Making your way through Jason Statham’s filmography is a bit like going through a mirror maze: Everything sorta looks the same, and the setup typically leans tough guy vs. the world. But, somehow, Statham’s gruff onscreen charm gets you through to the exit every time.
Eight years before his big-screen debut in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), the Stath was a professional diver, representing England in the 1990 Commonwealth Games. So, getting physical has always been part of the plan.
With a five o’clock shadow, shaved head, and a dream, Statham has paved his own lane as a B-movie action king, bringing a surprising amount of grace and meta humor (see: 2015’s Spy) to a rogue’s gallery of hitmen, wheelmen, and wronged men.
In honor of our favorite Brit butt-kicker’s birthday on July 26, we’ve rounded up all of his finest hits (and fists) — from Guy Ritchie collaborations like Snatch (2000) and Wrath of Man (2021) to more recent starring turns in A Working Man (2025).
The Beekeeper (2024)
Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios
If anyone’s built to take down a bunch of economic exploiters, it’s Statham. In David Ayer’s mid-budget actioner, he stars as Adam Clay, a man who keeps bees in more ways than one. By day, he’s a quiet apiarist tending hives on a peaceful farm; by background, he’s a former assassin of the Beekeepers — a secret intelligence organization that operates outside government protocol. But when the woman (Phylicia Rashad) who owns the barn he works on kills herself after falling prey to a phishing scheme, Adam is more than ready to be a buzzkill to those responsible.
Statham gets his own John Wick dupe with The Beekeeper: Basically, he’s a walking nuclear weapon on a revenge-fueled killing spree (while delivering one too many bee puns). Paced at a breakneck speed, the film is a delightfully unserious thrill that’s exactly what you’d expect with Statham headlining it. —James Mercadante
Blitz (2011)
Moviestore/Shutterstock
Det. Tom Brant (Statham) is by no means beloved by the London press — or his superiors, for that matter. Ordered to keep a low profile, he’s forced to rein in his usual hard-edged approach. But when a serial cop killer known as “Blitz” starts targeting officers across the city, Brant teams up with his chief, Porter Nash (Paddy Considine), to bring the culprit down.
Elliott Lester’s Blitz is a gritty, by-the-numbers cop thriller with an old-school procedural tone. The direct-to-DVD flick doesn’t fully commit to action or noir, but it dips into both with sharp, slow-burning tension and shots of brutal violence that keep things engaging until its unexpectedly satisfying end. —J.M.
Crank (2006)
Everett Collection
One of the most ingenious action films of the 2000s puts Statham in the role of Chev Chelios, a British hitman who has been poisoned and must keep his adrenaline at peak levels to stay alive long enough to find out who wants him dead. This sets the stage for all sorts of depravity, from brawls with gangsters, wild driving, doing every drug imaginable, and having public sex with his girlfriend (Amy Smart).
Crank has often been compared to a live-action cartoon, and Brian Taylor’s and Mark Neveldine’s kinetic directing style, combined with Statham’s wild energy, gives the film a frenetic pace from the opening scene. Chev Chelios came back for Crank: High Voltage (2009), but that sequel was a little too extra for our taste. —Elliott Smith
The Expendables (2010)
Karen Ballard/Lionsgate
Testosterone is jacked to 11 in The Expendables, where Statham joins a beefed-up ensemble of ’80s/’90s/2000s action icons. Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and more basically play heightened versions of every tough-guy part they’ve ever had, this time as elite mercenaries taking on a military dictatorship. Here, the Stath plays Lee Christmas, the team’s blade-hurling wildcard who makes sure anyone underestimating him regrets it immediately.
A love letter to ’80s action flicks, The Expendables delivers everything audiences want from the genre: massive shoot-outs, blood spurting, corny quotable dialogue, and an overload of star power. Directed by Stallone, it’s unapologetically over-the-top brain slop — and one hell of a good time. —J.M.
Fast X (2023)
Universal Pictures
While Deckard Shaw doesn’t get nearly enough screentime in Fast X, every second he’s in frame bleeds with eye-gluing badassery that more than makes up for it. His long-awaited face-off with Han Lue (Sung Kang) — the guy he thought he’d killed in Fast & Furious 6 (2013) — goes from a teeth-rattling brawl to a forced alliance as they fend off attackers from the Agency. But when Shaw learns that villain Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa) has put a target on his mother, Queenie (Helen Mirren), his priorities lock in.
Fast X might not top the franchise (it landed at No. 7 in our ranking), but it marks a key turning point for Statham’s character, following the series’ tried-and-true pipeline of turning ex-enemies into extended members of the Toretto crew. Here’s hoping Fast X: Part 2 gives Shaw even more time to wreck shop. —J.M.
The Fate of the Furious (2017)
Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock
After stealing the show as villain Deckard Shaw in Furious 7 (2015), Statham was invited back for the next installment, bringing his signature intensity and a touch of menace to the increasingly sterile franchise. And while it was difficult for many fans to swallow Shaw as part of the family (justice for Han!), he’s been a welcome addition.
Statham’s light touch was on full display during The Fate of the Furious‘ best scene, a Busby Berkeley-inspired set piece on an airplane in which Shaw must fight off goons while also keeping Dominic Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) newborn baby safe from harm. Statham proved to be so popular, he soon earned the spinoff film Hobbs & Shaw alongside Dwayne Johnson. —E.S.
The Mechanic (2011)
Patti Perret/CBS Films
The elite assassin subgenre is one of our favorites, and this lean thriller (a remake of the 1972 film) in which a hired gunman makes his hits look like accidents is a perfect fit for Statham’s talents. Paired up with hothead trainee Steve McKenna (Ben Foster), Statham radiates the cool that this kind of character must exhibit.
Sure, you can see most of the plot twists coming, but there’s no denying that it’s a fun ride with good supporting work from Foster, Donald Sutherland, and Tony Goldwyn. This was a surprise hit; however, the 2016 sequel, Mechanic: Resurrection, isn’t up to par. —E.S.
The Meg (2018)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Statham puts his aquatic acumen to good use in this high-gloss creature feature about a giant shark that escapes from a deep-sea trench. It’s a classic gruff hero role for Statham, but he breaks it up by showcasing some impressive diving techniques as he battles the titular beast. Plus, how can you argue with our guy going one-on-one against an ancient great white?
Rescued from development hell after more than 20 years, Statham and a global-friendly cast that included Li Bingbing, Cliff Curtis, and Rainn Wilson helped The Meg gross more than $500 million at the box office, setting the stage for the 2023 sequel, Meg 2: The Trench, which swam just shy of $400 million worldwide. —E.S.
Parker (2013)
Jack English/Film District
On paper, it doesn’t seem as if a Statham–Jennifer Lopez pairing would work, especially in a hard-boiled film noir. But one of the charms of this adaptation of the Donald Westlake long-running book character (previously done in 1967’s Point Blank and 1999’s Payback) is the interplay between Statham’s crafty thief and Lopez’s in-over-her-head real estate agent/co-conspirator.
Yeah, Parker is the kind of character Statham can do in his sleep, but under the stylish direction of Taylor Hackford, the movie is filled with great supporting characters, a bright and sunny vibe rarely found in crime flicks, and some laughs amid the shootouts. Plus, you get the great visual of Stath in a Stetson, attempting a Southern accent. —E.S.
Safe (2012)
John Baer/Lionsgate
Aside from his baby-rescuing in The Fate of the Furious, Statham doesn’t interact much with kids. But Safe hinges on the bond between his character and a young girl (Catherine Chan), as he attempts to save her from the Triad, Russian Mafia, and NYC cops. It results in one of Statham’s most tender performances, in between all the beatings, of course.
Statham’s ex-cop/covert operative/cage fighter Luke Wright is on the verge of suicide when he sees a child being terrorized by goons. He steps in to rescue her, only to discover she’s a math prodigy who has the very long combination to a very valuable safe memorized. The pair then embark on a harrowing adventure, with Luke slowly turning into the most bizarre father figure ever. —E.S.
Snatch (2000)
Everett Collection
You know how good you must be to steal the show from a megastar like Brad Pitt doing an inscrutable accent? Well, Statham does just that in Snatch, Guy Ritchie’s ultra-British crime caper, filled with an array of colorful gangsters and an overall vibe that feels a lot like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, only with a little more wattage.
Statham plays Turkish, a small-time boxing promoter who gets on the wrong side of a big-time crime boss after a fight goes south. From there, Turkish must navigate a world of double-crosses, diamonds, and dangerous men. Instead of beating the crap out of everyone, Turkish uses his wits to survive, and Statham’s wry narration brings us along on the wild ride. —E.S.
Spy (2015)
Larry Horricks/20th Century Studios
Statham does…comedy? Completely pivoting in this Melissa McCarthy vehicle, he sends up the brusque man of action to great effect in this hilarious film. As CIA agent Rick Ford, Statham bellows and blusters his way through every scene he’s in, stealing the film right out from the reliably funny McCarthy. It’s a not-so-subtle jab at his usual roles that works perfectly because Statham sells it with a straight face.
Agent Ford’s continued insistence that the CIA has a Face/Off machine is one of Spy‘s best bits, and his other off-the-wall claims make this character so delusional, you can’t help but enjoy it. It’s one of the great surprise performances of the 2010s and proves that Statham can do a lot more than punch people in the face (although he does that very well). —E.S.
Transporter 2 (2005)
Everett Collection
Some might argue that Chev Chelios is Statham’s signature part, but for us, it’s Frank Martin, the driver with three rules that he never breaks…at least until the first film. While The Transporter (2002) is a fun ride, and you can’t beat the motor oil fight, the sequel is where Statham fully embodies the role.
For 88 tight minutes, Statham does some driving that would make the Fast & Furious gang blush, beats up an array of Eurotrash bad guys, defeats the top henchwoman with a wine rack, makes several awful/awesome puns, and still looks cool in his Transporter-approved suit. Oh, and did you know that Statham’s cameo in Collateral (2004) is rumored to be Frank Martin? —E.S.
A Working Man (2025)
Dan Smith/Amazon MGM Studios
In David Ayer’s Beekeeper follow-up, widower Levon Cade (Statham) has found a new family in the Garcias, who own the Chicago construction company where he works as a foreman. But when their daughter, Jenny (Arianna Rivas), is kidnapped by Russian traffickers, Levon’s past as — you’ll never guess it — a former assassin resurfaces in full force.
This Taken-esque film is your standard Statham fare, providing all the action sequences of him beating the crap out of people and delivering corny-yet-effective one-liners. And while it’s the same schtick he’s pulled off a dozen times, the English bruiser still hit hard enough to knock Disney’s Snow White remake out of the No. 1 box office spot. —J.M.
Wrath of Man (2021)
Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures
It took 16 years for Guy Ritchie and Statham to collaborate again, but their fourth outing together is a crackling, brutal thriller that spares no punches and showcases Ritchie’s talents as a stylist. Playing with time and our perception of Statham, this remake of the 2004 French film Cash Truck was a welcome return to the crime world for both men.
Statham plays H, the mysterious new (and awesomely skilled) driver for an armored truck company. We know everything isn’t as it seems, and throughout the film — split into several interlocking stories — we find out the truth. Statham is pure intensity for most of the movie, his rage (or wrath?) barely bubbling under the surface. It’s a dark, nasty flick, and it works. —E.S.
