Is it Jason Statham or Baton Rouge's Jason Stanly? You decide

Have you seen the Jason Statham doppelganger around Baton Rouge?
If not, you might have caught his performance on Fox’s “I Can See Your Voice.” In a recent episode, Louisiana native Jason Stanly (yes, they share a first name) impersonated the famous English action-thriller film star, sporting a sharp white tux jacket, crisp white shirt, black slacks, black bow tie and signature Statham close-shaven beard and hair.
For this music mystery game show, the contestants must decide if the three performers on stage really can sing or if they’re just good lip-synchers.
“I was impressed,” Statham said after watching his episode along with the rest of us viewers. “I really could not hear the panel all that well. So it was really like a new viewing for me and from a different perspective.”
Stanly, 53, has used his likeness to 56-year-old Statham (“Furious 7,” “The Bank Job,” “The Italian Job”) as a stepping stone to pursue his lifelong acting passion. His initial career path in life was health insurance sales. In 2012, Stanly, married and landed his first background role in the Jason Connery-directed action drama feature, “The Philly Kid.”
Stanly, who did undergraduate work at LSU and has lived in Baton Rouge all his life, said he’s never been tempted to move. Even when his career switched to entertainment.
“Who would’ve thought that Louisiana would be able to present such a wonderful opportunity for those who are wanting to get involved in the film industry?” the actor asked. “Whether you’re an actor or a gaffer or a music composer, you don’t have to move. I think that’s big.”
His videos on social media have had 125 million total video views.
“It’s hard for me to wrap my head around that. Yeah. I have to attribute that, too, to a lot of people who see me and they think it’s Statham,” he said.
Before flying to Las Vegas later this month for a trade show, Stanly talked more about his career and his doppelganger across the pond.
What kind of companies seek you out for events, such as the upcoming Vegas gig?
Large corporations who are typically wanting to draw attendees in for an attention-grabbing spectacle. This will be my fourth trip to Las Vegas in six months, which is very flattering as an impersonator.
When did you realize it, or did someone just tell you that you looked like Statham?
It was actually my dear mom who had just seen “The Transporter” about six months after it was released on DVD. She says, “Oh my gosh, you look like Jason Statham.”
I said, ‘Ma, you really think so?’
She said, ‘You’re my son. I know.’
Have you ever gotten to work with Statham or have had any contact with him?
I actually have photo-doubled for him on two occasions when he was in Louisiana for “Home Front” and “Wild Card.” But it was a special setup where I was literally there so he did not have to be. As a regular stand-in, I would’ve met him. I did meet some of his team members. They are aware of me.
What are some other things that you’ve been in that people would recognize?
Notably, in movies it was “The Starving Games” (2013). I actually was Jason Statham in that one. It’s technically credited as “Jason Statham lookalike” on (the film website) IMDB. This was a spoof of “The Hunger Games” filmed in and around New Orleans. Our scene was shot in Hammond, and that was my first official principal role, or should we say my first official speaking role. So that is where the monster was created.
I think it was in some select theaters, but it was just not a really big budget. It was produced and directed by spoof moviemaker Jason Friedburg and his team who’ve done a lot, including the “Scary Movies.”
Another notable where I actually had a principal role was “The Monkey’s Paw.” And I was proudly cast as Jason Stanly. I was also in “Two Guns” (2013), highly featured in that one as a background actor.
And in “The Philly Kid” I was not cast as a principal player, but I actually snuck in one word, which just came out. And the director loved it ’cause it kind of filled the dead spot.’
And that was filmed in Baton Rouge and directed by none other than Sean Connery’s son, Jason Connery, which I found, quite cool.
As far as acting, it seems like you had the acting bug early, but then you went in a different direction for several years.
As a kid, I tried to find an outlet to overcome my shyness, and I just didn’t know what to do with it. And it wasn’t until high school — 11th and 12th grade — that I changed schools and decided to take a different path. I was weightlifting and my confidence was up. So I thought, “Well, I’ll just go ahead and jump in drama class and see where that takes me.”
I decided to get involved in the financial services business. Throughout the ’90s and early 2000s, I would always try to find a way to entertain. I was with MetLife, a big insurance company, and they knew I was a big ham and did some impersonations. They had me do some skits before meetings.
Fifteen years later, I saw all of these productions around town and I thought, “This is it. This is my way to jump in. I don’t have to move.”
And praise be to Louisiana film tax credits. It was a life changer.
With impersonating Jason Statham, do you try to keep up to date with his look?
I am very fortunate in that with me losing hair and having a tight cut, he really has only changed his hair in one movie — and it was a wig. He’s done 60 movies. I think he had long hair and/or a wig in two of them. So that part was easy. But with his physique, it has pushed me to stay physically fit. I do have an athletic background, so the foundation was there, but I’ve really worked out hard for the past four and a half years to keep up with his physique. I am a little smaller than him. That’s never really been an issue. I can wear lifts.
The secret formula for me to look like Statham is to darken my beard a little. I wear hazel color contact lenses to match his eyes. I have blue eyes. If I can get away with it, I wear my RayBan sunglasses where I tend to favor him a little more in my perception. But others may tell you differently, and that’s just fine by me.

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