My all time favourite action star has to be Clint Eastwood mainly because compared to most actions stars he's rather thin and relies on his tall height, accurate shooting and icy glare to intimidate his foes. Even
when he is an old man like in Gran Torino he still feels like he could your ass if he wanted to. Plus I love his witty lines.
Warning: Videos may contain offensive language or graphic violence discretion is advised.
My second favourite is Arnold Schwarzenegger because he represents every action hero cliche guns with unlimited ammo, bulging muscles, cheesy acting, dodging every enemies shots, etc. My third is a tie
between Samuel L. Jackson and Jason Statham. I like Samuel L. Jackson for the simple fact that I find him entertaining to watch when he gets pissed off, I feel he's at his best when he's screaming and yelling
and being a bad mother fether (even his wallet says he's a bad mother fether). Jason on the other hand represents the modern action hero with his gruff voice, unorthodox fighting style and has the muscular
build as well although nowhere near as over the top as Arnie's or Stallone's build.
Harrison Ford wins for being both Indy and Solo, plus a host of other classics. He really has a high great to bad ratio, especially considering how many movies he has made.
MrDwhitey wrote:Another vote for Michael Jai White! He even wrote the script for Black Dynamite, which is awesome by itself.
Contains rude words, NSFW.
Spoiler:
On a serious note, Harrison Ford. Didn't he even do most of his stunts?
Yeah Harrison Ford is sort of like Clint Eastwood not very physically imposing but has an intense stare, also like Clint Eastwood he's pretty good looking.
Oh yeah another reason I like Arnold Schwarzenegger is even though he seems so American you can instantly tell he's Austrian from his hilarious accent, I just love hearing him talk.
WarOne wrote:I am shocked and saddened that Nicholas Cage is not on this list.
I personally think it's a good thing.
Thank god, i hate him.
He is such a depressing actor and he stops speaking like *pause* like I am the explorer that *pause* fails *pause* and also *pause* dramatically *pause* pauses *pause* like every other *pause* word *pause* period. *long pause* Thats why *pause* i am *pause* going *pause* to say *pause* that I *pause* Nicholas *pause Cage *pause am the worst actor *pause* ever.
WarOne wrote:I am shocked and saddened that Nicholas Cage is not on this list.
I personally think it's a good thing.
Thank god, i hate him.
He is such a depressing actor and he stops speaking like *pause* like I am the explorer that *pause* fails *pause* and also *pause* dramatically *pause* pauses *pause* like every other *pause* word *pause* period. *long pause* Thats why *pause* i am *pause* going *pause* to say *pause* that I *pause* Nicholas *pause Cage *pause am the worst actor *pause* ever.
Russell Crowe FTW!
I thought Christopher Walken was the actor known for strange pauses in his speech.
WarOne wrote:I find the lack of Johnny Depp also disturbing.
While I admit that I thoroughly enjoyed his portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow, I still wouldn't consider the character bad-ass enough to be on the list.
Not only is he gods wrath in human form he also has the consitution and will of the Emperor. He was an alchoholic, he was addicted to heroin and crack cocaine and beaten them all for feth sake. Hes probably closer to being a machine then Arnie is.
Definitely Arnie, grew up on a diet of watching Commando, Predator, Terminator, Running Man, Raw Deal, Total Recall and the like literally dozens of times on VHS. Along with Sly Stallone and Bruce Willis these guys had a kill count in the 80s that no future movie star is ever going to come close to.
Also Arnie has got a soccer stadium named after him which is kind of cool.
Okay Tooth Fairy was a blip, but Faster, and Fast Five, plus his brilliant 10mins in the Other Guys with Jackson have put him back on form.
As to my vote,
Jackie Chan, he's had ups and downs in cinema, but he's had enough great movies to overide the bad ones. Plus is pretty much bat gak insane when it comes to doing his own stunts, to the point folks have to stop him doing stuff, a lesser man would quit the set for.
Schwarzenegger - for all the many films I've loved. Terminator and Predator stand out, but then there's stuff like Commando. Which pretty much epitomises 80s action films and is seemingly made up of action scenes strung together dialogue consisting of one liners. Delightful and ludicrous, they don't make them that this any more.
Okay Tooth Fairy was a blip, but Faster, and Fast Five, plus his brilliant 10mins in the Other Guys with Jackson have put him back on form.
As to my vote,
Jackie Chan, he's had ups and downs in cinema, but he's had enough great movies to overide the bad ones. Plus is pretty much bat gak insane when it comes to doing his own stunts, to the point folks have to stop him doing stuff, a lesser man would quit the set for.
Ill say give Dwayne Johnson a few more action rolls, and he'd be worthy of being in a poll. I agree, hes a VERY convincing action guy, and when he plays the "Im a bad ass, get out of my way or Im smashing you" you does a really good job. Faster was the first movie he was in that made me think " Damn....now this guy is getting there" The first 10 minutes of that movie was just pure awesome.
Automatically Appended Next Post: BTW I voted Arnold as well. I simply love the guy
Okay Tooth Fairy was a blip, but Faster, and Fast Five, plus his brilliant 10mins in the Other Guys with Jackson have put him back on form.
As to my vote,
Jackie Chan, he's had ups and downs in cinema, but he's had enough great movies to overide the bad ones. Plus is pretty much bat gak insane when it comes to doing his own stunts, to the point folks have to stop him doing stuff, a lesser man would quit the set for.
Ill say give Dwayne Johnson a few more action rolls, and he'd be worthy of being in a poll. I agree, hes a VERY convincing action guy, and when he plays the "Im a bad ass, get out of my way or Im smashing you" you does a really good job. Faster was the first movie he was in that made me think " Damn....now this guy is getting there" The first 10 minutes of that movie was just pure awesome.
Automatically Appended Next Post: BTW I voted Arnold as well. I simply love the guy
Is it just me or would you love to see Arnold come back in action movies, I know he's well past his prime but we have Sylvester Stallone still doing action flicks and he's 65.
kronk wrote:Harrison Ford. He can be intimidating without being physically huge.
Edit: In addition to being a great "action star", he's also the best actor on the list.
I disagree here, I reckon Christian Bale has great talent as an actor. In 'The Machinist' in particular, he gives an epic performance. Really believable. Not just that, but after filming it he had to bulk up again to start filming 'Batman'. Kid put on over 4 stone in muscle mass for that part. Now that's dedication!
Yeah, Bale for me. He's actually a great actor, in addition to to kicking arse. Saying that, he hasn't got MUCH of an 'action' track record yet - I voted for him purely on the basis of 'American Psycho'. Bateman is my hero.
Honourable mention should also go to Daniel Craig and Tom Hardy, for similar reasons.
Frazzled wrote:No Kirk Douglas? No Burt Lancaster or Steve mcQueen? Sucker please.
No Bogart or Cagney either...kids these days.
African Queen is just epic.
"Is this the end for Caesar." Go Cagney.
" Top of the world MA!!!"....man, now that was great cinema, I'll take Cagney over any of these " action stars" any day...
And Bogart...Class ...pure class.
Frazzled wrote:No Kirk Douglas? No Burt Lancaster or Steve mcQueen? Sucker please.
No Bogart or Cagney either...kids these days.
African Queen is just epic.
"Is this the end for Caesar." Go Cagney.
There's 22 options was that not good enough?
...Not if Cagney isn't one of the options...no. ...Given the list you have though I'd take Eastwood and Samuel L Jackson.
While action has been a component in film for a long time the actual action genre developed in the 70's. Although there's popular precursors such as 50's westerns, 60's espionage movies, 20's/30's
swashbucklers, war movies, etc. Plus the film industry is over a 100 years old I'm bound to miss a few classics just the way it is when you're dealing with such an old medium.
Okay Tooth Fairy was a blip, but Faster, and Fast Five, plus his brilliant 10mins in the Other Guys with Jackson have put him back on form.
As to my vote,
Jackie Chan, he's had ups and downs in cinema, but he's had enough great movies to overide the bad ones. Plus is pretty much bat gak insane when it comes to doing his own stunts, to the point folks have to stop him doing stuff, a lesser man would quit the set for.
Ill say give Dwayne Johnson a few more action rolls, and he'd be worthy of being in a poll. I agree, hes a VERY convincing action guy, and when he plays the "Im a bad ass, get out of my way or Im smashing you" you does a really good job. Faster was the first movie he was in that made me think " Damn....now this guy is getting there" The first 10 minutes of that movie was just pure awesome.
Automatically Appended Next Post: BTW I voted Arnold as well. I simply love the guy
Is it just me or would you love to see Arnold come back in action movies, I know he's well past his prime but we have Sylvester Stallone still doing action flicks and he's 65.
No way dude, no way. Have you ever LOVED a movie or show as a child, and later in life, watched it to get that old feeling back, just to find out that it was the gayest, lamest, dumbest thing youve seen in your entire adult life? Thats what would happen if he came back in anything more then a walk on roll. Seriously no. I think Sly is doing it mainly for money. Gotta keep those mansions up and running ya know
Okay Tooth Fairy was a blip, but Faster, and Fast Five, plus his brilliant 10mins in the Other Guys with Jackson have put him back on form.
As to my vote,
Jackie Chan, he's had ups and downs in cinema, but he's had enough great movies to overide the bad ones. Plus is pretty much bat gak insane when it comes to doing his own stunts, to the point folks have to stop him doing stuff, a lesser man would quit the set for.
Ill say give Dwayne Johnson a few more action rolls, and he'd be worthy of being in a poll. I agree, hes a VERY convincing action guy, and when he plays the "Im a bad ass, get out of my way or Im smashing you" you does a really good job. Faster was the first movie he was in that made me think " Damn....now this guy is getting there" The first 10 minutes of that movie was just pure awesome.
Automatically Appended Next Post: BTW I voted Arnold as well. I simply love the guy
Is it just me or would you love to see Arnold come back in action movies, I know he's well past his prime but we have Sylvester Stallone still doing action flicks and he's 65.
No way dude, no way. Have you ever LOVED a movie or show as a child, and later in life, watched it to get that old feeling back, just to find out that it was the gayest, lamest, dumbest thing youve seen in your entire adult life? Thats what would happen if he came back in anything more then a walk on roll. Seriously no. I think Sly is doing it mainly for money. Gotta keep those mansions up and running ya know
Yeah, I suppose I guess I'm being blinded by nostalgia here.
Okay Tooth Fairy was a blip, but Faster, and Fast Five, plus his brilliant 10mins in the Other Guys with Jackson have put him back on form.
As to my vote,
Jackie Chan, he's had ups and downs in cinema, but he's had enough great movies to overide the bad ones. Plus is pretty much bat gak insane when it comes to doing his own stunts, to the point folks have to stop him doing stuff, a lesser man would quit the set for.
Ill say give Dwayne Johnson a few more action rolls, and he'd be worthy of being in a poll. I agree, hes a VERY convincing action guy, and when he plays the "Im a bad ass, get out of my way or Im smashing you" you does a really good job. Faster was the first movie he was in that made me think " Damn....now this guy is getting there" The first 10 minutes of that movie was just pure awesome.
Automatically Appended Next Post: BTW I voted Arnold as well. I simply love the guy
Is it just me or would you love to see Arnold come back in action movies, I know he's well past his prime but we have Sylvester Stallone still doing action flicks and he's 65.
No way dude, no way. Have you ever LOVED a movie or show as a child, and later in life, watched it to get that old feeling back, just to find out that it was the gayest, lamest, dumbest thing youve seen in your entire adult life? Thats what would happen if he came back in anything more then a walk on roll. Seriously no. I think Sly is doing it mainly for money. Gotta keep those mansions up and running ya know
I think Stallone just has nothing better to do. Hes been acting in movies like his entire life, and now hes even got director status...
Man, no votes for Sigourney Weaver her role as Ellen Ripley in the Alien series was pretty revolutionary for the time, I would have thought she would have scored at least one vote.
“I don't feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.”
Clue 3
“If you've got them by the balls their hearts and minds will follow.”
Cheesecat wrote:Man, no votes for Sigourney Weaver her role as Ellen Ripley in the Alien series was pretty revolutionary for the time, I would have thought she would have scored at least one vote.
Yea but by the time she FINALLY stopped doing those movies, it felt very tired, and I was a bit sick of seeing her kicking asses across the galaxy. Arnie how ever.....shoot man, you just never got tired of seeing him level buildings and tossing out 1 liners
Cheesecat wrote:Man, no votes for Sigourney Weaver her role as Ellen Ripley in the Alien series was pretty revolutionary for the time, I would have thought she would have scored at least one vote.
Yea but by the time she FINALLY stopped doing those movies, it felt very tired, and I was a bit sick of seeing her kicking asses across the galaxy. Arnie how ever.....shoot man, you just never got tired of seeing him level buildings and tossing out 1 liners
Unlike Arnie her portrayal of the action hero was a lot more realistic and more in the realm of actual human ability, not saying that makes her better I mean sometimes you just want a ridiculous and over the top
action hero and who better to deliver that performance than Arnie himself.
Jason Stathem is funny, I don't see him as a serious action star at all. He is best when he's funny, but not funny in the typical sense, but something like in Snatch, where everything he says and does is serious but a lot of it is still funny...
Voted for Arnold, due to a distinct lack of Dolph Lundgren. He's fought Keanu, Stallone, Van Damme, and who knows how many others. Manly enough to be the villain or the hero, and still steal the show with his mighty jawline! Seriously, only Bruce Campbell could give him a run for chin power.
To any child of the 80s, action heroes should be more tank than man.
Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:WHERE IN GOD'S NAME IS ROGER MOORE? You left him out! Scandal!
To me Sean Connery will always be Bond, while I enjoyed some of Moore's Bond flicks his movies were just too over the top for me (Moonraker for example).
Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:Cheese, who said anything about James Bond? I was thinking more of the saint!
Almost forget this guy: Chow Yun Fat. Yeah!! Hard Boiled makes die hard look like friday night at a GW store! Check this out.
Special mention should also go to Tony leung, Danny Glover, George Seagal, et al. These kids have no concept of the past greats.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Should have posted this instead!
I think I mentioned this before but the movie industry is over 100 years old and I tried to get as many iconic action stars as possible, but I am aware that I probably missed a few plus I don't want people to
And shepherds we shall be,
For Thee, my Lord, for Thee.
Power hath descended forth from Thy hand,
That our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command.
So we shall flow a river forth to Thee
And teeming with souls shall it ever be.
In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti.
and Pierre Kirby alone is reason enough to necro a thread!
though...Richard Harrison is pretty good too...he didn't like his Godfrey Ho movies but I did
