|
|
Features
|
|
Statham Cranks It Up a Notch
In keeping with the Speed-like narrative of his latest film, Crank’s barrel-chested star likes to keep his interviews moving.
Friday, September 1, 2006 at 1:00 PM
By Daniel Robert Epstein
|
|
|
Seth Browarnik/WireImage.com
Photo
|
|
At last night's VMA's, with Alex
|
|
It’s not every day that a Hollywood action hero has sex with his girlfriend on the sidewalk of L.A.’s Chinatown, drives through a mall at 80 miles per hour and binges on ephenephrin and cocaine as if they were M & Ms. Then again, UK actor Jason Statham is to conventional blow em’ ups what Daniel Craig is probably going to be to the James Bond franchise.
True to form, Statham is a man of few words. When asked for example what he did to keep his real-life energy up during the shoot for Crank, in which his character will self-destruct if he falls below a certain adrenaline-pumping threshold, the London native – who turns 34 later this month – tells FilmStew, "I drank sh*tloads of Red Bull.“
Given the fact that Hollywood’s crop of action movie veterans has either fallen out of favor with the public (Van Damme, Segal), refused to admit they have become too old for this sh*t (Ford, Stallone, Willis), or are Governors (Schwarzenegger), Statham currently stands as one of the very few rising genre stars who has not yet hit 40 (another is The Rock, taking a dramatic break later this month with Gridiron Gang).
Although Statham recently re-teamed with Snatch filmmaker Guy Ritchie for Revolver, his bread and butter is A-to-B mayhem. And sure enough, his next three movies are all action films.
|
|
Mike Guastella/WireImage.com
Photo
|
|
Co-star Amy Smart
|
|
|
“They keep offering me that stuff,” he reveals, and then adds about his current typecasting, “you can’t do something [else] unless they f*cking give you a chance to do it. That’s the problem.”
“But in searching for the right thing, you don’t want to do something for the sake of doing it just to be different,” he adds. In other words, don’t expect anything soon along the lines of Transporting Miss Daisy. “It’s no good doing some sh*tty drama just because it’s not got action in it. It has to be right.”
Along with In the Name of a King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, Statham’s upcoming actioner for the much-maligned filmmaker Uwe Boll, his other two in-the-can thrill rides are The Brazilian Job and Rogue, which reunites Statham with his The One co-star Jet Li. “I’m a good friend of Jet’s,” he shares. “He’s someone I particularly hold in high regards and I’m very happy to work with Jet.”
And though this may surprise some, The One - along with The Transporter tandem – were all rated PG-13. Crank is Statham’s first R-rated romp.
|
|
Albert L. Ortega/WireImage.com
Photo
|
|
(l to r) Co-writers, co-directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
|
|
|
“The [Crank] script was as f*cked up as it could ever be; it was pretty mad,” the former model and Olympic diver chortles. “It was just an opportunity for me to do something that was an R-rated action film. It was a little bit more violent than usual, a bit more blood and guts, and a bit more sex and rock & roll, a bit more drugs and kick ass. Just all that stuff that I never get to do.”
When told that his portrayal of Chev Chelios in Crank feels a lot like Lee Marvin on crystal meth, Statham takes it as a high compliment. Along with Marvin, he cites the likes of Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen and Paul Newman as his favorite actors. And for native land’s sake, he also throws in Sir Michael Caine and Richard Burton.
But it’s unlikely any of the above would have ever been in an improvised scene where their character points to a forehead emblazoned with the word cunt. “That was my improvised line,” he exclaims. “They liked it so they kept it in and put that on my head. That’s the beauty of having fun. That’s a very English phrase.”
Although Statham says he has a wide, on-set comfort zone, he couldn’t help but be a little nervous when it came time to shoot the Chinatown sex scene with co-star Amy Smart. “It’s an unusual situation to be in,” he suggests. “There’s a certain acknowledgment of 250 extras.”
And in deference to the fact that there is a videogame coursing through the narrative of Crank, Statham makes no bones about fondness of the classics. “I was hooked on those f*cking things,” he confesses. “I used to play Defender, Space Invaders, Asteroids. I used to play all that sh*t.”
Finally, getting back to that man-of-few-words M.O, Statham keeps it nice and simple when asked if he would perhaps one day like to follow in Dwayne Johnson’s footsteps and star in a straight drama in the vein of Gridiron Gang. “Yeah, why not?” he offers.
|
|
|
|
|
 Email
|
 Print
|
|
|
|
|
|