Jason Statham is best known for being an action hero. From starring in movies like The Transporter to the Fast & Furious franchise, Statham has showcased his talent and capability as a gritty and violent action star. While he is mostly known for his action-thriller roles, the English actor has dabbled in other genres and starred in a comedy for the first time in the movie Spy.
Directed by Paul Feig, the role was specially written for the Crank star. Even though he ended up gaining huge praise for his comedic performance, the actor had a particularly hard time because he was told not to be ‘funny’ despite being in a comedy movie.
Jason Statham Was Told Not To Be Funny In Spy
We all know Jason Statham‘s chops when it comes to action. Having shown his expertise and proficiency in numerous roles within the genre, the English actor is now one of the leading stars of the genre. He even remarked in one of his interviews with The Guardian,
“If someone wants me to jump off this balcony, and land on a crash pad, that’s a piece of cake for me.”
Now we all know the actor is neither joking nor trying to prove his efficiency in such roles, for he is in fact more than capable of doing this. However, the actor found the comedy genre more ‘challenging’ when he starred in the 2015 action comedy Spy and was told by the director Paul Feig to not be funny in the very comedic film (via The Guardian),
“Paul was saying, ‘Look, just don’t try and be funny. That’s not what I want’. It harks back to Guy Ritchie saying, ‘Don’t try and act. That’s not what I want!'”
While he can jump off a balcony and dangle in the air 3,000 feet above from a helicopter effortlessly, not being funny in a comedic movie is what he found particularly hard. However, watching the movie it hardly looked like he was ‘trying’ to be funny for his his comedic timing and performance were impeccable, leading him to earn widespread praise.
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Jason Statham Proved His Acting Prowess After Starring In Spy
Melissa McCarthy is an exceptional comedy actor but in the movie Spy, it was Jason Statham who stole all the thunder or rather all the laughter. While he now has quite a few comedy roles on his CV, it was the 2015 action comedy that truly unleashed his comedic proficiency.
To say he shines as the high-on-testosterone egocentric spy Rick Ford would be a gross understatement. As the movie unfolds, Ford goes on destroying the very reputation Statham had spent decades building, that too with a perfectly charming straight face. As Ford keeps on destroying Statham’s image of an ideal action hero, Statham with his impeccable comedic masterclass keeps on destroying the many critics who labeled him ‘unequipped’ for the genre.
His deadpan obliviousness in absurd situations, with an endearing comedic timing is hard to match even for a traditional comedy actor. Thus, proving that the charming action hero who could most probably drop you dead with a flick of his wrist is exceptionally capable of portraying a sincerely incompetent superspy with an endearing perfection.
Spy can be streamed on Amazon Prime.
