Jason Statham interview: Hummingbird

Hummingbird’s release in the UK on the 28th June gives us the second cinematic fix of the mighty Jason Statham so far this year, after Taylor Hackford’s Parker a few months ago. This being Statham though, it won’t be his last, as his continuous productivity over the years makes him one of the hardest working actors around and hopefully later in the year we’ll get to see action thriller Homefront, a film adapted specifically for him by the pen of one Sylvester Stallone.

Hummingbird (known as Redemption in other territories) though sees Statham back to more the more dramatic, character based roles that have peppered his career, much to the surprise of the casual viewer I imagine. Certainly in press circles there has been much made of his break from the action movie mould into more serious acting, but it’s worth pointing out that all of his Guy Ritchie collaborations (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and Revolver) as well as the likes of The Bank Job and London were all a world apart from the glorious insanity of the Crank and Transporter sequels, that really helped to cement his career as an action icon.

In Hummingbird, The Statham plays a homeless veteran who’s given an accidental opportunity at a second chance, when circumstances  lead him to an unoccupied flat and the tools needed to assume a different, more fortunate life. The film depicts London in a hauntingly beautiful light, while managing to avoid easy categorisation, as it contains drama, tragedy, violence, romance and redemption. It’s certainly a movie that seems to be drawing a wider appreciation from an audience that is less engaged with his more action fuelled movies and is well worth checking out, especially as Statham’s performances continue to get stronger with each film and this one in particular allows him to show much more scope and range than usual.

We caught up with the man himself for a brief chat, which also includes a spoiler based mention of his involvement in an action movie sequel (marked in the video for those that aren’t aware), which as always found him on fine form. I’m still not used to the filmed slots after all these years, so my apologies for the off camera “Oh!” – I’d just been given the last question signal, which always throws me and interviews always have a habit of going to quick, especially in this case.

It’s always a great pleasure to introduce him within the walls of Den Of Geek, so without further ado – Mr Jason Statham.

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