Interview: Jason Statham’s new film Safe

From Olympic diver to action star, via modelling and market stalls, Jason Statham has had a diverse career. With new film Safe in cinemas this week, the star talks to Chris Dyer about authenticity, working with his heroes and avoiding pub fights

Do you do all your own stunts because you seem to be working non-stop?!
“I don’t seem to get a break – it seems to be one of those things. There’s a certain sort of reward that comes with doing it, anyway. You’re learning a skill, you’re working with good people; all the stuntmen are lads that I trained with so it’s like you’re all going to work together and you’re doing something creative, and it’s a lot of fun. The danger is controlled. I think the most anxiety you can get from doing action sequences is the stuff that’s connected to the pyrotechnics. That doesn’t sit too well with me. But the physical hard action that you have when you’re doing the fights is something I’ve always done and I always will.”

What do you look for when deciding whether to accept a role?
“I’m looking to work with good directors and fellow actors that are quality. That is the pursuit, the desire is there. And you know, great material – there’s nothing more you can hope for other than that. With all those things you get more money, more time, better locations. Once all those things come together, then you have a chance to make something great. Up until then, you’re always restricted in some way. You want to try and play characters that are likeable, so they have to have something in there… They can’t just be some mindless assassin with no heart.”

You once said that with technology you can make your grandma an action star…
“You can! You do a lot of close-ups where you see a fist, a leg, a reaction. But you can tell quite quickly, if you’re a fan of action films, who’s doing what. When the camera starts to pull back and you see a real person doing the real thing, you know that that’s what’s happening. I was always inspired by Bruce Lee movies. He’s in every frame of his film. And without mentioning any names, you can look at action movies and there’s people that don’t do the stuff they’re pretending to do.”

Are you worried that traditional action films may eventually be a thing of the past if technology becomes too pervasive?
“I don’t think so. Guys doing the real thing, in-camera, I don’t think there’s a substitute for that. I’m not a big fan of 3D, motion capture, green screen, and all that stuff. But I know it’s very, very popular. I love action films. They’re what you call entertainment. They’re sometimes funny, they’re exciting, they’re thrilling. The biggest movies that take the most money are usually action movies. [Sylvester] Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, they’re the biggest movie stars… You know, it’s funny, they have the call sheet for The Expendables and it tells you what time to turn up and it has the crew list, and it has all the names. And I kept the call sheet because it was such a novelty. It was quite a privilege to be a part of something so great.”

As a notorious action hard-man, do people come up to you in the pub trying to have a go?
“You’re not the first to ask that question, and thank Christ, I haven’t had that experience, no. But, I’m sure it’s out there. You’ve just got to stay away from the particular boozers you’re talking about. At the end of the day it’s movie making, so if you want to look at tough people… Randy Couture is a chap that is the real tough guy. He’s one of the crew from The Expendables. He’s straight out of the cage, the UFC champion in three different weights. So if someone wanted to test their pub fighting skills, I’m sure he’d be the person to accommodate [laughs].”

You character gets into a few scrapes with the Russian and Chinese mafia. Did you have any run-ins with them during your time on the market stalls?
“No, I’m still around! It’s not that risky a job. Basically, the police don’t like you making an obstruction in the street, so the worst thing you’re going to get is moved on. But it’s not like we’re selling somebody’s stolen goods. Although some people might think it’s that, but it never was stolen. And it wasn’t that expensive jewellery anyway, it wasn’t real diamonds. Sorry.”

There are a lot of one-liners in this film. Any plans to branch out into comedy?
“I don’t know, it was all on the page. I think the talent is in the pen. It was Boaz [Yakin] and his witty New York way. It’s all in the writing and the directing. I think old Guy Ritchie did a good job at writing black comedy years ago, the first time I ever did a movie. I’ve never put the refusal wall up for anything though. If someone wants to send a great romantic comedy my way, I would be the first to read it. If there’s a great screenplay, why wouldn’t I want to do something in that? But it would have to be to a strength I’ve got. There’s certain characters I wouldn’t be that good at playing, so you have to recognise that.”

You represented Great Britain at diving, do you ever wonder what might have been?
“I think I started too late. You’ve got to start when you’re five years old for any competitive sport now. I completely stopped years ago. They closed all the boards. You can’t go to a swimming pool and dive because it’s a hazard. Years ago, you’d go up to Crystal Palace, and you’ve got ‘Mad Harry’ diving off the top board, and almost killing himself every time. You can only dive now if you’re in a club.”

Safe is in cinemas Friday 4 May