Mutiny and The Beekeeper star Jason Statham has an impressive filmography despite starting his acting career in his 30s. In his younger years, Jason Statham had a passion for sports, namely diving and swimming, and that is when he was chosen to work for a sports-modeling agency — all while selling jewelry on the street, like his father did. While on a modeling gig, he was spotted by Guy Ritchie, who got him his first movie acting role in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels back in 1998. This was the start of a prolific, action-packed career for Statham.

Since 1998, Statham has appeared in nearly 60 movies. But if there’s one thing fans have noticed, it’s that largely he plays the exact same character in every role. Turns out, Statham was confronted about this years ago, and he provided a well-thought-out explanation about the similarity of his roles.

Jason Statham’s filmography explained

In 2017, Jason Statham was a guest on the Jim and Sam Show, hosted by Jim Norton and Sam Roberts. During his interview, he was asked if he ever got offered roles where he plays a completely different character, since his typical roles involve little talking and fast-paced action. “Like a mathematician that’s going through a bitter divorce?” he questioned, jokingly. Statham responded that he doesn’t get offered those parts, but he doesn’t really want to play them either.

Some actors want to push their limits and leave their comfort zone as much as possible, but Jason Statham is happy with his signature tough-guy, mysterious-past roles. While he’s certainly made a name for himself in Hollywood, he says he’s really not an actor. It seems that Statham still ultimately sees himself as the athlete and salesman he was in his younger years.

“I’m not really some thespian that can adopt and chameleon himself into different roles,” he said. Statham admits that he hasn’t had as many years of training as other actors, and he’s OK with that. Although he says that he’s somewhat come out of his comfort zone for certain roles, such as in Hummingbird — emphasis on the “somewhat”, as his character still has great fighting skills and a military past — and Paul Fieg’s comedy-action movie Spy, Statham prefers to accept roles that he’s confident about playing.

Here’s his full response:

“A mathematician that’s going through a bitter divorce or something? No, I don’t get offered those [roles]!”

“I only want to do things that I think I could do a good job at, and I think I’d be no good at that. You know, I’m not an actor really. I mean, I used to work jewelry and pinch jewelry on the street. I was a sportsman for years. I’m not really some thespian that can adopt and chameleon himself into different roles. I just got into this by being in the right place at the right time… I got plucked from obscurity into the movie industry.”

“It’s not like I’ve spent years honing out the different accents or working on my craft. That doesn’t apply to me. I accept what I’m good at. I might not be good at any of it, but I accept what I feel that I’m confident at and just try and go with the flow in that direction.”

“A lot of the characters I play are pretty similar in some ways. I get a lot of the physical roles because I can do all that. So there’s an authenticity with that, so I tend to stick with that.”

So far, that strategy seems to be working for Statham, who will reprise two well-known action roles in the coming years, first as Adam Clay in The Beekeeper 2 and then as Deckard Shaw in Fast Forever. Statham will also stretch his wings with a meta role as… Jason Statham in Jason Statham Stole My Bike from Deadpool 2 and Bullet Train director David Leitch.