Jason Statham Once Felt It Was a Total Injustice That the Oscars Didn’t Create This Award Category
The Academy Awards doesn’t only recognize actors and filmmakers for their accomplishments. But costume designers, writers, composers and the like all typically have their chance to shine on the big stage.
However, there was one group of people that Jason Statham felt deserved a ton of recognition for their work, yet were mostly ignored.
Jason Statham wanted the Oscars to add this category to the Academy Awards
Statham was very passionate about the work that stuntmen delivered in films. As someone who performs his own stunts a great deal, he’s keenly aware of the amount of dedication and risk taken for these performers. In a resurfaced interview with Vanity Fair, he expressed a bit of frustration that stuntmen weren’t recognized by the Academy.
“All of the stunt men — these are the unsung heroes,” Statham said. “Nobody is giving them any credibility. They’re risking their necks. And then you’ve got poncy actors pretending like they’re doing [the stunts].”
The Hobbs and Shaw star went on to point out how far stuntmen usually go compared to the actors they’re filling in for. Only for the actor to receive most of the credit.
“For me, it’s a total injustice,” Statham said. “[Stunt actors are] the ones getting busy. Then you have some guy standing in front of a f***ing green screen screwing his face up pretending like he’s doing the stunt. To me, it’s like a farce. I have a real frustration with that because I know these coordinators. I train with them all the time and they are incredibly talented.”
Statham wasn’t alone, as some others in the film industry share his sentiment. Just recently, Keanu Reeves and his John Wick director Chad Stahelski also advocated for a stunt award category.
“But what would it take for that to happen? I guess just more people would need to say, ‘Hey! You need to do this,’” Reeves once told IGN.
Jason Statham once named the 1 stunt he shouldn’t have done
Statham knows his way around stunts. But even with his expertise, the actor has had his fair number of injuries. Speaking to Collider, he explained that some of his action movies’ most death-defying scenes were almost as real as they seemed onscreen.
“I think when we shot Crank, we were hanging out of a real helicopter. A lot of the things we do now – with The Expendables – anytime you’re on a helicopter it’s usually on a green screen. But with Crank, we were actually in a helicopter. We’re shooting a fight scene where I was standing on the skids, we have a small pick there. So it was a real stunt, you know, that one was pretty tricky,” he said.
But there was a stunt he did in his action film The Transporter 2 where he might have pushed himself a bit too far.
“I did a little jump in the Transporter 2, or a jump from the back of a jet ski onto the back of a bus. It wasn’t a very safe stunt. I shouldn’t have done it, there was no safety wire, but I just did that. I mean, if I’d have missed the back of the bus, it would have been a faceplant at 30 mph into the concrete. Just silly things that I’ve done,” he said.
Jason Statham once named the 1 actor who inspires him
There have been many action stars known for their stunt work. Perhaps the most famous among them is Jackie Chan, who started his career as a stuntman before making it in Hollywood. Chan has served as a huge inspiration for Statham, who has followed in the action legend’s footsteps.
“I have such a huge respect for Jackie Chan. There’s someone who leads by example. It’s great to be inspired by people like that,” Statham once told San Antonio Current.
