Statham was able to break into Hollywood and appeared in two movies in 2001: the science fiction action horror film Ghosts of Mars and the science fiction martial arts action film The One.
Statham was offered more film roles, and in 2002 he was cast as the lead role of driver Frank Martin in the action movie The Transporter, written by Luc Besson, in which he was responsible for his own stunts (Statham has made this choice for all of his films).
An avid footballer and diver, he was selected by Britain's national diving team to compete in the 1990 Commonwealth Games.
In his first film of 2011, Statham starred in the remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson film, The Mechanic, as Arthur Bishop.
A theatrical trailer depicting Statham's character "shooting a man's head off" was banned from circulation by the Advertising Standards Authority for showing excessive violence.
Statham stated "We've got a movie we're trying to do, written by David Peoples and Janet Peoples, in the vein of an old film, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
It's not a remake or anything, but it's a little bit like that, about relationships and how greed contaminates the relationships these three people have.
Statham was asked to promote Crank during the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con Convention.
In 2008, Statham starred in the British crime thriller The Bank Job and Death Race, a remake of Death Race 2000 (1975).
He has played his character in the latter, Deckard Shaw, in Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017), and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019).
His career as an actor and producer has been criticized for lacking depth and variety; however, he has also been praised for leading the 2000s and 2010s action movie resurgences.
Throughout his film career, Statham has regularly performed his own stage combat and stunts.
Born in Derbyshire, England, he began practicing kung fu, kickboxing and karate recreationally in his youth while working at local market stalls.
A spokesperson for the high street clothing chain said: "we chose Jason because we wanted our model to look like a normal guy.