Jason Statham has built a career playing badass action heroes, but not all of his roles are created equal when it comes to strength and lethality. Jason Statham began his acting career when he appeared as a dancer and extra in music videos in the 90s. However, he soon began acting in crime action films when he began working with Guy Ritchie. His first two feature films saw him play prominent roles in Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.
Then, just two years after the release of Snatch, Statham starred in the new action film The Transporter, where he firmly established himself as an action hero in Hollywood. However, despite his mastery of playing outrageously heroic characters, Statham has played characters that vary wildly in their level of lethality.
10. Ethan Greer
Cellular (2004)
At the very bottom of the list is Cellular Communications of 2004. In one of Statham’s early films, he had a prominent supporting role as the main antagonist in a story opposite Chris Evans’ character. Statham plays a corrupt police officer named Ethan Greer, who was involved in a string of incidents that would have resulted in him being suspended and sent to prison if he had been found out. He is just a civilian who accidentally received a call from a kidnapped woman. He can then follow the instructions and get a gun and a car to save the woman when all else fails. Despite Greer’s status as a seasoned professional, he was outwitted and destroyed by civilians.
9. Phil Broker
Homefront (2013)
In 2013, Statham starred in the film Home Front, written by none other than Sylvester Stallone. The film follows a retired DEA agent and his young daughter who move to a small community in Central America. However, when Phil Brocker’s daughter (Statham) gets involved in a fight at school, it opens the door for Brocker’s past to come back to bite him. Statham clearly plays a more effective and well-trained government agent in Homefront, switching his role from villain to hero. Unlike Greer, Broker has a clear plan to avoid danger and protect the people he cares about most.RELATED:
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8. Joseph Smith
Hummingbird (2013)
Also in 2013, Statham starred in the film Hummingbird, where he played a former special forces soldier named Joseph Smith. However, he fell on hard times and is now homeless living in London. Throughout the film, Smith takes on a new identity, begins squatting in a rich man’s empty house, and becomes involved in a life of crime and revenge. And despite his bad luck, Smith continues to use his special forces training to become a deadly criminal. Statham demonstrates his incredible skills in this role, destroying his opponents with exceptional skill and brutality. Ultimately, he remains one of Statham’s toughest, toughest characters throughout his career.
7. Jonas Taylor
The Meg (2018)
The Meg is one of the first roles on this list in which the character played by Statham achieves superhero status. While Jonas Taylor isn’t technically super, and the movie portrays him as a simple diver and conservationist, Taylor is far more capable than the average man or soldier. Throughout the first film, Taylor destroys the huge Megalodon shark underwater in their home environment. His immense strength and ability to compete with sea creatures of monolithic proportions guarantees his place as one of Statham’s deadliest characters of all time.
6. Adam Clay
The Beekeeper (2024)
The 2024 film directed by David Ayer, The Beekeeper, sees Statham tackle a different role as a former agent within a secret and mysterious organization that operates above the law. The film establishes how dangerous and efficient these special agents are, as members of the FBI, CIA and Secret Service all tremble at the mention of the Beekeepers. However, Statham’s character, Adam Clay, appears to be a step above even his peers in the organization as he takes out a current Beekeeper. However, he also appears to lack motivation, as the killings appear to be largely inconsequential to Clay. Regardless, there is no denying just how dangerous Clay is as a combatant and agent of espionage.
5. Lee Christmas
The Expendables (2010)
Moving on to a more light-hearted, but perhaps even more dangerous role, Statham has played prominent roles in all four of the currently released Expendables films, where he appears prominently alongside Stallone. While these films are less serious than the other films listed here, the action and heroism escalate throughout the series, making these action stars truly great. Statham plays former SAS agent Lee Christmas, who now works alongside Barney Ross (Stallone) and his team. Christmas is highly skilled in many forms of combat and is the team’s second-in-command. In the films, the team performs increasingly wild and impossible stunts, causing Christmas to simply outshine Clay’s overall performance.RELATED:
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4. Arthur Bishop
The Mechanic (2011)
One of the franchises where Statham puts on a great show as an extraordinary man capable of impossible feats is The Mechanic. Bishop is an assassin for hire, and his particular skill set makes him especially proficient at making murders look like accidents. However, in the original 2011 film and the 2016 sequel, he elevates his skills to another level. While performing astonishing feats that appear impossible, Bishop is capable of being extremely precise, powerful, and creative, while still controlling situations that appear uncontrollable. The character excels in most areas of fighting and sabotage, making him particularly dangerous.
3. Deckard Shaw
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
Statham played a prominent role in the Fast and the Furious franchise as the series entered a new era of superheroics. the over-the-top action that makes the series popular. Here, Statham plays a villain-turned-ally named Deckard Shaw. Shaw is initially the main antagonist of Furious 7, where he seeks revenge on Dom Toretto and his team for his brother’s hospitalization. Shaw continues to be a prominent part of the series in the remaining films, where he and the crew continue to perform stunts that are beyond human capabilities.
2. Chev Chelios
Crank (2006)
Crank is one of the most unusual films of Statham’s career, but it also features some of the most interesting and dangerous protagonists. Chev Chelios is a hitman, and he’s essentially extremely good at what he does. Chelios is dangerous because of how unpredictable and wild he is in his methods. Not to mention he can break someone’s neck with incredible ease while dangling from a helicopter. Chelios is dangerous and is willing to do whatever it takes to stay alive.