10 Actors Who Can't Help But Play Themselves

4. Jason Statham

Add Jason Statham's no-nonsense delivery to his background in modelling and martial arts, and you have the blueprint for a whole variety of characters he's played over the years. Having described his upbringing and childhood neighbourhood as "colourful", Statham learnt how to handle himself at an early age - well, in between representing the British National Diving Team - and used his martial arts background to perform his own stunts once he got his break in the movie business. With his chiselled looks, shredded physique and gruff tones, The Stath was always going to be a natural for any role that involved action or playing some form of heavy. Having initially played sarcastic hardmen in the likes of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, Statham soon progressed to more action-packed affairs like Death Race, The Transporter, Crank and The Expendables. As so many action heroes of years gone by, it seems that Statham has found a niche for himself playing characters that are slight extensions of his persona. Exception To The Rule: In Gnomeo & Juliet, he plays a small, rotund, bearded gnome. Still, even then his gnome has a sinister charm and evil intentions.
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.