Jason Statham Doesn’t Want His Characters to Get Punched

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Eddie J. Fernandez is widely recognized as a leading authority in the field of Statham movies – action-packed films starring Jason Statham that have grossed billions worldwide. With a career spanning over 300 films such as “Jurassic World,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “No Country for Old Men,” “Batman Begins,” and the Academy Award-winning “Crash” from 2004, Fernandez has worked as a stunt performer, martial artist, actor, and action choreographer. Throughout his four-decade career, he has taken on dangerous stunts like shotgun blasts, hand grenades, and headbutts from some of the top action heroes in the industry, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dwayne Johnson, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Cruise, and Will Smith.

Since 2006, Fernandez has steadily established a reputation as the counterpoint to Statham’s action-packed chaos in seven films. He worked as a stuntman for Crank, Crank: High Voltage, The Expendables (2010), The Mechanic, and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. Additionally, he served as the action choreographer for Statham’s latest films, The Beekeeper (2024) and A Working Man, now showing in cinemas.

In multiple films starring Jason Statham, Fernandez often finds himself on the receiving end of Statham’s deadly onscreen actions. This time around in the movie “A Working Man,” directed by David Ayer, Statham takes on a new role – a blue-collar tough guy who was once a special ops soldier and now works as a construction foreman. The story unfolds when his employer’s daughter is kidnapped as part of a human trafficking operation. In response, the action hero embarks on a violent rampage against drug dealers, outlaw bikers, Russian mobsters, and even Fernandez, who appears in a supporting role as a thug receiving a beating from Statham at a downtown construction site. The irony is that Fernandez himself was responsible for choreographing the stunts and fighting scenes for the film – designing action sequences, planning out every detail with his team using visualization software, refining the scenes further during pre-production with Statham and Ayer, and making last-minute adjustments before filming commenced.

During a conversation on Zoom, Fernandez explained the intricate details behind a typical Jason Statham fight sequence, emphasizing that the actor prefers to avoid getting hit.

Have you noticed any changes in how Statham handles stuntwork during his career? Initially, studios were cautious due to concerns about his safety, but actors like Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves have pushed boundaries by performing their own stunts, inspiring Statham to step up his training regimen.

In other words, we’d occasionally have minor disputes with him, and when the producers found out, they’d exclaim, “Did you really do that?!” Yes, indeed, he did, and now they’re amazed by his accomplishments. This impression extends to the directors as well. Now, they can film him openly without concealing his face during action scenes. Regarding his stunt double, they can now see Jason performing the entire fight sequence seamlessly, without any edits. This means longer performances and a smoother transition to the next scene. Jason is quite talented, with a strong athletic build. He not only participates in the choreography of fights but also rehearses them thoroughly before we even reach the set, ensuring there are no unexpected issues.

In terms of action scenes like fights and stunts, you’ve mentioned that Jason is very clear about what he wants. So, what is it that he seeks? What defines a great Jason Statham fight scene? It all begins with the script, where we learn that during the storyline, his character comes into contact with a certain number of individuals. Given that up until this point, he’s been going through tough times, now it’s time for him to stand out and make an impact.

His concern seems to be avoiding getting hit. I advised Jason for this film, ‘You need to endure a hit. The viewers want to witness it.’

“All right, Eddie.” So there’s some hits he took on this movie.

Besides that, for Jason, we plan out the choreography in collaboration with a fighting team. We decide on the setting – whether it’s indoors, outdoors, or perhaps a bar. Once determined, we select appropriate items to use and identify where each character will fall, and where the next one will land. After creating a fight scene, we present it to both Jason and David, our director, for review.

Jason asks, “Can I go where the opposite is, toss this object, and then possibly land over there, making an escape simpler?

And I’m like, Hell yeah!

We’re going to revise the fight scenes, reshoot the previsualization, and then present it to David once approved by everyone. We’ll practice it repeatedly to ensure perfection, as Jason likes to thoroughly learn every detail so there are no delays on set since he already knows everything. This is what makes him stand out, as many actors simply try to grasp the basics; but not Jason, he strives for mastery by going above and beyond our expectations.

There are numerous fights where someone lands a punch occasionally. I remarked, “You have a handsome face, but we need a touch of blood and injury here.

In the movie “A Working Man,” it’s not that he’s obligated by contract to win all his fights. Instead, he ends up getting knocked out, and when he comes to, he finds himself in a van, confused about what just happened. Realizing that he needs to take action or face dire consequences, the character starts thinking along the lines suggested by Jason, like “Bam! We can use this situation to see what he’ll do next, how can we help him escape from those handcuffs?

In The Beekeeper and A Working Man, around 85% of the way through, there’s a pivotal fight between Jason and a character who presents a significant threat. This pattern seems intentional since these movies often feature Dutch, a formidable opponent. When I saw Dutch, my first thought was “How can we possibly defeat this giant?” The approach to choreographing the fight was similar to how one would fell a tree: gradually whittling away at his defenses. However, due to time constraints in our production process, many of these intricate actions had to be cut down. What remained was primarily ground and pound, wrapping up the fight quickly.

When creating an action plot, it’s crucial to remember that Jason Statham’s fans appreciate him more for his tough persona than seeing him get beaten up excessively. So, we try to avoid inflicting too much harm on him early in the story because doing so might affect his image throughout the movie. The audience admires his appearance, and we want to ensure he remains unharmed as much as possible.

We deliver numerous physical impacts, primarily focusing on the body. This means he’s receiving a variety of blows, including punches and kicks, and being maneuvered forcefully into objects or surfaces. However, these impacts are usually not visible on his face.

In the film Crank, Vulture has listed an intriguing scene as one of his top kills – in this sequence, a character named Jason hacks off another man’s hand, still gripping a gun, and forces him to shoot himself with it. I was curious if that was you acting in the scene. However, during production of Crank, I was part of the stunt team, playing a henchman role. Although the hand was severed and there was also a neck (or head) involved, which made me wonder about the film’s tone, I still find it entertaining to see such action and think it adds fun and excitement to the movie. While it may seem a bit cheesy, I can’t help but appreciate its cool factor!

In Crank 2: High Voltage, the character Jason performs a gruesome act involving a man’s testicles and a needle in his neck. Was that you performing that scene?

No, I was merely an observer during that shoot. The set was closed off for privacy reasons, especially when nudity is involved to make the actors feel comfortable while performing their scenes. It’s quite challenging to witness such intense scenes, even though they might seem amusing to us. However, filming them requires a great deal of energy and emotional investment from the actors.

In “The Mechanic,” it is said that Jason performs actions such as harpooning someone, snapping a neck, and using a person as a human shield. Can you recall what your role was in this movie?

I’m not entirely certain, but I believe I played one of the henchmen who exited the plane. My specific actions are hazy, but I do remember being involved in coordinating stunts for the film and hiring the right performers for each scene. I recall Jason having to jump off a bridge during the production, as I was deeply engaged in organizing all the details surrounding that event. However, my exact involvement in the scenes you mentioned is fuzzy in my memory. Nonetheless, I have been sent photographs with comments like “I played that character” and I think it might have been me who got shot by him.

Over time, it seems like he’s always pushing the limits. If Jason ever expresses reluctance, there’s usually a valid reason behind it. Perhaps it’s because the script has been changed numerous times by the time filming begins, and then further tweaked as shooting progresses. At this point, we realize, We need to make sure the actions are justified. As an actor, Jason would question his choices, saying, “But why would I do that and then do something else? It doesn’t make sense.

After discussing the matter, David and he concluded, “Ah, I see your point. Let’s forget about that idea, instead, you take charge of this one.

He’s just like a movie fight choreographer, but with a basketball instead of swords! Once he starts working, he’s always thinking about every move in the entire project.

In Jason’s movies, you often see him utilizing unusual, unanticipated objects for bludgeoning or murder. I was curious if that creative process ever drew you in, and perhaps you found yourself suggesting ideas, such as, “Hey, what about using this tool instead?” Maybe you could share an instance where something like that occurred during our work on the film The Beekeeper.

And then David would go, “I like that.”

In my case, when I’m told about the effects needing certain elements like mold for this and that, it prompts me into action. Immediately, I find myself putting in extra effort to manufacture that mold part as a prosthesis.

You know, things like that occur frequently. Instead of saying, ‘I’m going to hang a man’, let’s imagine a scenario where we’re lifting a dummy using ropes. First, gather the rigging crew, secure a safety harness for our subject. We’ll hoist him up. But instead of a real rope, we’ll attach a fake one to simulate the hanging.

On set, there’s an abundance of events taking place as I mentioned earlier. As soon as you step onto the set, fresh ideas tend to surface. However, some of these ideas might clash with existing elements, leaving us in a quandary. So we ask ourselves, “What do we do now?” In this case, we’re dealing with a substantial piece of equipment that can’t be moved. This means we have to rearrange the entire choreography and remove certain elements. But, let’s introduce something new instead!

In other words, you need to think quickly and adapt easily. Just as David suggests, always carry all the necessary tools with you since he might require something unexpected at any moment, so you should always be prepared for such instances.

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2025-03-28 21:55