Few things get the blood of an action movie buff like a good popcorn movie starring their favorite actor or actress. Whether it’s an old-school Western anti-hero like Clint Eastwood or a next-gen crime thriller like Jason Statham, the best action stars are often identified by the box-office draw. -office, familiar serialized characters, pop culture impact, and good old-fashioned raw charisma.
It’s hard to narrow the scope with so many stellar contenders from the classic and modern eras, but pollsters at private soldier have tried.
Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris is a vaunted American icon, having served in the US Air Force and mastering no less than three martial arts, ultimately forming his school of combat, Chun Kuk Do. He first appeared on the martial arts movie scene alongside Bruce Lee in Way of the Dragon. Norris then followed him into several famous martial arts B movies, including The Octagon, Lone Wolf McQuade, Delta Forceand the Missing in action trilogy. However, he is perhaps best known for his television role as Walker, Texas Ranger.
Norris became hugely popular due to his restrained and straightforward acting techniques paired with his superior fighting skills, and his works achieved cult status in the United States, having their unique niche among action entertainment offerings. for blue collar workers.
Harrison Ford
For fans growing up in the 70s and 80s, very few actors get the action star accolades that Harrison Ford does. In just over a decade, Ford has given the world two of its most iconic movie heroes as Han Solo in the star wars trilogy and Indiana Jones in the IndianaJones trilogy. Ford’s portrayals of hapless anti-heroes have become legendary.
His grizzled charisma and charming, swashbuckling attitude cemented his position in the movie empires of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Few moviegoers remember the 1980s without fondly remembering Harrison Ford’s unexpected escapades.
Jason Statham
Jason Statham launched his action movie career via Guy Ritchie’s detective capers Lock, reserve and two smoking barrels and To tear out, and then helped resurrect the dormant action genre of the early 2000s and 2010s with a range of hard-hitting modern action films like The carrier series, The mecanic series, Italian workthe death race restart, and Crank.
He struck franchise gold with Stallone’s Consumables series and is perhaps best known for his recurring role as Deckard Shaw in The fast and the furious series. Statham is now a staple of 21st century action films and his rugged good looks and considerable martial arts abilities propel him to action heights, his badass roles are often Machiavellian and never go well with hearts of gold.
Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood is more or less the godfather of action movies. Still going strong at 90 with his latest offering macho cryEastwood established himself as the watermark of the entire genre with his spaghetti western roles Man With No Name in the Sergio Leone trilogy and as his less than sympathetic cop Harry Callahan in the dirty harry series, and went on to star in tentpole action movies like Outlaw Josey Wales, Escape from Alcatraz, Heartbreak Ridge, High Plains Drifter, and In the Line of Fire. He won three Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Actor for unforgiven.
Eastwood has established himself as an iconic actor showcasing American machismo at its heart-pounding peak. While some of his works didn’t quite survive in perpetuity due to their time-dependent trappings of toxic masculinity, there’s no doubt that Eastwood presents savior-hero bravado in its strongest form. attractive to the public.
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves became a hot star early in his career with standout performances in genre-specific pieces like My Own Private Idaho, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventureand Dangerous Liaisons. Yet it was his rise in the action genre that catapulted him to international fame, first starring in action classics like Breaking point and The rapidity, like Neo in The matrix series, then Reeves took on one of his best roles as John Wick, which launched a popular action franchise trilogy with two more sequels currently on the way.
Ranking voters probably see Reeves as much as the rest of the movie fandom, a charismatic yet humble actor taking on the mantle of savior and assassin as easily as his rom-com roles. His laid-back friendliness and well-known propensity for treating fans and crew members with dignity only further cements his high standing among action’s biggest stars.
Bruce Willis
No action movie list would be complete without Bruno in the top ten. Willis began his acting career as the wise David Addison in the television series Illegal workbut that was in 1988 die hard which propelled him into action star legend.
As perpetually beaten police detective John McClane, he managed to counter Stallone-Schwarzenegger’s bodybuilding tendencies and fortify himself as an all-time great in five different die hard movies as well as several classic action movies like The Last Boy Scout, Pulp Fiction, The Fifth Element, Sin City, 12 Monkeys, and Looper. Willis’ working-class swagger and unlucky courage became the affable actor’s signature charisma. All of that, plus precise comedic timing, makes Willis an all-time great.
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee might just be the most famous martial arts movie star of all time. The Hong Kong-American actor was first used as Kato in the television series The green hornet. Lee went on to star in five of the most acclaimed martial arts films of the ’70s, including The Big Boss, Fists of Fury, Way of the Dragon, Enter the Dragonand Game of death.
Enter the dragon is generally considered the best martial arts film ever made. Lee’s portrayal of a reluctant anti-hero showed off the softer shades of his underappreciated acting skills behind all the thrilling action movie sequences. He is often credited as the man who opened the door to modern mixed martial arts for the entire cinematic landscape, and die-hard martial arts fans mourn his untimely demise to this day.
Jackie Chan
Chan has appeared in over 150 films and is often considered the most recognized action star on the planet, with his immense popularity in both the Western and Eastern hemispheres. His best-known films include the Peak hour series with Chris Tucker, Supercop, Police Story, Rumble in the Bronxand Shanghai noonand he also voices Monkey in the popular kung fu panda series.
Chan’s claim to fame lies less in his considerable martial arts skills showcasing a more acrobatic fighting style and more in his pleasing stage presence. Known for his natural comedic timing as well as his signature moves of using enhanced weapons and unique stunts, Chan left an indelible mark on the history of the action genre.
Sylvester Stallone
Stallone’s film catalog is perhaps the most cited and cited among the genre’s most ardent fans. Sly has been thrilling audiences since 1974 The Lords of Flatbush and then starred in infamous action movies like Nightjars, Cliffhanger, Cobraand Get Carter. He is of course best known for his portrayals of Rocky Balboa and John Rambo in the Rocky and Rambo series, and later in his career as Barney Ross in the Consumables series.
Stallone’s oft-imitated and parodied Hardcase screen persona often makes up for his quiet vulnerabilities as an ordinary type of man struggling to stay afloat in extremely adverse situations. His performance in Rocky and first blood have become American rites of passage.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Ranker fans put Arnie number one and it’s no wonder why. Schwarzenegger has delivered some of the most famous action plays of all time, starting with his legendary appearance in Conan the Barbarian and enter cinematic legend by playing the role of the villain in James Cameron The Terminatorlaunching a franchise that would wow the world with its haunting Judgment Day sci-fi time travel tropes.
Schwarzenegger invoked the absolute Alpha Male hero in classic modern B-movies like Commando, Predator, Total Recall, The Running Man, Kindergarten Copand Real lies. Although it was slow at first with his cut language and underdeveloped acting skills, Schwarzenegger eventually came into his own and exuded an alluring yet commanding screen presence. No one acts like the governor.
