'I'm certainly not Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt': Jason Statham, fandom and a new type of (anti) hero
RIS ID
139580
Abstract
Diver. Model. Music Video Dancer. Street Hustler. Actor. While his real-life career choices may be more diverse than his acting roles, Jason Statham's on-screen persona has unquestionably confirmed his role as one of cinema's most successful contemporary action heroes. As his popularity has grown, so too has his reputation as a modern action (anti) hero, and the logical successor to the legacy of Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Willis. Yet in many ways, Statham's tongue-in-cheek acknowledgement that he is no Cruise or Pitt also imbues him with an authentic likeability beyond that of his hardman action roles, with 54 million followers of his Facebook account alone.
Publication Details
Middlemost, R. "'I'm certainly not Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt': Jason Statham, fandom and a new type of (anti) hero." Crank It Up: Jason Statham: Star!. Ed.S. Gerrard & R. Shail. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2019, 29-44.