Shirtless Jason Statham talks turning 50 while showing off his rippling muscles in new mag shoot... as he prepares to welcome first child with fiancée Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

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He's set to meet two major milestones in 2017, as he will celebrate his 50th birthday in July, as well as become a first-time father with fiancée Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

And while he's clearly elated about impending fatherhood, Jason Statham has revealed he's also embracing ageing as he strips off to display his rippling muscles for the latest issue of Men's Health magazine.

In the accompanying interview, he told the publication of getting older: 'I’m moving better than I used to. I’m feeling pretty nimble. It’s about the whole thing: training, eating, sleeping... all of those have a massive impact on how you feel.

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Shirtless: Jason Statham has posed  in just his bottoms for the latest issue of Men's Health magazine

'And I’m doing better at all of those things. Sly Stallone’s got 20 years on me and still looks good so he’s part of my inspiration.'

A part of his fitness regime has included practising Brazilian jiu-jitsu with his film-maker pal Guy Ritchie - and they've been often quite competitive. 

'I remember when we started out, we’d go on a press tour for Lock, Stock… and we’d be moving all the furniture out of the way in the hotel room, trying to choke each other out,' recalled Jason.

He added: 'You turn up with a scrape on your head and the interviewer is like, "Where did that come from?" They probably thought we’d stumbled out of a bar and had a fight with the pavement.'

Another star in the public eye that he admires is action veteran Sylvester Stallone, of whom he said: 'He has a lot of confidence, and great ideas about how things will play out. He doesn’t work from a textbook and he didn’t learn it from film school.

'He is Rocky. That’s what he’s like. Everything he does seems to be with a natural swagger. And, like in any kind of business, when you see someone doing their thing so well, you become a sponge. You soak it up.'

Blooming lovely: Jason's fiancée Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, seen with him at Sunday's Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles, is expecting the couple's first child

Another star he has a lot of admiration for is UFC fighter Conor McGregor, whose craft he says he 'can't get enough of'.

'I love him,' said Jason. 'He’s so good. He’s got every aspect of what he does down to a fine art. He’s got the ability and he’s so confident.

'When it comes to the banter, the destruction of his opponent mentally, there’s no one better. I can’t get enough of him. I think he’s superb.' 

In the accompanying interview, he told the publication of getting older: 'I’m moving better than I used to. I’m feeling pretty nimble. It’s about the whole thing: training, eating, sleeping... all of those have a massive impact on how you feel' - pictured in April 2015 

And while he's a celebrity himself, and counts a growing list of starry names among his list of pals, British actor Jason - who lives in California with Rosie - has been cautious about getting sucked in by the negative aspects of Hollywood.

'Hollywood has a caustic effect on a lot of people,' he said. 'It’s a cruel business. You can get a big head about things. But what goes up must come down.' 

On a more trivial level, part of his inclusion in Hollywood circles is having a 'hardman' image - which he insists couldn't be further from he truth.

He said: 'And I’m doing better at all of those things. Sly Stallone’s got 20 years on me and still looks good so he’s part of my inspiration'

He said in reaction: 'Ha! These public labels, the things the media like to paint you as, I don’t really look at them. I see myself as a pretty standard sort of chap, really.

'I keep a lot of my pals close to me and I think that keeps my feet on the ground. I don’t know if they’ll say the same thing! But we all come from the same place.'

The full interview is available in the April 2017 issue of Men’s Health, on sale now. 

He continued: 'Hollywood has a caustic effect on a lot of people,' he said. 'It’s a cruel business. You can get a big head about things. But what goes up must come down'