Jason Statham is one of Hollywood’s most sought-after action heroes of recent times. He is one of those rare stars who do their stunts in the movies all by themselves to make it feel real. And this formula has proven true more often than not with him starring in blockbusters like Mechanic: Resurrection and so on. 
Jason Statham, English actor
However, all of this could have been for naught as he once almost lost his life trying to do exactly that. During the shooting of his 2014 movie The Expendables 3, he almost drowned to his death in the Black Sea. However, in true Jason Statham style, he even saved himself from death’s grip thanks to his exceptional skills due to being a professional diver.

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Jason Statham almost drowned during The Expendables 3

Being an action star, Jason Statham tends to have a lot of interesting stories regarding the high-intensity stunts he shoots for his movies. Although he has mentioned before that he feels embarrassed shooting those scenes with his co-stars’ stunt doubles, he still feels adamant about doing those himself.

He seems to feel that among so many established and up-and-coming actors these days, this is something that sets him apart a little. However, this sure has its risks. And although most times they could be brushed off as mere inconveniences, rarely they could also turn fatal.
Jason Statham in The Expendables 3
And the Fast and Furious star had his first experience with almost death due to this very reason. Basically, during the shooting of The Expendables 3 in Bulgaria, there was a scene where he was supposed to drive a 3-tonne flatbed truck along the docks of the Black Sea. During a test drive for that scene, the brakes of Statham’s truck suddenly failed.
Jason Statham in Mechanic: Resurrection
Trying to control and stop its movement, Statham ended up hitting two cameramen, careened off of a jetty, and plunged into the sea. Unfortunately for Statham, he had a lot of weight added to him in his heavy jacket and boots.

However, this is a time when his professional diving background paid off as he calculated the tragic fate waiting for him if he did not take matters into his own hands.
Jason Statham in Fast and Furious
Thinking quickly, he pulled himself out through the window after calming down a bit. Being a diver is also the reason he was able to calm himself down in a situation like that and hold his breath all the while swimming upwards before he reached the surface.

Although he recounted the story in good humor in Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show, even adding amusingly how his co-star Sylvester Stallone cheekily asked, “Hey Jason, you need a towel?” after that, it is evident that the accident left quite a mark on him.

Jason Statham was a professional diver before his Hollywood career

Although Statham keeps himself in shape for his action-hero career by practicing judo, boxing, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu regularly, there is a significant regret he still has over his career choices. As people know, Jason Statham used to be a professional diver before he stepped into Hollywood.

In fact, he was a good enough athlete to even compete in national and international competitions, like the Commonwealth Games for which he represented England in 1990 in New Zealand.
Jason Statham as Lee Christmas in The Expendables
However, he ended up without any medals in there which shortly ended his career. This still seems to haunt him, as he once expressed in an interview, “It’s a bit of a sore point I never got to the Olympics.”

Although he seems to have made peace with the fact, as he noted that “The divers now are just terrific,” when talking about the increased funding for diving after Team GB’s success in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

He still seems to feel like he might have done better if he chose a different sport. He elaborated saying, “I started too late. It probably wasn’t my thing. I should have done a different sport.”

However, it is in fact his choice of this sport that ended up saving his life from a terrible fate during The Expendables 3. So it could be said that even if he did not get to win any medals for his country because of diving, he surely won in life.

Source: The Things