Recently Total Film posted a piece titled the 50 Oldest Actions Heroes. So, let’s take a look and see who still has it (from youngest to oldest)…
50 – Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock is the youngest on the list and potentially the one with the most potential of reaching the levels achieved by Stallone and Schwarzenegger. In order to do that though, Johnson is going to have to create a character that becomes iconic in popular culture.
49 – Terry Crews. I always enjoy his screen presence, but would like to see him star in something gritty.
48 – Will Smith. Action Star? Really? He could be, but I think of him more as a movie star.
47 – Daniel Craig. He’s great as Bond and I’d be content to see him reprise the role several more times.
46 – Jason Statham. Loved him in The Transporter films and of course, The Expendable movies. He’s always a welcome presence, but it sure seems like he’s making a lot of movies the last few years.
45 – Vin Diesel. One of my favorite action stars. Hopefully his return to Riddick will be awesome. I’m always interested to see what Diesel will do next.
44 – Robert Downey, Jr. Does playing Iron Man qualify you to be considered an action star? Like Will Smith, I think of Downey as a movie star.
43 – Clive Owen. I like Owen. (Now, I can’t get the Throw Mama from the Train voice out of my head so we will move on…)
42 – Ray Stevenson. Yeah, a great bad guy. Seems legitimately tough and scary.
41 – Steve Austin. Except for The Expendables, Austin is usually in lower budget action movies. I like the guy. Can you imagine him in a tv series on FX like The Shield or Sons of Anarchy? Break out.
40 – Nick Cage. The Rock. Con Air. Let’s leave it at that.
39 – Jet Li. Awesome fighter. Fun to see a different side of him in The Expendables.
38 – Tom Cruise. Seems like Cruise is getting a resurgence of late. Oh, and while we’re on the subject of Tom Cruise, shouldn’t he have been the star to play Jim West when the remake of The Wild, Wild West was made?
37 – Wesley Snipes. Loved him as Blade. Hope he is in Expendables 3.
36 – Laurence Fishburn. Perfect as Neo. I was surprised he is only 51. He’s been around forever. Of course he was just a teenager in Apocalypse Now.
35 – Jean-Claude Van Damme. My favorite JCVD movies: Cyborg, Hard Target and The Expendables 2.
34 – Antonio Banderas. Most remember him from Desperado and Zorro. Check out: Assassins, The Big Bang (love it!), The 13th Warrior (love it) and Haywire.
33 – Ving Rhames. Big Ving. Always a welcome sight on the movie screen.
32 – Sean Bean. Haven’t seen him in a lot, but like what I’ve seen.
31 – Bruce Campbell. King of the B-movies and comic fans everywhere.
30 – Dolph Lundgren. He was perfect as Drago in Rocky IV and Gunner in The Expendables.
29 – Christopher Lambert. I thought he was older. Loved him in Highlander (the first – and there should have only been one).
28 – Eric Roberts. Really? Action star?
27 – Michael Biehn. Always thought he’d be a bigger break out star.
26 – Chow Yun-Fat. See comments for Michael Biehn.
25 – Mel Gibson. Really, really good at making action movies. Loved him in most of the roles he starred in and most of the films he’s directed. His personal life has been such a mess it’s impacted his status in Hollywood. Hopefully, he’ll get back on track and start making great movies again – even if it’s only directing.
24 – Bruce Willis. Gotta love Willis. Yippee Ki-Yay, indeed.
23 – Denzel Washington. Training Day. ‘nuff said.
22 – Jackie Chan. So entertaining.
21 – John Travolta. Action star?
20 – John Malkovich. Movie star. Crazy villain. Action star?
19 – Steven Seagal. Former action star. Now full time crazy celebrity.
18 – Liam Neeson. Came late to the action movie arena, but brought his “A” game. Action star!
17 – Kurt Russell. Wish we saw more from Kurt Russell. How about one more outing as Snake Plissken?
16 – Jean Reno. The Professional aka Leon.
15 – Samuel L. Jackson. Action star. Movie star. Whatever Mr. Jackson wants.
14 – Arnold Schwarzenegger. One time co-king of action stars. His most recent outing in The Last Stand barely made the top 10 in its opening week. I was shocked.
13 – Carl Weathers. I always expected bigger and better from Carl Weathers. Somebody use this guy! (Anybody remember his tv series, Fortune Dane? I do and I liked it.)
12 – Danny Glover. Does co-starring in the Lethal Weapon series make you an action star?
11 – Sylvester Stallone. Still Rockying (pun intended) it.
10 – Danny Trejo. Who doesn’t love to see Danny Trejo on the screen?
09 – Gary Busey. Action star?
08 – Harrison Ford. Movie star who has made some very good action films. Hard to believe he’s 70.
07 – Nick Nolte. Movie star who also made some good action films.
06 – Chuck Norris. Action star. Appeared on screen with Bruce Lee and Stallone. You know how I feel about that.
05 – Ian McKellen. Action star?
04 – Burt Reynolds. Before Stallone. Before Schwarzenegger. Burt Reynolds was the king. Just thinking about it makes me want to go watch Sharkey’s Machine again.
03 – Sean Connery. Connery was always James Bond cool.
02 – Clint Eastwood. An American Icon. A true action star. Still going strong at 82.
01 – Christopher Lee. Never a huge fan, but what an impressive resume.
Just one last comment… why wasn’t Mickey Rourke on this list?
