An unemployed actor from Russia's Yekaterinburg received an audition invitation from director Guy Ritchie after he jokingly sent Jason Statham a video of himself doing squats.
The lucky man, called Leon Yanin, told Russian tabloid StarHit that he had challenged Guy Ritchie on Instagram to repeat weight training after him — just for the fun of it. The director recommended that Leon write Jason Statham, his favourite star, who also happens to be known for his ripped physique.
Leon then filmed himself speaking to the actor in broken English and doing tire squats. He confesses that he did not expect anything from the endeavour, but Statham replied in a couple of days that he "passed the torch" to Guy Ritchie.
It took a while before Leon received a call from Ritchie's casting manager who invited him to come for an audition. It appeared that Ritchie was looking for a "bad Russian guy" for his new movie, which is slated to start shooting in Europe in spring.
According to the aspiring actor, his last job was a sales rep for a large Yekaterinburg-based firm but for the last three years, he has been "freewheeling". Leon realises that if he is successful, he will get a tiny role but believes that it could help him open the door to the industry he has been knocking on for so long.
