Jason Statham Quotes
Actor, Producer, Martial Artist
If you're going to do something, do it with style!
People take chances every now and then, and you don't want to disappoint them.
People love stories about the mafia: 'The Godfather,' 'American Gangster.'
High risk is high adrenaline.
You only get one shot in your life, and you might as well push yourself and try things.
I think we're all sensitive; everyone has a certain way about themselves that people don't like to let their emotions out too often. I think people tend to suppress them and hold them in, so I think there's a bit of that in me.
Your body is like a piece of dynamite. You can tap it with a pencil all day, but you'll never make it explode. You hit it once with a hammer: Bang! Get serious. Do 40 hard minutes, not an hour and half of nonsense. It's so much more rewarding.
Looking good and feeling good go hand in hand. If you have a healthy lifestyle, your diet and nutrition are set, and you're working out, you're going to feel good.
How long you can continue to be good at something is how much you believe in yourself and how much hard work you do with the training.
The best things in life sometimes happen spontaneously.
There's so many ways to play a bad guy, and usually people choose the obvious one.
I've always had a fascination with cars and racing, not that I've ever competed.
I've come from nowhere, and I'm not shy to go back.
If you can have a great story that people can follow the mystery and get the suspense, and then you have those moments of tension and a splash of visual fun, then you kind of get everything. You get your money's worth.
I'm not as big a soccer fan as people might imagine, being British.
I like to meditate. But I get rid of my stress at the gym.
If you got a good imagination, a lot of confidence and you kind of know what you are saying, then you might be able to do it. I know a lot of colorful characters at home that would make great actors.
A bespoke shirt is one of the true luxuries that you can acquire. There's nothing better than a fitted shirt. Once you've picked up your first one, you'll never stop buying them - providing you can pay for it.
When I'm getting ready for a movie, let's just say my diet is 'The Antisocial Diet.' I don't go to restaurants. I don't eat what I really want to eat. I don't eat much. I eat small things frequently. Lots of protein and greens. And I don't eat with people, because there's a tendency to get social and then to overeat.
I'm certainly not Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt.
People like to pigeonhole you.
And it was a great experience, you know, to travel the world and compete at a certain level. It teaches you discipline, focus, and certainly keeps you out of trouble.
I'm a big Bruce Lee fan, and if I saw Bruce Lee try to be some namby-pamby lawyer, I'd want my money back.
I like a few vintage Rolexes, and Panerais are good. I'm not into sports watches - I like chronometers.
Bruce Lee was just so lightning-fast. People try to emulate him in whatever way they can, but to try and do what he was doing... you're just inspired by it; you're not trying to say, 'Look, I can do that.' No one can do what he did.
Human nature says that you want a bargain, whether you want the goods or not. You think that something is a steal, you'll buy it.
I've never been one to run around in Speedos on the beach.
Me in a cape? I don't fancy that. Tight tights? Nah! I don't think that's right for me. I just respond more to true stories; that's my flavour.
Once you expose your private life, if you give one little bit, the floodgates are open and everyone's got a free range for you.
I suppose that's the European way, dangerous and hairy.
I like fashion. My mum was a dressmaker, believe it or not, so the consequence of that was that all my clothes were homemade, and I looked like a terrible mess until I was old enough to buy my own. But I love good tailoring.
I've been unfortunate enough to be working, and recovering from a few injuries now and again.
My father used to run auctions. He's now a singer in the Canary Islands.
In Hollywood, people get reputations, just rumors that are passed down.
I love people who have a good sense of humor, tell a good story, tell a good joke.
My mom and dad used to tell me, 'You've got to see this film,' and they were influential to a high degree of the films I saw as a kid.
There's a huge amount of faith and confidence in the stunt team.
Revenge is a caustic thing. I say, Breathe in, breathe deeply, let it go.
Depending on the season, you'll find me outdoors doing an activity.
Guy Ritchie, he thinks going to drama school is the worst thing in the world.
I've just got a really bad smile. I go for the scowl instead.
Suits change a lot - the wide lapel thing, the fashion trends, the trousers change.
It's good to step out of the box, but don't step out so far that you can't get back in.
All of the stunt men - these are the unsung heroes. They really are. Nobody is giving them any credibility. They're risking their necks.
I could take my grandma and put her in a cape, and they'll put her on a green screen, and they'll have stunt doubles come in and do all the action. Anybody can do it. They're relying on stunt doubles and green screen and $200 million budgets - it's all CGI created. To me, it's not authentic.
Usually, if you've got a great script, everything falls into place.
I love getting dressed up in a suit because I don't do it all the time.
And if people come up and say they like the movies you're in, it's a great compliment.
Take a martial art or a sport, something that gives you a skill, engages the body, and allows you the possibility of being great - or at least being active. You'll find your confidence. Without it, you're nothing. It's the remedy for everything.
When I was growing up, my dad didn't have weights, so he made himself a weight bench. Instead of a hand-me-down jacket, it was a hand-me-down weight bench.
The thing about the UK is we don't really make that many great movies.
London and L.A. are two opposites - I like the difference.
I used to play a lot of racket sports, tennis and squash.
Well, I'm used to rubbing shoulders with crooks and criminals.
There's a voice in all of us, and you can only get expressive through words. There's a limit to what you can do without speaking.
Whatever you do, do it to the extreme.
I'm enthusiastic and ambitious, and I work hard.
I love Tony Jaa. He's one of the best and most capable martial arts stuntmen in the world.
We're trying to make a movie that's interesting.
I do like a lot of the '70s movies. I love Charles Bronson in 'Hard Times.' All my favorite movies where ones from yesteryear. The '70s was a good era. I love all those.
I love the hip-hop scene.
I don't go in for the high-end gyms with the high-tech equipment and all the fancy stuff.
I tend to leave people alone that I admire.
Musclemen grow on trees. They can tense their muscles and look good in a mirror. So what? I'm interested in practical strength that's going to help me run, jump, twist, punch.
Some of my favorite movies are action movies. You want something good to say. That comes from good writing. But writing is not a skill I possess, unfortunately.
I endured many weeks of it, but I had a big background in martial arts and fighting as a kid, so kind of all the problems got brushed away and I was ready.
It's street theater. You have to make it entertaining so people don't get bored and walk away.
Jet was very busy. I've been inspired by a lot of his movies.
I think being a competitive diver for years helps you focus and dedicate yourself to what's needed.
Look at someone like Edward Norton. A truly phenomenal actor. He's definitely went to school and trained.
A kid is something precious, and you want to protect it and keep it fun. I'm not a dad, but I've seen people and how they behave with their kids.
The movie style of fighting is completely exaggerated with over-the-top movements. You'd get completely hammered if you fought like that in a real fight situation.
Science fiction I've always been a fan of.
I'm naturally a protective person to those close to me.
With 'The Expendables,' you have such a brilliant mess of the greatest action stars of all time, so you're in for the ride with those people.
I'm prepared to take risks. And every movie that I do is a risk. No one knows what the movie is going out turn out like.
I don't do isolation body building; I just do practical things that help me with the kind of things that are asked of me in action movies. You know, a lot of kick boxing, a lot of sparring.
I just gravitate to those more testosterone-filled sort of parts than me playing something a bit more fairy-like.
The fight training was very extensive, a lot of stretching, a lot of coordination of balance exercises.
Just because the rest of the people in Hollywood don't do their stunts doesn't mean I don't.
We were diving in caves. It wasn't totally safe.
A lot of actors are frustrated because they want to do things that are different and test themselves. Character actors are always looking for something the opposite of what they did.
A lot of action movies today seem to have scenes that just lead up to the action.
I'm more into MMA than any other sport. I watch a lot of the UFC fights. I have since it first came onto the scene.
I love to get behind the wheel and get competitive.
I pick up a lot of stuff from them, but I don't think there's any great trick to acting.
It's something I never dreamed I'd be doing, making movies.
A franchise is dictated on the success of doing one film right, so if you can get it done correctly, you've got a chance of something else, but sometimes it just doesn't work that way. Ideally, it's insurance for the future; if you can do something, if you can find a character that people really do like, then you're very lucky.
I go to this gym full of stunt men. There aren't any TVs or treadmills there. This is a spit-and-sawdust kind of place. It has a lot of great training aids - trampolines and bags and every weapon ever invented to do harm to a human being. If you want to know how to throw a knife, it's great.
The oil sequence was about two or three days. It was very cold and was snowing.
I'm not a method actor; I hope you know that!
It's not like I'm dying to do work that's taken seriously, and I'm not looking to become a thespian. It's not what I'm looking for; I'm just looking to do quality work.
Without doing the big blockbusters, I wouldn't be able to find the money to go after little projects that I want to do.
The insurance of working with a big, already successful franchise just gives you the chance to do other things on a more personal level.
I know, a lot of the films I've done, it's obvious I'm going to beat up six guys and just walk out the door. There's not a lot of motivating factors - it's just action for the sake of action.
When I go to the cinema I watch all different kinds of films.
People like 'Crank,' some people like 'Redemption.' I'm just happy to do things that satiate a different part of me, that test me a little bit.
If someone's got a fear of heights, they'd probably say, well, hanging off a helicopter at 3,000 feet above downtown L.A. would be the scariest. For me, that's a day's work, something I was very happy to do.
Every actor has a strength, and sometimes you just respond to things that you see yourself better at. I'm aware of what I can and can't do.
A lot of the TV shows, they do long hours, and they do a lot of days, and you don't get a lot of time. But the good thing is, if you get one that's made in L.A., or made in a place you want to be, you get to go home every night.