Jason Statham

Take a martial art or a sport, something that gives you a skill, engages the body, and allows you the possibility of being great - or at least being active. You'll find your confidence. Without it, you're nothing. It's the remedy for everything.

High risk is high adrenaline.

'The Bank Job,' for me, was a great opportunity for me to do some good acting, you know?

Once you expose your private life, if you give one little bit, the floodgates are open and everyones got a free range for you.

The TV world is not what it used to be. I mean, the quality has become something quite exceptional.

London and L.A. are two opposites - I like the difference.

I had such a good time working with Paul Feig on 'Spy.'

If you're gonna do action movies, you're gonna get an injury at some point. It's inevitable.

There's something quite fascinating with crooks and criminals and all things against the law.

At least in making an action film, there's always going to be someone who wants to see a car chase. Even if a lot of the people don't like it, there will be a lot of people that do. But bad comedy is just garbage.

I'm into all things German. Everything that I own is German. As far as cars go, anyway.

As an actor, you work to the script: that's our main priority. But you have to be aware and look around for things that help you bring that little bit extra, that touch of realism that rams the point home.

Bruce Lee was just so lightning-fast. People try to emulate him in whatever way they can, but to try and do what he was doing... you're just inspired by it; you're not trying to say, 'Look, I can do that.' No one can do what he did.

Without doing the big blockbusters, I wouldn't be able to find the money to go after little projects that I want to do.

Science fiction I've always been a fan of.

There's a huge amount of faith and confidence in the stunt team.

I've never been one to run around in Speedos on the beach.

Some of my best experiences are with writer/directors. Guy Ritchie is one. I feel they have a clearer view of what they want to do. They haven't got to try and interpret someone's writing; it's all theirs. I really admire that.

I think we're all sensitive; everyone has a certain way about themselves that people don't like to let their emotions out too often. I think people tend to suppress them and hold them in, so I think there's a bit of that in me.

Revenge is a caustic thing. I say, Breathe in, breathe deeply, let it go.

And if people come up and say they like the movies you're in, it's a great compliment.

I really enjoyed working with Guy Ritchie. One, it gave me a career, and two, they're probably a couple of the best films I've ever done.

Some of my favorite movies are action movies. You want something good to say. That comes from good writing. But writing is not a skill I possess, unfortunately.

I've been unfortunate enough to be working, and recovering from a few injuries now and again.

Every actor has a strength, and sometimes you just respond to things that you see yourself better at. I'm aware of what I can and can't do.

We were diving in caves. It wasn't totally safe.

How long you can continue to be good at something is how much you believe in yourself and how much hard work you do with the training.

A bespoke shirt is one of the true luxuries that you can acquire. There's nothing better than a fitted shirt. Once you've picked up your first one, you'll never stop buying them - providing you can pay for it.

I endured many weeks of it, but I had a big background in martial arts and fighting as a kid, so kind of all the problems got brushed away and I was ready.

I'm more into MMA than any other sport. I watch a lot of the UFC fights. I have since it first came onto the scene.

A lot of actors are frustrated because they want to do things that are different and test themselves. Character actors are always looking for something the opposite of what they did.

All of the stunt men - these are the unsung heroes. They really are. Nobody is giving them any credibility. They're risking their necks.

I'm not a method actor; I hope you know that!

I pick up a lot of stuff from them, but I don't think there's any great trick to acting.

I'm a big Bruce Lee fan, and if I saw Bruce Lee try to be some namby-pamby lawyer, I'd want my money back.

In Hollywood, people get reputations, just rumors that are passed down.

And it was a great experience, you know, to travel the world and compete at a certain level. It teaches you discipline, focus, and certainly keeps you out of trouble.

I don't do isolation body building; I just do practical things that help me with the kind of things that are asked of me in action movies. You know, a lot of kick boxing, a lot of sparring.

I'm certainly not Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt.

I've just got a really bad smile. I go for the scowl instead.

When I go to the cinema I watch all different kinds of films.

Usually, if you've got a great script, everything falls into place.

Looking good and feeling good go hand in hand. If you have a healthy lifestyle, your diet and nutrition are set, and you're working out, you're going to feel good.

Most guys, tough or not, hide emotions. I know a lot of tough guys; they're just as weak as the next man, but they don't show it.

There's so much more danger in someone where you really don't know what they're going to do, and you don't know what they're really capable of, rather than someone who's trying to be physically tough.

The best things in life sometimes happen spontaneously.

A lot of the TV shows, they do long hours, and they do a lot of days, and you don't get a lot of time. But the good thing is, if you get one that's made in L.A., or made in a place you want to be, you get to go home every night.

I used to play a lot of racket sports, tennis and squash.

I think being a competitive diver for years helps you focus and dedicate yourself to what's needed.

I'm naturally a protective person to those close to me.

It's great to play the hero. You get all the good stuff. You're in it all the way through.

I love people who have a good sense of humor, tell a good story, tell a good joke.

I don't go in for the high-end gyms with the high-tech equipment and all the fancy stuff.

I know, a lot of the films I've done, it's obvious I'm going to beat up six guys and just walk out the door. There's not a lot of motivating factors - it's just action for the sake of action.

Just because the rest of the people in Hollywood don't do their stunts doesn't mean I don't.

In L.A., it's very hard to have some kind of conscience of some style out there. The weather's too hot; there's no seasons.

There's so many interesting aspects of making a movie: the costume department, the set design, the casting itself, the locations.

The action-movie genre is a very difficult one to get satiated in terms of your acting bits.

If you're going to do something, do it with style!

The Rock is the Rock, you know? He's the ultimate athlete, the professional man with precision. And you want precision from a 270-pound living, walking brick wall.

I've smashed myself around, been on crutches, and broken a couple of bones when I was a kid.

I'm enthusiastic and ambitious, and I work hard.

All exercise releases endorphins and makes you feel good.

'Homefront' was written by Sylvester Stallone. He actually wrote it for himself, which is, for me, an amazing privilege: To be handed a script by Sly that he wrote for himself, that he asked me to do.

Your body is like a piece of dynamite. You can tap it with a pencil all day, but you'll never make it explode. You hit it once with a hammer: Bang! Get serious. Do 40 hard minutes, not an hour and half of nonsense. It's so much more rewarding.

If you got a good imagination, a lot of confidence and you kind of know what you are saying, then you might be able to do it. I know a lot of colorful characters at home that would make great actors.

My productivity is overwhelming!

People who are in a position of power like to throw their weight around, and that becomes abuse.

I go to this gym full of stunt men. There aren't any TVs or treadmills there. This is a spit-and-sawdust kind of place. It has a lot of great training aids - trampolines and bags and every weapon ever invented to do harm to a human being. If you want to know how to throw a knife, it's great.

One of the toughest guys in the world is Randy Couture - he is the true epitome of what a tough guy is.

When I was a kid, the people that used to push other people around, if someone whacked them, then they wouldn't be pushing people around again. But you can't really do that with adults.

There's so many ways to play a bad guy, and usually people choose the obvious one.

If someone's got a fear of heights, they'd probably say, well, hanging off a helicopter at 3,000 feet above downtown L.A. would be the scariest. For me, that's a day's work, something I was very happy to do.

Yeah, I'd make a decent Bond. But it'd be very, very different if I did it.

I'm very fussy. I'm very hard to please.

My father used to run auctions. He's now a singer in the Canary Islands.

People love stories about the mafia: 'The Godfather,' 'American Gangster.'

A movie, it's like a very complicated timepiece. There's a lot of wheels in a watch. And some of those wheels, if they don't turn right, then, you know, the watch ain't gonna tell the time.

For years, I've been wanting to do something that has a bit more of a dramatical drive and combine it with some action.

People like to pigeonhole you.

I love Tony Jaa. He's one of the best and most capable martial arts stuntmen in the world.

I just gravitate to those more testosterone-filled sort of parts than me playing something a bit more fairy-like.

A lot of good actors are turning to TV.

I was running around and bouncing out of the pram as a baby.

The most frustrating thing about injuries is that they take so bloody long to heal.

I've never had an acting lesson in my life. I don't know whether that's a good or bad thing.

The movie style of fighting is completely exaggerated with over-the-top movements. You'd get completely hammered if you fought like that in a real fight situation.

Jet was very busy. I've been inspired by a lot of his movies.

It's not like I am a junkie that wants to throw himself from very tall buildings, but some people are, and I love them kind of people.

I like a few vintage Rolexes, and Panerais are good. I'm not into sports watches - I like chronometers.

I love to get behind the wheel and get competitive.

I tend to leave people alone that I admire.

Human nature says that you want a bargain, whether you want the goods or not. You think that something is a steal, you'll buy it.

I've come from nowhere, and I'm not shy to go back.

You should never assume about someone.

You got to be careful mentioning people as great as Clint Eastwood. You can't put me in the same sentence as that man.

Action comedy, if you can get it right, it is, for me, a particularly brilliant genre. It really is.

I want to work with Will Ferrell. I want to do, like, an action-comedy with him. How do I get the project for that? It's killing me. I've got all these great ideas, and the hardest thing is getting the material, the screenplay, you know.

It's good to step out of the box, but don't step out so far that you can't get back in.

It's not like I'm dying to do work that's taken seriously, and I'm not looking to become a thespian. It's not what I'm looking for; I'm just looking to do quality work.