Hard man Jason Statham hopes to show a softer side

Actor says his new movie Hummingbird, would show an emotional side of him despite being action-packed.

LONDON: They say he does the stunts himself, no matter how dangerous or life-threatening they may be. British actor Jason Statham, known for playing the hard man in a list of Hollywood blockbusters, said he hoped his latest film Hummingbird would show a more emotional side to his acting, even though the thriller is packed with violence.

Statham, 45, walked the red carpet with his supermodel girlfriend Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in London’s Leicester Square on Monday, for the world premiere of Hummingbird, in which he plays an ex-soldier living on the streets of London.



As Joey Jones, he becomes the macho enforcer of the Chinese underworld seeking vengeance for the murder of a friend in the film being released under the title Redemption in the United States.

Seizing the opportunity to move into an apartment vacated for three months, he transforms into an avenging angel while forming a relationship with a nun, played by Polish actor Agata Buzek.

Statham, best known for The Expendables and Guy Ritchie’s crime films such as Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, said he enjoyed taking on roles that challenge him, such as more emotional parts.

“It’s not that I don’t enjoy what I’m already doing, but it’s always good to push yourself in different areas and this sort of comes that way,” he said. Statham admitted before that he would do a romantic comedy if the right film came along.

The actor said he enjoyed returning to London to be part of a film set in the heart of the capital. Much of the movie was filmed in London’s West End theatre district and around Covent Garden, Chinatown and Soho, involving the crew spending four weeks shooting at night.

Hummingbird is screenwriter Steven Knight’s directorial debut and is the final part of a trilogy that began with Dirty Pretty Things and Eastern Promises, both written by Knight but directed by Stephen Frears and David Cronenberg.

Knight said that the film was an attempt to show the audience that there are people in all circumstances trying to do good where they can, with Statham’s character ensuring he helps people living on the street when his luck turns.

“I think he’s Robin Hood — he’s trying to do the right thing and he’s trying to get justice,” Knight said. “In a world where sometimes if you’re weak, you can’t get justice; he’s someone who uses his strength to get that.”

The title Hummingbird refers to the surveillance drones used by armed forces and is a metaphor for observation and judgment throughout the film.

The film was originally scheduled for release in May and has had its UK release date pushed back twice, now coinciding with its June 28 release in the United States.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 20^th, 2013.

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