By Iain Blair

Brit action star Jason Statham never set out to be an actor, but after he was discovered by Guy Ritchie, who met him through a mutual friend, the quintessential London lad suddenly found himself playing exactly that in the flashy and hugely successful crime thriller Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Since then, Jason hasn’t looked back. Now, he’s starring in The Bank Job, a highly charged heist thriller that tautly interweaves high-level corruption, murder and sexual scandal in 1970s London.  The actor was thrilled to work with director Roger Donaldson. “He’s a brilliant director and storyteller who’s made all these great films like No Way Out and Thirteen Days, and I’ve worked with a lot of first time directors, so it was a real treat to work with someone like Roger,” he told me. Jason, who is well known for his martial arts skills and ability to do most of his own stunts, is currently in France shooting Transporter 3.  “It’s going to have tons of fast cars and great stunts. And it’s with Luc Besson again,” he says. “He’s not directing but he’s so involved he might as well be. He’s written it and he’s producing and we do all the rehearsals with him, so it’s really his baby.” Amazingly, Jason has never had a serious injury. “We just did a big fight scene in a garage which went ok, but then we just shot this other fight in a hotel bar, and I’m absolutely bruised and battered from it,” he told me. “But no broken bones, thank God. If you have one of those in the middle of a movie you’re just screwed.”

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