10 Famous Actors Who Only Ever Managed One Legitimately Great Performance

5) Jason Statham In Hummingbird

It was David Fincher who recommended that Hummingbird writer-director Steven Knight cast Jason Statham in his existential London-set thriller, apparently assuring Knight that there was more to Statham than other directors had up to that point assumed. And even if the film on the whole doesn’t totally work, Statham does indeed make good on Fincher’s promise and reveal heretofore un-witnessed depths.

As a homeless, PTSD-stricken ex-soldier taking on the identity of a wealthy out-of-town artist, Statham is more affecting than he’s ever been. There’s a heartbreaking compassion to him here that none of his action movies have ever asked him to display. Impressive for a different reason in Paul Feig’s hilarious Spy, Statham’s Hummingbird turn is his sole great dramatic performance, giving us proof that there’s still a career for him after he stops being able to take the physical roles.