For decades now, Jason Statham has been building his reputation as one of Hollywood’s greatest hard-men – an action juggernaut who can go toe-to-toe with giant prehistoric sharks, thrive on superhuman levels of adrenaline, and has even been known to put The Rock in a hard place.

Now, Statham is back in revenge thriller The Beekeeper – starring as Mr. Clay, a former operative of rogue organisation The Beekeepers. The twist: Clay also dabbles as an actual beekeeper. That meant Statham getting up close and personal with a real-life hive – a task he gladly took on.

Statham’s commitment to throwing himself into the action continued into the beekeeping realm, director David Ayer tells Empire in the 2024 Preview issue. “The big shock was how much he does his own stunts,” he says. “His stunt double was just sitting around, hoping to be invited to the dance.” That didn’t change when the bees came into play.

“The crew were laughing: ‘There’s no way you’re putting Jason Statham with a bunch of bees for real!’ But Jason wanted to do it. So, we put him with a beekeeper, and he learned how to open the hive and work with the bees. He connected with the whole ‘Zen’ beekeeping things,” Ayer laughs.

All that, and none of the bees dared to square up to him. Can you blame them? “Jason did not get stung,” reveals Ayer. “I got stung pretty bad shooting bees later on. But it was fine. You make a movie called The Beekeeper, you’re gonna get stung.” Bring on the buzz.

Read Empire’s full interview with David Ayer in the 2024 Preview issue – on sale Thursday 23 November. Order a copy online here. The Beekeeper comes to UK cinemas on 12 January.