There was a time when Tom Cruise decided to endorse Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in front of executives who were actually too skeptical to consider the film. This decision unfortunately turned out to be the best career launching point for soon-to-be directors Matthew Vaughn and Guy Ritchie, as well as for actor Jason Statham. But these Statham landmarks did not come easy. These all came before Jason Statham made his debut in the film in 1998.
As we found out a couple of years back, Statham was competing for a place on the British diving team that would go to the flawed Barcelona ’92 Olympics and he was one of the few members who maintained their place for over a decade. However, we want to spotlight the events that took place in his life that occurred after he dived off of the board and before we saw his face in 1998.
From Swimming Pools To The Streets and Back To The Set Once More
In the early 90s, the future action figure Jason Statham was very far from starting his professional acting career. At that time he was a sports model who worked for many companies like Tommy Hilfiger and Levi’s but was also selling fake perfumes and jewelry in order to survive. Statham made this information public and said he was never ashamed to take up a side hustle of selling illegal goods, something Statham’s father himself also did.
In 1997, his career was transformed while working as a model for French Connection because that was where he first met wannabe director Guy Ritchie who was seeking actors for a brand new project. It was after hearing about Statham’s exploits in the black market that Ritchie opted to gamble on Statham and offered him the role of Bacon in his film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
On several occasions, even in television programs such as BBC News, he has narrated how Guy Ritchie has always been significant in his life since he has always mentioned it in interviews, and one of them was:
“Someone has been very fortunate to me. I have been in great spots at great moments. But I will constantly thank Guy Ritchie because I was a street seller selling perfume and jewelry and he was the person who gave me the offer which turned my life around.”
As a result of the professional bond between Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham, there have been many films which have a significant fan following including Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, the gangster blockbuster Snatch, the controversial Revolver, and their most recent projects Wrath of Man and Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre. With this level of entertainment, one hopes that the two continue working together for as long as they can.