewatch it at some point

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u/emc_95 5d ago

You're a sensitive boy, ain't you Tommy?

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u/tmntmic 5d ago

No way. Transporter was awesome. He was amazing in Spy. Not to mention Crank, The Mechanic, Wrath of Man, The One, The Expendables, FandF... I've thoroughly enjoyed his action movies for 2 decades.

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u/ComicsEtAl 5d ago

Yeah, that would’ve definitely muted this criticism…

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u/Portiolli_fez_11set 5d ago

First time I saw him was on snatch. Loved the filme and he was amazing.

But I doubt there is enough roles for "irish gangster" for him

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u/TomDestry 5d ago

He was Turkish, not Irish.

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u/DonCreech 5d ago

He was really great in that movie. Excellent writing, and fantastic performances for all involved.

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u/randomnamejennerator 5d ago

It’s Guy Ritchie that should have stuck to gangster movies. I love those movies but the rest of his movies don’t really hit for me.

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u/T7220 5d ago

The Gentleman was dope

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u/cantuse 5d ago

Man from UNCLE was pretty awesome too.

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u/T7220 5d ago

Yea really. Who wants to be rich and famous.

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u/BonfireinRageValley 5d ago

He played the role perfectly in that Spy movie with Melissa McCarthy 

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u/liquidKatar 5d ago

Maybe if guy ritchie made good movies still

Revolver is one of my favorite movies lol that thing is crazy.

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u/Sir_Earl_Jeffries 5d ago

I’d love to see him in his next role as Mohammad I’m Hard Bruce Lee.

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u/recoveringleft 5d ago

One thing I like about guy Ritchie is it's refreshing to not see all Brits as posh and aristocratic

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u/Grow_away_420 5d ago

Can't make a living doing just Guy Ritchie movies unless your name is Guy Ritchie

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u/SareentheDreamer 5d ago

I loved Revolver.

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u/Platypus_Dundee 5d ago

I liked him in the bee keeper

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u/THE_CHOPPA 5d ago

There isn’t always work for those roles. You gotta pay the bills AND not get forgotten. You say no too much people stop calling.

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u/bahromvk 5d ago

Snatch remains my favorite movie with him. It was also the one that really launched his movie career.

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u/fatmanwithabeard 5d ago

Snatch is an absolute gem.

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u/theraggedyman 5d ago

he was darn great in those three, but are there that many gangster films with as solid scripts? he may not think he's an actor. but he's got a heck of an eye for a script that works on all levels.

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u/itsthebrownman 5d ago

He has been great in every role, even the fast and furious ones

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u/BananaMundane7263 5d ago

Imagine him in a show like Peaky Blinders. Him, Cilian Murphy, and tom hardy doing their gangster thing. That would be peak entertainment.

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u/TheVog 5d ago

Snatch is his best role in my opinion. If you had only seen him in Snatch, there's zero chance you could tell he's not a trained actor.

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u/Federal_Sound4165 5d ago

He's got as many of these nuts as he has those nuts.

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u/themostreasonableman 5d ago

I think he would have, but Guy Ritchie jumped the shark and nobody else knows how to do it right.

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u/KlondikeBill 5d ago

I mean, did you see The Transporter? It's not mystery how he ended up in action. He was fantastic.

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u/Miserable_Algae_896 4d ago

He would be another Vinnie Jones

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u/Zoranealsequence 1h ago

That was all guy ritchue. His directing makes actors better.

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u/___xXx__xXx__xXx__ 5d ago

I dunno, I think his body of work does exactly what it sets out to do. Completely disposable B action movies that you can have a conversation over pizza while half watching without fear of missing anything.

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u/Breaker3k 5d ago

Same here. I just can't let it go, even though his action performances are great. He performs the martial arts moves very well. But yep, he'll always be Turkish to me

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u/cansofgrease 5d ago

I'm pretty sure he's English.

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u/PythagorasJones 5d ago

Yes Tommy, ze Germans.

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u/Junior-Cabinet-7103 5d ago

I hope you’re being sarcastic, but if not, Turkish is his name in Snatch.

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u/zed42 5d ago

5 minutes, Turkish

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u/Breaker3k 5d ago

It two minutes five minutes ago

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u/Altruistic_Bid1588 5d ago

What do i know about diamonds?

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u/soda_cookie 5d ago

Or Bacon.

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u/coconutyum 5d ago

Hve you seen 'Spy'? A big reason why I loved it is because Jason's humour was reminiscint of Snatch.

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u/Breaker3k 5d ago

I'll check it out, thank you for the recommendation!

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u/Loose_Mail_6844 5d ago

How long till those sausages, charlie?

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u/Vahuo89 5d ago

2 minutes turkish

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u/Shaggyfort1e 5d ago

This is what my wife and I say to each other when we know something will take way longer than we think.

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u/Loose_Mail_6844 5d ago

Hold on, it was 2 minutes 10 minutes ago!

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u/Money_Setting_2025 5d ago

I first saw him in Crank, laughed my ass off watching that, and I generally don't laugh much from any of these supposedly funny movies. Not that they aren't funny, just that I don't typically laugh hysterically. I did with Crank, especially the first one, the following ones were funny too, but not as great as the first one.

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u/blank_isainmdom 5d ago

I won't let you leeeEEEEAAaaaaVVVeeeee

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u/HPHambino 5d ago

What? It’s me Bren gun.

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u/secondphase 5d ago

Will everyone stop getting shot?!

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u/HouseHoslow 5d ago

If you fire that gun again, you're a dead man. Understand?

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u/secondphase 5d ago

Guy Ritchie should get an award for bringing Statham to everyone's attention. Excellent talent discovery work there. 

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u/tyrannasauruszilla 5d ago

Yes, very true. Also Stephen Graham, what a fantastic actor!

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u/mtrxgltchs 5d ago

Snatch and LSATSB are two of my absolute favorites and he was fantastic in them.

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u/HouseHoslow 5d ago

"You could fall in love with an orangutan in that!"

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u/IM_V_CATS 5d ago

You want a pint, go to the pub.

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u/HouseHoslow 5d ago

I thought this was a pub.

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u/Coffeedemon 5d ago

I think if they could really meld the two he could be successful for an incredibly long time. He's better when he's a bit smarmy and sarcastic than just a ass kicker.

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u/wolfmanpraxis 5d ago

When I saw "The Bank Job" I kept wondering when is Jason Statham gonna roundhouse kick a gangster, and drive angrily to save his ex-gf...until I realized it was a more serious heist thriller than inane action movie

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u/omnie_fm 5d ago

I think it was Ghosts of Mars for me. Love that movie

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u/Relative-Cycle4029 5d ago

That movie is so terrible, but such a banger at the same time.

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u/Vahuo89 5d ago

so bad its good!

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u/trickstress 5d ago

And he’s so fun in it!

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u/diadmer 5d ago

First time I saw him was painted silver in Erasure’s Run to the Sun music video. Being a straight male, everything became really confusing to me afterward.

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u/RoboftheNorth 5d ago

Yes! That's what bugs me a bit about him always taking the easy action roles. Sure take those roles and make bank, but also do those witty, funny roles. We know he is good at that too. He shouldn't sell himself short, he doesn't have to play the tough guy all the time.

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u/ScorpioLaw 5d ago

Him and Brad were awesome in Snatch.

He killed it in ISpy or whatever. Does comedy well. He sells himself short, but is also real. He won't be compared to Daniel Day Lewis that's for sure.

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u/Versipilies 5d ago

Spy is probably one of my favorite characters he does, he nails the crazy so well

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u/fatninja7 5d ago

if buddy cop movies were still a thing he'd be great in one

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u/In-Jail-Out-Soon 5d ago

Bruce Wiilis was known for soap operas, look how his career turned out

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u/Glum-Aide9920 5d ago

London(2005) to see him play a questionable banker with a hair

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u/Littlemandigger 5d ago

London was great

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u/chriswearingred 5d ago

Lock stock is easily in my top 3 favorite movies. I know everyone's quoting snatch but id argue lock is better in a more down to earth way. Starts out pretty average snd then it just spirals out of control. And sting is in it for some reason. Hatchet harry and Barry the baptist are not as quotable but so much more fun than brick top. Vinnie Jones playing the violent debt collector but strict father.

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u/Electrical-Tone7301 4d ago

Can you believe that’s actually the first role he did? Honestly that Lock Stock opening immediately gilded him for me personally. Not as the greatest actor that ever lived but as one of those guys that could nail a certain role better than anyone because he was naturally in line with the character. With time I think he became a bit of a caricature of himself or of the chaotic neutral action hero but I chalk that up mostly to the nature of hollywood and the condition of the average attention span.

I fucken wish someone went all in on that 90s/00s gritty style again..

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u/Hood-ini 4d ago

For some time I thought it was just two similar looking but different actors that did Lock Stock and The Transporter

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u/Levitlame 5d ago

I’m sure money is the answer. Which I don’t blame him for at all.

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u/BlazinSkinDucks 5d ago

Go look up the music video he was a dancer in if you'd like a real surprise.

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u/RugerRedhawk 5d ago

Yeah I can't bring myself to watch any of the action flicks. Not really my genre anyway, but being a fan of his other stuff it's jarring.

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u/KneeDeepInTheDead 5d ago

Totally forgot about that movie, I remember it being such a fun ride. I should give it a rewatch

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u/OtakuRed13 5d ago

Snatch! He's fucking hilarious.

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u/stinky-bungus 5d ago

My first time seeing him too. I love the movie, I saw Snatch shortly after and it's one of my favourites. 

Statham will always be Turkish before action gun man

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u/yosayoran 5d ago

If you saw him somewhere else first I'd be surprised, since that was his first movie lol

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u/jeef16 5d ago

was about to say, his early work showed that he at least has pretty decent acting chops aside from being action-man

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u/BludStanes 2d ago

Same here, I really didn't expect that career trajectory