- Jason Statham rose to fame in the movie “Lock, Stock, Two Smoking Barrels.''
- Since then, he has continued to star in some of the world's biggest action movies.
- But before acting, he had his sights set on another goal.
You may know him as Turk from Snatch or Bacon from Lock, Stock, Two Smoking Barrels.
During his acting career, Jason Statham went from playing Cockney gangsters to becoming one of the world's most famous action stars.
But before all the glitz and glamor, Statham was nearing the pinnacle of something entirely different.
It wasn't until 1998 that he made his acting debut in the aforementioned Guy Ritchie project Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Eight years earlier, the then 23-year-old found himself in Auckland for the Commonwealth Games.
The star of England's Death Race was actually a professional diver.
This was a great effort by the now 56-year-old who actually performed at three separate events.
He finished in the top 10 on the 1-meter springboard and then twice placed 11th on the 3-meter and 10-meter springboards.
Statham credited his sporting career as part of the reason for his success on the big screen, telling the BBC in 2008, “I wonder what I haven't achieved.” [in sports] It helped me focus more and take my acting career more seriously. ”
Jason Statham's Olympic dream
Many people may not know about Statham's past as a diver, but his interest in the sport shouldn't come as much of a shock.
The Derbyshire-born star, who has appeared in a number of films, practices martial arts such as kickboxing and karate.
However, he admits that his passion for diving started as a teenager when he saw a high dive in Miami.
“I was on vacation in Florida with my mom and dad, and there was a guy there who was high diving every day at noon from one of the hotels we stayed at.
And I said, “I'm going to do that when I get home.”
“I joined the club when I was about 11 or 12 years old at the time. Within a year I was part of the England team and the team gained momentum and speed and I spent the next 10 years with it.” I remembered.
His hard work and dedication in his early years paid off as he entered the British National Diving School in 1985 and earned the right to represent Great Britain and Great Britain in international competitions.
However, qualifying for the Olympics never materialized for the Hollywood star, and he participated in the selection for the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics in Seoul and Barcelona, respectively, but failed to qualify for either event.
Despite appearing in many hit movies during his acting career, including The Expendables, Transformers, and the Fast and Furious series, his only loss was not being able to participate in the Olympics. is.
After Jack Laugher and Chris Mears became the first British men to win an Olympic gold medal in diving at Rio 2016, Jason Statham said at the film's premiere: “I'm a little disappointed I didn't make it to the Olympics.'' he said.
“They deserve it. The divers right now are really great,” Statham added. “I started too late. Maybe it wasn't my thing. I should have played another sport.”
