Summary

• Iconic action heroes like Keanu Reeves, Bruce Willis, Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Jackie Chan, and Arnold Schwarzenegger have made a significant impact on the action genre.
• These actors bring unique style and charm to their roles, creating memorable performances and iconic roles in films like The Matrix and Die Hard.
• The action genre has provided audiences with thrilling entertainment for decades, thanks to the contributions of these legendary action heroes.

The best action movie stars of all time made their mark on the genre by portraying tough-as-nails heroes, stalwart sidekicks, despicable villains, and everything in between, though all gained a legacy from starring in the most pulse-pounding big screen experiences. Various actors have stepped into the action genre over the years, with some great examples who bucked typecasting and proved to be solid action stars, like Colin Firth in The Kingsman and Bob Odenkirk in Nobody. However, the greatest action movie stars are synonymous with the genre and have helped to define it.

The action movie genre can sometimes be dismissed as not serious, but these actors have helped show the kind of cinematic experiences these kinds of movies can provide. Some of the greatest actors of the genre have helped to revitalize what the action genre could be, inspiring countless other actors who followed. Other stars simply used their distinct persona to stand out in the genre and deliver some of its most classic entries. From old-school heroes to the latest superstars, these are the names that define action movies.

20 Steven Seagal

Best Action Movie: Under Siege

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While it has been a long time since Steven Seagal's movies were released in theaters, there was a time when he was one of the most exciting stars of the genre. Like some other notable names in action movies, Seagal's ride to stardom came because of the tough-guy reputation he earned before acting. Seagal was a martial arts instructor who made his movie debut in the lead role in Above the Law.

During the late 80s and early 90s, Seagal released a series of movies that showcased his own distinct fighting style that had not been seen in movies before. These early movies also featured Seagal as a hero who handed out brutal justice to villains, making for some of the genre's most violent movies. He followed it up with the likes of Hard to Kill, Out for Justice, and Under Siege. While he was never considered a great action, he has an interesting persona and there was a certain fun to even his more forgettable action movies.

Seagal's last theatrical release in a lead role was 2001's Exit Wounds.

19 Jean-Claude Van Damme

Best Action Movie: Sudden Death

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Like Steven Seagal, Jean-Claude Van Damme is another actor whose talents in martial arts first got him involved in the movie business. He was fast-tracked as a leading man in action movies with his early roles in the likes of Kickboxer and Bloodsport also showcasing a particular brutality. Van Damme also had a charisma that went along with his thick Belgian accent, making him a standout character.

Also similar to Seagal, Van Damme's rise to fame in the 80s led to success in the 90s before his time as a box office draw came to an end. However, Van Damme left behind a long legacy of great movies, with the likes of Hard Target, Double Impact, and Sudden Death. Van Damme also knew to mix in some other genre elements with sci-fi action movies like Universal Soldier and Timecop among his biggest hits.

18 Wesley Snipes

Best Action Movie: Blade

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Wesley Snipes is an actor who came into the action movie era of his career gradually. During the early days of his fame, Snipes was best known for dramas like Spike Lee's Jungle Fever and comedies like Major Leagues and White Men Can't Jump. However, it was with his memorable role leading role in enger 57 that Hollywood realized they found an exciting new action hero.

Snipes usually maintained his sense of humor when making these action movies with his villainous role opposite Sylvester Stallone in Demolition Man being as funny as it is intimidating. However, his most iconic action movie role came with Blade. In bringing the Marvel vampire hunter to the big screen, Snipes helped to prove that comic book movies were viable Hollywood options as the R-rated movie proved a huge hit.

17 Bruce Lee

Best Action Movie: Enter The Dragon

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Bruce Lee cemented himself as one of the most impactful and tragic figures in the action movie genre. Lee is another figure who had become something of a legend before he ever appeared on screen. He was a martial arts master known for his incredible discipline. He began teaching martial arts in Hollywood with a number of celebrities as his clients. However, he was also working his way towards becoming a movie star himself.

Lee's Hollywood fame began with his role as Kato on the superhero TV series The Green Hornet in the 1960s. Though he was a sidekick character, Lee stole the show and wowed audiences with his skills. He eventually started making movies with the likes of The Big Boss, Fists of Fury, and The Way of the Dragon. Sadly, Lee wouldn't live to see his greatest success as he died before the release of Enter the Dragon, often hailed as one of the greatest action movies of all time.

Lee was trained by the legendary Ip Man.

16 Denzel Washington

Best Action Movie: The Equalizer

Denzel Washington will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest actors of all time, having won two Oscars so far and secured the stunning feat of being nominated in every decade since the 1980s. However, while his dramatic chops are never in doubt, Washington has also proven himself a very effective action movie star as well. Some of his earlier work in the genre, like Ricochet and Virtuosity didn't showcase his still as effectively but Washington would prove himself later.

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Some of the best examples of this include Man on Fire, The Book of Eli, and Out of Time.

Washington's action movie roles were often in more complex movies that gave him a strong character to play. Some of the best examples of this include Man on Fire, The Book of Eli, and Out of Time. However, he also embraced popcorn action movies like Unstoppable, Safe House, and Deja Vu. Later in his career, Washington found his first movie franchise with The Equalizer movies which also gave him his best action movie role, where he impressed many with his visceral fighting skills.

15 Sigourney Weaver

Best Action Movie: The Alien Franchise

It is no secret that women have been underrepresented in action movies over the years, which makes it all the more important when a female action movie star emerges to challenge the genre's conventions. Such was the case with Sigourney Weaver, who created one of the best action movie characters of all time with Ellen Ripley in the Alien franchise. The first Alien movie stealthily hides that Ripley is the true star for much of the movie until she is thrust into the spotlight in the climax.

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However, there was no mistaking her as the action hero at the center of the sequel Aliens. Weaver brought a soft and caring vulnerability to the role while also being a thrilling maverick who was willing to take on the alien monster one-on-one. Weaver even earned an Oscar nomination for the role, a rarity in the genre.

14 Steve McQueen

Best Action Movie: The Towering Inferno

Nicknamed "The King of Cool," Steve McQueen has one of the most engaging screen presence in movie history, and he put it to good use in action movies. McQueen made a name for himself by stealing the show from other talented actors in big star-studded action ensembles like The Great Escape and The Magnificent Seven. Even by doing so little, the viewers were transfixed by his easy-going yet focused attitude.

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While McQueen cemented his cool guy persona in other action movie roles like Le Mans, The Towering Inferno, and The Getaway, it was his role in the cop thriller Bullitt that most action movie fans best. Featuring one of the most famous car chases in movie history, McQueen's insistence on doing most of the driving stunts himself so the audience could see him behind the wheel would influence countless action movie stars that followed.

13 Liam Neeson

Best Action Movie: Taken

Liam Neeson's rise to action-hero fame is a unique one because, unlike most action stars, this genre is not where he started. The Irish actor began his career in the 1980s but earned his breakout role as Oskar Schindler in 1992's Schindler's List. Afterward, he was cast in major franchises, such as Star Wars and The Chronicles of Narnia. It wasn't until 2008 though that Neeson finally broke into the action genre.

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From Taken to The A-Team, Neeson stands out because of his versatility and unexpectedness. He may be older and less buff than other action stars, but he can still capture an audience's attention with his rugged charm. Despite getting into the genre late, Neeson has shown incredible longevity as an action star. More recently, he has also begun mixing his dramatic chops with more complex action movie roles, such as in Cold Pursuit or the recent Irish thriller In the Land of Saints and Sinners.

12 Dwayne Johnson

Best Action Movie: Fast & Furious Franchise

Dwayne Johnson is another action star with a unique career path. First and foremost, he began his career not in acting, but as a professional wrestler, earning the nickname, "The Rock." In 2001, he quickly took the film industry by storm, starring in action films like The Scorpion King, Hercules, San Andreas, and the Fast & Furious franchise. Johnson is another action star with amazing range and digestibility.

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The Rock impresses both adult and youth audiences, and thus, is likable to nearly all viewers. Despite being strong and serious on-screen, there's no doubt that he is a kind person, and for that, he is an action hero to look up to. He is not afraid to embrace his comedic side in some stand-out adventure movies like The Rundown and the Jumanji movies. He aims for crowd-pleasing and event-level movies which has made him one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.

11 Tom Cruise

Best Action Movie: The Mission Impossible Series

Although Tom Cruise made his name in dramas, he has undoubtedly embraced his action hero status. Cruise first entered the action genre in 1986 in Top Gun, but it took about a decade for him to return to the genre with the Mission: Impossible franchise. However, it was Cruise's immense dedication to the story and his intense performances that made his action movie roles as engrossing and compelling as his dramatic ones.

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Cruise is another actor who likes to ensure his action movies are big productions, with him mixing the genre with some of his sci-fi outings as well, like Minority Report, War of the Worlds, and Edge of Tomorrow. Ultimately, what makes Tom Cruise special is his dedication. Cruise is well-known for performing his own stunts, including cliff jumps and flying planes. This drive to not only portray an action star but to be an action star in real life is definitely something to be impressed by.