Jason Statham seems to apply the same technique to interviews about his films as he does to the fight scenes within them.

They are short, sharp and efficient, no longer than 15 minutes (ours lasted 12), it is an oral one two, one two then he is up off his chair for a brief break before seconds out and some fresh challengers.

Perhaps this expediency is prompted by the fact that, fresh off a night shoot, he hasn’t slept and is keen to fulfil his promotional duties before he gets his head down.

He doesn’t get a lot of sleep on his latest film Safe.

Playing an ex-cop turned cage fighter turned homeless bum after crossing the Russian mafia, he finds himself fighting a one-man war against the Russians, the Chinese and NYPD while trying to protect a young girl.

The youngster in question is a genius with numbers and acts as a human computer for the Chinese mob.

It is not a talent Statham shares, he admits.

“I can count money and that’s it,” he says with a grin.

Safe is the latest in a line of similar vehicles for Statham, as gruff voiced but charismatic loners with military/martial arts training.

It is a rather unexpected career tangent given that in his early films for Guy Ritchie, he was a ducker and diver living off his wits.

“Yeah, there was no punch ups or anything. I was quite a passive chap.

“The first action film I made was The Transporter for Luc Besson.

“That was the first time I got to do an actual fight scene.

“That paved the way if you like for some others to come my way.”

He could certainly handle it physically. He was a world class diver in his 20s and spent 12 years on Britain’s national diving squad before being scouted for modelling work by a talent agent specialising in athletes.

Guy Ritchie cast him as the street-wise Bacon in Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels because of his verbal agility, honed selling knock offs on his dad’s market stall.

“It’s not like we were selling stolen goods although people may have thought it,” he says, laughing.