10 Things You Didn't Know About Jason Statham

Facts Verse presents 10 Things You Didn't Know About Jason Statham. 1. Jason's first job was as a street seller. Before he became a famous action movie star, Jason was working on the streets of London. He and his father were peddling knock-off goods just to get by. When they weren't peddling their wares during the day, his father was working as a dancer and lounge singer at night. 2. Jason was a model before he was an actor. Before Jason was an actor, he was a model. He never liked the way he smiled, so he would often scowl rather than smile. It's this that got the attention of modeling agencies and big-name brands. They said the scowl made him look tough, which was the look that many agencies, photographers and advertising agencies wanted back then. 3. His street-selling skills helped him land his first role. Jason was a street-seller when he was a kid. It was those skills he learned back then that helped him get a role in the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. When he auditioned with Guy Ritchie, he was asked to try to sell Guy a piece of fake jewelry. He was so good at what he did, he actually left the audition with some of Guy's money. 4. He was kicked out of the Playboy Mansion. In August 2008, Jason visited the Playboy Mansion like many celebrities have. He showed up in just a bathrobe, but he refused to have his photo taken with any of the girls at the mansion. Well, this must have robbed Hugh Hefner the wrong way because he had five security guards escort Jason off the premises. Jason never went back. He never mentioned why he didn't want to be photographed. ***I don't know, maybe he's just shy? 5. Jason was a world-class diver. Jason is a very athletic man. In the 1990s, he used his athleticism to win diving competitions. He was even on the national British diving team. He participated in the 3-meter springboard and the 10-meter platform events. He was actually very good. He credits the training that he needed to be a diver for giving him the physique he needed for his modeling career. And that led to acting, and the rest is history. 6. Jason Does His Own Stunts If you've ever seen any movie that Jason stars in, you'll know it's all action all the time. Some of the stunts performed in his films are amazing. What you might not know, though, is that Jason does most of his own stunts. Because he does his own stunts, he has great respect for stuntmen and stuntwomen in the movies. He's even fighting to have a stunt category added for the people who risk their lives to shoot these amazing scenes. He hasn't won the fight yet, but he doesn't plan to give up until these brave men and women get the recognition they deserve. 7. He Failed His Driver's Test More Than Once According to Jason, he picked up some very bad driving habits from his father when they were working together. When it came time to take his test for his driver's license when he was a kid, those bad habits came out and he failed. Unfortunately for Jason, he failed more than once. This is surprising since he is such an accomplished driver in his movies. The Transporter franchise and The Italian Job are just a few of the movies where he needed to have exceptional driving skills. 8. He Got Caught Taking A Golf Cart For A Joyride In 2010, during the Coachella Festival in Indio, California, Jason and reality star Kristen Cavallari took a golf cart without permission and took it for a ride. They were joking about taking a golf cart off-roading and they decided to see what would happen if they did. Unfortunately, the pair was pulled over by the Palm Springs Police. Luckily, they weren't arrested. The police ordered them to take the cart right back where they found it and then go to their hotel rooms. 9. He Almost Died While Filming The Expendables This is one of the scariest things you might not have known about Jason Statham. When Jason was filming the movie The Expendables, Sylvester Stallone decided to have Jason on the nose of a plane shooting the gun. After the scene was filmed, the pilot of the plane told them that the engine was leaking fluid and it might go down. Luckily, it stayed in the air long enough to land safely. In another scene in the movie, he was behind the wheel of a three-ton truck when the brakes went out and the truck went into the Black Sea. Luckily, Jason was a professional diver and he made it out alive. Neither of these incidents scared him enough to stop filming the movies. They also didn't scare him enough to do his own stunts in the movies that he stars in. 10. He Went Through A Brutal Diet And Training Regimen For His Role In Death Race You can't say that Jason Statham is not dedicated to his craft. When he filmed the movie Death Race, he went on a three-month diet and exercise plan. He ate nothing but raw vegetables and he brought his body fat level from 20% to 6%. In six weeks, he lost 17 pounds and he was ripped. Subscribe for more! And if you don't, we're going to send Jason Statham to your house to punch you in the face. Just kidding. We don't know Jason Statham. Or do we?