Hannah Waddingham returns with Ted Lasso this year, but the actress has been finding her footing in action roles outside of the show. Waddingham played a suspicious agent in the Ryan Gosling movie The Fall Guy and she played an American Naval officer last year for an entry in the Tom Cruise action franchise, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
Deadline has the exclusive scoop on revealing that Waddingham will now be joining Jason Statham for the fourth-wall-breaking action comedy, Jason Statham Stole My Bike. She will be reuniting with David Leitch, who helmed The Fall Guy, and Leitch had also directed Statham in the Fast & Furious spin-off, Hobbs & Shaw. Production had already kicked off last month with filming in the U.K. and Malta.
Plot details for the film, titled Jason Statham Stole My Bike, are being kept tightly under wraps, but the project will reportedly feature the actor “in the role of a lifetime, playing global action superstar Jason Statham.” The film is being mounted with a budget north of $80 million and will feature multiple large-scale action set pieces. The screenplay comes from Alison Flierl (BoJack Horseman), with production expected to begin in May.
In addition to directing, Leitch will produce alongside Kelly McCormick for 87 North. Statham will produce through Punch Palace Productions, with John Friedberg producing for Black Bear, and Meredith Berg and Ethan Erwin producing for Beryllium Entertainment.
While Statham isn’t primarily known for comedy, he has shown a sharp sense of humour when playing up his tough-guy image, most memorably in Paul Feig’s Spy. This meta-action premise sounds like a natural fit for his larger-than-life persona.
You can also catch Waddingham along with Octavia Spencer in the spy show Ride or Die. Our Alex Maidy gave it a lukewarm reception with a 6/10 review. He stated, “A nice twist on the spy formula, Ride or Die overcomes its familiar story structure and tone with the unexpectedly solid pairing of Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer. Prime Video dropping all eight episodes at once could spell doom for a potential second season, or it could reflect confidence that audiences will connect with these characters. Ride or Die pulls no punches with a good amount of action, with some impressive set pieces featuring Waddingham doing some of her own stunts. If anything, this series is a decent summer binge that will hopefully give Hannah Waddingham a lot more opportunities to become an action star. It is clear that there is potential beyond the same male-oriented espionage fare, and Ride or Die does a good job of keeping the series enjoyable regardless of demographics.”