Jason Statham: The Last Action Hero

Jason Statham is a famous action film star. Born in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, he is always an athlete since childhood. He accepts physical training from his father, who was a boxer and gymnast.He played football and also share his passion in diving. He was a member of Britain's National Diving Squad and even compete in 1990 Commonwealth Game as a representative of England. He starts his career in modeling after being spotted by the agency of Sports Promotions. 

He played his first movie, Lock, Stock and Two Smocking Barrels during 1998, a crime comedy film by British director Guy Richie. It put Statham in the public eye and he continues to star in more action film including The Transporter series, Snatch, Crank, The One and much more. Due to his athlete-capability, he prefers to do his own stunt. ("People walk differently, people talk differently, and they fight differently" he explained his aversion to double in The Transporter DVD extra). He never took acting lesson yet he is able to build his star image through movie characters that he performed, a tough man with the deadliest skills, can do almost any action including car chasing and jumping from the balcony.

Rethinking star by Richard Dyer introduced "Structured polysemy" as a way to study stars.The star image appears to be multiple and gives out different but finite meanings. However, we must not forget that through the multiplicity of the star’s appearances in different  medias, the multiplicity also extends to changes in the star’s image over time.This gives rise to inconsistency and fluctuations, further suggesting that the appeal of star image is based on constant reinventions and dissolutions to contraries, embracing the opposing terms. 

The star existing in different categories there are "star as celebrity", "star as professional" and "star as performance" . Star as celebrity indicates someone whose fame is founded outside of their work and is known for their lifestyle.Star as professional is known for his/her work while the private life appears little to non-­existent. Star as performer is focusing on their work and the public domain of the star image. Private life is not their emphasis.

Through my observation, Jason Statham appeared to be in the category of star as profesional. In Jason Statham's acting career for more than a decade, the roles that he take part of were mostly action hero, he was able to do his own stunt performance and deliver realistic action scene. Even without the look of "all American men", his performance delivered a more modern, everyday man hero. He maintained stable identities as a tough action hero though his movie. Even when he take part in the comedy movie Spy, he played a chauvinistic English secret agent and make a parody of himself by bragging his absurd experience with a straight face. Jason Statham maintains his physical fitness through practicing a similar lifestyle as his on-screen image, he keeps track on his daily training and healthy diet so he can be faster and stronger. He is also a very private person, he kept his private life away from the camera very well.

Reference

1. Huber, C. (2016). Last Action Hero: Jason Statham Plays It Straight - Cinema Scope. Retrieved July 17, 2016, from http://cinema-scope.com/features/last-action-hero-jason-statham-plays-straight/ 
2. Rose, S. (2015). Jason Statham: 'Do I want to be the next James Bond? Absolutely' Retrieved July 17, 2016, from https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/01/jason-statham-i-want-to-be-the-next-james-bond