These 13 Movie Action Heroes Are the Best at Kicking Butt and Taking Names
What's more badass than someone pretending to kick someone's face in? That's right, chump. Nothin'.
No question about it, Sam Jackson's one of the silver screen's toughest. From Pulp Fiction to Shaft, he's one bad motherfucker.
If Uma Thurman's spaghetti-western-meets-kung-fu-classic badassery in Kill Bill didn't do it for you, nothing will.
Arnold is a staple of action flicks. The former Mr. Universe made his mark in the genre throughout the 80s and 90s with such classics as Terminator, True Lies, and Commando–which was, coincidentally, the first R-rated movie I ever saw. I was 6.
Wesley Snipes was Blade and Simon in Demolition Man. He can play one hell of a psychologically-disturbed villain.
Rocky, First Blood. That's about all I need to say.
He eventually became the butt of an Internet meme, but Chuck Norris has made for a pretty amazing tough guy. When he wasn't busy playing Walker: Texas Ranger, he famously teamed up with Bruce Lee in movies such as Way of the Dragon.
Weaver was Ripley in the Alien films, who was probably one of the most dynamic, interesting, and awesome heroes of all time.
He's mellowed out in recent years, but Bruce Willis played John McClane in Die Hard. He walks on glass barefoot in the movie, and still wins the good fight against Hans Gruber and his goons.
Jackie Chan became famous for his creatively choreographed fight signs and his stunning martial arts abilities. He's been in over 150 movies and is essentially a world icon.
Okay, Steven Seagal is a little ridiculous these days. But he was a crucial player in cheesy 90s action flicks like Marked for Death and Under Siege. Lately, most of his work is direct-to-video.
From Romeo Must Die to The One, Jet Li has garnered just as much acclaim in the U.S. as he has in his native China.
JCVD has had some of the most brutal fight scenes in movies, particularly in Bloodsport. JCVD, like so many other action stars, peaked in the early 90s, but he's slowly been making a comeback.
Probably the greatest action star of all time and certainly the most influential in kung fu cinema. He's credited with popularizing the Hong Kong martial arts film genre in the U.S. and is one of the most iconic Hollywood figures of all time.