Where would movies be without action? It’s practically written into the DNA of the medium. And wherever you find action, you’ll almost always find heroes fighting to save the day. But while there have been several versions of the Hollywood action hero over the decades, a select few have left indelible marks on the pop culture. Val Kilmer’s Doc Holiday made such an impression that he’s been cited as the reason people became real life cowboys. Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, and Jean-Claude Van Damme inspired multiple generations of men and women to dedicate their lives to the study of martial arts. The military and police department’s ranks have swelled because of wannabe heroes hoping to follow the likes of Axel Foley and John Matrix into service.
But that’s enough talk. Let’s get to the action.
These are the 50 Greatest Action Movie Heroes of All Time*.
*not including superheroes
20. Lee (Bruce Lee) | Enter the Dragon (1973)
Bruce Lee is essentially a mythical creature, and one I wouldn’t have been surprised to see top this list had the man survived into old age. He stormed the Hong Kong film scene in short order, and then took his lightning reflexes, over-the-top exclamations, endless creativity, and absolute mastery of martial arts to American shores. I could drone on about the talent of the man, but we’re limited in space and we’re supposed to be looking at the movie character anyhow.
It’s not hard to see why the personality of Lee in Enter the Dragon is essentially just Bruce himself, with a little James Bond tossed in. The man was larger-than-life, oozed charisma, and seemed to charm everyone he encountered. In ‘Dragon, he’s no different. Badass, savvy, witty, and tough, he’s the real deal.
Lee brutalizes his way through Han’s stronghold with casual ease and cocky flair. No one is his match, and by the time he has a showdown with Han and his metal claws, it’s really just a formality. Hell, I’m half-convinced he let Han slash him, just for the street cred the scars would garner!
Oh, for what might have been. Still, there’s so much action awesomeness in Enter the Dragon by itself, not to mention Lee’s other efforts, that it’s enough to keep action fans on the edge of their seats for generations to come.
–Jeff Cram
19. Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron & Anya Taylor-Joy) | Mad Max (Franchise)
With a shorn head, one arm, and a war rig full of rage and purpose, Imperator Furiosa tore onto screens in Mad Max: Fury Road and redefined what action heroes could look like. Portrayed with gritty restraint by Charlize Theron (and younger versions by Anya Taylor-Joy and Alyla Browne in the equally impressive spin-off), Furiosa radiates confidence from every frame. She’s not loud, but she roars — fueled by justice, survival, and a sliver of revenge. Her first physical altercation with her co-lead in Fury Road is a memorable one: she fights with such relentless ferocity that even with one arm and a smaller body, there’s a belief in every punch that she throws that she can beat him, if only because she MUST beat him! Yet beyond the firepower and ferocity lies a deeper resonance: Furiosa is a quiet nod to the power of the disabled body, to women as leaders, to survivors who never stopped fighting. George Miller’s cinematic feminism may not be perfect, but in Furiosa, he gifted us an indelible icon—one who was so compelling she demanded her own origin story. And she’s still not done. Not by a long shot. Right, George Miller, Right!?!
–Thomas Riest
18. Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) & Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) | Lethal Weapon (Franchise)
Like a Reese’s peanut butter cup, Riggs and Murtaugh are two great tastes that go great together. One is a steady family man close to retirement, one is a maniac with a heart of gold. Together, they fight crime! And in doing so, practically invent the buddy-cop genre.
Martin gets paired with Roger after a shooting incident in the narcotics division of the LAPD, in the hopes it’ll settle his chaotic tendencies. There’s no way this can go wrong, right?
Both veterans of Vietnam, Riggs and Murtaugh were affected by the war in different ways. Riggs was a special forces soldier, where his talent for killing people shines. It’s this experience, however, that contributes to his mental health issues. His grip on sanity is shaken even more when his wife is killed, and he begins to live life day-to-day, not caring if he makes it or not.
Murtaugh was an Airborne officer in the army, a leader of men. When we first meet him he’s putting in the time and considering retirement. He’s trying to raise a family and do right by his wife and kids. This volatile setup ain’t so great for a normal life, but man does it work for action movies!
Riggs is a firecracker, and a wise-cracker, and he’s the perfect foil for Murtaugh’s stolid, by-the-numbers personality. Honestly, it’s this dichotomy which makes their antics even more enjoyable. Whether it’s Riggs walking calmly into sniper fire, or chasing down cars on foot, or it’s Murtaugh coming out of his shell and straight-up smoking the bad guy, you just don’t know what they’re gonna do, but you love watching them do it!
–Jeff Cram
17. Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) | Gladiator (2000)
We love a lawful-good king, and few on this list are as noble and honorable as Maximus Decimus Meridius. The second we meet him, we understand that he is destined for greatness. Well loved by his men, admired by his former lover and adored by emperor Marcus Aurelius, the future’s looking bright. Sadly, this wasn’t meant to be for our beloved hero but it doesn’t stop him from fighting for his ideals even from the confines of imprisonment. In my opinion, Ridley Scott has been chasing the highs of Gladiator ever since its release, and even with solid writing, his other historical epics don’t even come close. So much of this is due to the characters, and particularly Russell Crowe’s brutal yet tender portrayal of Maximus, who walks the line between badass and loving friend and ally effortlessly. To me, he encompasses everything a good action hero should be, and the movie gets better on every rewatch.
–Valerie Morreale
16. Robin Hood (Various) | Robin Hood (Franchise)
It’s tough to talk about a character like Robin Hood because there’s so much diversity in his depictions. Thought to originate from a play in the 1400s, Robin Hood is almost always a noble or soldier who has fallen from grace, and takes it upon himself to take care of his people. He steals from the rich to give to the poor, what’s not to like! From there, though, his origins differ from crusader to cheeky thief to soft-boy lover with his partner Maid Marian. Some reimaginings differ heavily, and frankly, there are too many to get into here. Robin Hood’s story has been told through nearly every medium, including opera, radio, music, television, and movies, and even video games. One of my favorite Robin Hoods is the 2006 BBC One TV show, where Jonas Armstrong’s Robin Hood is a great mix of serious, goofy, and good-natured fun. Some other favorites include the original Disney one voiced by Brian Bedford, the Men in Tights rendition with Cary Elwes, or the recent Russell Crowe version directed by Ridley Scott (particularly the director’s cut). Regardless of the differences, though, Robin Hood is a memorable hero and an interesting character who has certainly stood the test of time.
–Valerie Morreale
15. Man with No Name (Clint Eastwood) | Dollars Trilogy
The greatest anti-hero in cinema history? I think so (sorry to the likes of Snake Plissken and Mad Max, but you’re riding on this guy’s coattails). Clint Eastwood’s squinty-eyed, serape wearing gunslinger is a man of few words but, paradoxically, a man of many names. He goes by “Joe” in the first film of the series, “Manco” in the second and the nickname “Blondie” in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. While The Man With No Name fills out the “Good” element of the final film, his motivations and morals are usually more suspect than that. Mostly, he’s out to make some money, and if a bunch of evil mofos get theirs while he does that? All the better. I can’t imagine anyone but Clint Eastwood could have pulled off the laconic, dangerous and charismatic character. (Sergio Leone felt the same, giving Eastwood an unprecedented deal to appear in the last film.) Every time I see a picture of the character in his icon hat, sarape and smoking his ever-present cigarillos, I hear that iconic Ennio Morricone whistle in my head. Yeah, that’s nothing to do with the character, but also kinda everything to do with the character. Damn, but now I want to watch all these films again.
–Bob Cram
14. Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson & Tom Hardy) | Mad Max (Franchise)
When we first meet Max he’s just a guy trying to hold on to normality. To his job, to his family, to his sense of right and wrong. If that gets taken away from him – hell, from any of us – who wouldn’t go a little mad? Max starts out a “good man” in a world on the edge of disaster, but by the time we see him again in The Road Warrior he’s become a hardened survivor, a man held together by trauma like scar tissue. Violent and capable, Max is also a man looking for home, looking for connection. Every film after the first features Max getting involved with a situation he should just walk away from (thanks Humungous), that leads him to rediscovering his humanity. Sadly, that awful wheel of fate continues to turn and each film finds him starting over, a broken survivor, still just a littel mad. Before 2015 I could not imagine anyone playing Max Rockatansky but Mel Gibson. By the end of Fury Road I couldn’t imagine anyone but Tom Hardy.
–Bob Cram
13. Beatrix “the Bride” Kiddo (Uma Thurman) | Kill Bill (2003-04)
Starring in Tarantino’s first true dive into the action blockbuster, The Bride is a complicated protagonist. A love letter to East Asian martial arts film, she’s an assassin trained by the very best and was in love with the film’s titular villain. Now, fueled by revenge, she’s a force of nature, stylishly maneuvering through numerous hand-to-hand fights with swords, knives, or fists. She’s the first female action hero I really remember in the 2000s movies, and one where the focus was on her hero’s journey more than her role as a sex icon. Uma Thurman helped build the character along with Tarantino, and despite the Hitchcockian allegations of her treatment on set, her performance is one for the books.
–Valerie Morreale
12. Neo / Thomas A. Anderson (Keanu Reeves) | The Matrix (Franchise)
Neo man. NEO. Every article I’ve ever read about the character goes on about how Neo is an anagram of One and, of course, he’s THE ONE. But Neo also means new, and when The Matrix came out it was definitely something new. The mix of philosophy, cyberpunk, cutting edge special-effects and “kung-fu” seemed to come out of nowhere and blasted all of our brains with cool idea after cool idea and awesome image after awesome image. None of that was going to work worth a damn without great characters, though, and we got those in spades as well – Morphius, Trinity, Agent Smith. The bottom line, though, is that the original Matrix film is your classic Hero Discovered story – and they had to nail the hero cold or it would have been just another cool looking, but empty film that we don’t really need to see again. Like… I dunno, every other Wachowski film I can think of.
Keanu Reeves was not an obvious pick for the character of Neo. He was actually the sixth choice after actors like Will Smith and Leonardo DiCaprio – his low rank probably due to a string of box office misses that included another cyberpunk-themed film, Johnny Mnemonic (which, I have to admit, my friends and I referred to as Johnny Moronic). I can’t imagine the character as anyone but Reeves, though. From simple Thomas Anderson who spends his nights as hacker “Neo” to reluctant action hero and savior to, finally, an almost godlike superman, Reeves’ flat affect and simple charisma work some undefinable magic to win us over and get us to root for him, even when he’s getting his ass kicked by Agent Smith. At its heart it’s a simple story, despite all the glitzy distractions, and that’s why I still love it and this character so much. I wanted to see him survive, I wanted to see him win, and I wanted him to be The One. The Wachowskis hit this one out of the park and if the subsequent films weren’t quite as good, well, the Hero Defined is just never as exciting as a great origin story. The best heroes are ones we all want to be and, god help me, I really wanted to be Neo. And if I can’t be The One, can’t I at least download some software so I can know kung-fu?
–Bob Cram
11. Jason Bourne / David Webb (Matt Damon) | Bourne (Franchise)
Strangely enough, what makes Jason Bourne iconic is not so much his actions, but his amnesia. The audience is learning Bourne’s backstory with him, as he effortlessly takes down those tracking him with equal parts anger and confusion. I feel like there are lots of American “top killer in the military” stories, but Jason Bourne is the only one who’s left any kind of an impression on me. Matt Damon brings a believability to the role that rings true in Bourne’s fight sequences and quieter moments. These were the movies that first had me on board with the idea of an action hero and even though the spin-off was dog shit, Jason Bourne remains one of the greats.
–Valerie Morreale
30-21 | 10-1
Who are some of your favorite action heroes? Maybe they will show up later on this list!