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Proving you can't keep a good man down, Eighties megastar Sylvester Stallone recently climbed back into the ring for a sixth round of boxing action in Rocky Balboa, now available to add to your list. At 61 he's currently in pre-production on a fourth Rambo feature, one of several action movie stars of advancing years with blazing blockbusters in the works. At 65, Harrison Ford is on the verge of shooting a fourth Indiana Jones adventure, while Bruce Willis, 55, and Jackie Chan, 56, continue to bust heads and kick butts annually.
To celebrate the arrival of Rocky Balboa on DVD, and the release of Die Hard 4.0 at the cinema, Blockbuster.co.uk's Marshall Julius presents a rundown of the ten greatest old school action movie stars.
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Action Hero: Sylvester Stallone
Quote: "I'm not handsome in the classical sense. The eyes droop, the mouth is crooked, the teeth aren't straight, the voice sounds like a Mafioso pallbearer, but somehow it all works."
Life and Times: Born in New York's infamous Hell's Kitchen in 1946, Michael Sylvester Stallone took jobs as a gym teacher, lion cage cleaner and porno movie actor before breaking the big time as underdog boxer Rocky (1976). Five sequels followed, three of them decent, as well as a trilogy of blockbusters featuring obsessive killing machine John Rambo (1982-88). Hampered by a love life that frequently landed him in the gossip columns, and fans who wouldn't accept him outside his Rocky and Rambo personas, 5'10" Stallone has enjoyed a career of extreme ups and downs, from $20 million salaries to has been status and back again. Having concluded the Rocky saga last year with Rocky Balboa, Stallone, now 61, is currently hard at work on the fourth Rambo flick, John Rambo.
Trivia: Only time will tell if Stallone ends up in the electric chair, as his high school classmates once predicted.
Greatest Hits: Death Race 2000 (1975), Rocky (1967), Rocky II (1979), First Blood (1982), Rocky III (1982), Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Rambo III (1988), Lock Up (1989), Tango & Cash (1989), Cliffhanger (1993), Demolition Man (1993), Rocky Balboa (2006).
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Action Hero: Clint Eastwood
Quote: "Movies are fun, but they're not a cure for cancer."
Life and Times: Born in San Francisco in 1930, Clinton Eastwood Jr worked as a lumberjack before enjoying his first taste of fame as cowboy Rowdy Yates in classic TV western Rawhide (1959-66). Eastwood's iconic role as the cigar chewing, quick shooting Man With No Name in director Sergio Leone's savage spaghetti western trilogy (1964-66) proved he had what it took to dominate the big screen. His name, co-incidentally, is an anagram of 'old west action'. As snake eyed supercop Dirty Harry, a role he played five times over two decades (1971-88), the 6'4" idol provided the blueprint for every movie cop that followed. A respected filmmaker with more than thirty movies to his credit, Eastwood won Best Director Oscars for Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004).
Trivia: As Mayor of Carmel, California, for a brief spell in the '80s, Eastwood's first official act was to legalize ice cream parlours
Greatest Hits: A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1966), The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966), Where Eagles Dare (1968), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Dirty Harry (1971), Magnum Force (1973), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), The Enforcer (1976), The Gauntlet (1977), Sudden Impact (1983), The Dead Pool (1988), The Rookie (1990), Unforgiven (1992), In the Line of Fire (1993).
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Action Hero: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Quote: "I experienced a lot of prejudice. People had many reasons why I could not make it: my accent, my body, my long name. You have to establish yourself in such a way that no one else can compete with you."
Life and Times: With a record-breaking 13 world titles to his credit, Arnold Schwarzenegger, a.k.a. Conan The Republican, made his name as a champion bodybuilder before hungrily pursuing movie stardom. Born in Austria in 1947, the 6'2" powerhouse became the undisputed king of '80s action cinema, with solid gold hits Conan the Barbarian (1982), The Terminator (1984) and Predator (1987) to his name. A run of turkeys throughout the '90s seemed to herald the end, but he said "I'll be back" and he was, with a $30 million payday for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines(2003) and an ambitious political agenda. "I would rather be Governor of California," said Arnold, "than own Austria". That dream came true in 2003. These days, call him The Governator.
Trivia: Arnold is described in the Guinness Book of World Records as "the most perfectly developed man in the history of the world."
Greatest Hits: Pumping Iron (1977), Conan the Barbarian (1982), The Terminator (1984), Commando (1985), Predator (1987), The Running Man (1987), Total Recall (1990), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), True Lies (1994), Eraser (1996), End of Days (1999), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003).
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Action Hero: Steven Seagal
Quote: "I am hoping that I can be known as a great writer and actor some day, rather than a sex symbol."
Life and Times: Though neither handsome, cool nor charismatic, and lacking even the most basic acting skills, Steven Seagal still managed to enjoy a brief period of superstardom in the dying days of ultra-violent action cinema. Born in Detroit in 1951, a vegetarian, conservationist and Rasta obsessive, 6'4" Seagal was the first foreigner to establish an Aikido dojo in Japan. Though he tries to "live with integrity and morality, not only with people but with all beings," Seagal is solely notable for the sadistic edge he brings to his movies, frequently beating and breaking his enemies much further than necessary. That was fun for a while, but after Under Siege (1992) his career began to decline, and though Seagal continues to crank out movies, they're largely straight-to-DVD efforts for hardcore fans only.
Trivia: Seagal announced in 1997 that one of his Buddhist teachers, His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, had accorded the Aikido master as a tulku, the reincarnation of a Buddhist Lama.
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Action Hero: Jackie Chan
Quote: "I love action but hate violence. In my movies there's no make love scene, no dirty words, no dirty violence. They're always clean, no blood, always happy-go-lucky."
Life and Times: A winning combination of skill, courage, charm and showmanship make Chan Kwong-Sang the most likeable and family friendly action hero in the movies. Born in Hong Kong in 1954, Chan was sent to live and train at the Peking Opera School at the tender age of six. For the next ten years he studied "singing, acting, jumping, kicking, stick fighting, knife fighting, gymnastics and acrobatics. It was very tough." At first Chan made his living as a stuntman, progressing to leading roles in low budget classics like Drunken Master (1978) and finally on to the position of international star. Best known for doing all his own stunts, as "I'm always the best man for the job", the 5'8" actor has been in casualty more times than Charlie Fairhead.
Trivia: Jackie Chan has, over the years, broken his nose three times, his ankle once, most of the fingers in his hand, both cheekbones and his skull.
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Action Hero: Jean-Claude Van Damme
Quote: "I am one of the most sensitive human beings on Earth - and I know it."
Life and Times: A skinny, feeble kid with lousy eyesight, Jean-Claude Van Varenberg was born in Belgium in 1961. Dedicating his life to physical self-improvement, the future Muscles From Brussels took up weight-lifting, karate and ballet at the age of nine. A decade later his transformation was complete. If only he'd worked on his personality as well. Learning English by watching The Flintstones, he yabba-dabba-dumped the first of his many wives and moved to LA. Despite some unfortunate early roles, primarily 'Gay Karate Man' in Monaco Forever (1984), 5'10" Van Damme eventually found work in real action movies, culminating in the surprisingly decent Universal Soldier (1992) and Timecop (1994). "Everything I've done is a miracle," says Van Dammage, "I am the Fred Astaire of karate." "He does what he does very well," observes former co-star Rosanna Arquette, "but acting is not his forte. Neither is being humble." Van Damme is currently back in b-movies, where he belongs.
Trivia: Though Van Damme speaks Flemish, English, French, Spanish and German, he is unable to act in any of those languages.
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Action Hero: Harrison Ford
Quote: "I'm happiest when I'm in the thick of it. The running, jumping and falling down - that's fun!"
Life and Times: Born in Chicago in 1942, Harrison Ford was a contract player for Columbia and, later, Universal, paying his dues with a decade of small-time film and TV work. Training as an actor while making a living as a carpenter, the 6' 1" hopeful switched from zero to hero after being cast as roguish space ace Han Solo in definitive sci fi blockbuster Star Wars (1977). Consolidating his fame with a trio of Indiana Jones adventures, followed by a pair of Jack Ryan thrillers, Ford's films have grossed an incredible, near-unsurpassable $6 billion worldwide. A fourth Indy movie is in the works for next year.
Trivia: To honour his conservation work, Ford has a species of Central American ant (Peidole Harrisonfordi) and a spider (Calponia Harrisonfordi) named after him.
Greatest Hits: American Graffiti (1973), Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Blade Runner (1982), Return of the Jedi (1983), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Witness (1985), The Mosquito Coast (1986), Working Girl (1988), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Presumed Innocent (1990), Regarding Henry (1991), Patriot Games (1992), The Fugitive (1993), Clear and Present Danger (1994), Air Force One (1997), Firewall (2006).
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Action Hero: Mel Gibson
Quote: "I don't believe that Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world."
Life and Times: The son of a Holocaust-denying railroad brakeman and an Australian opera singer, Mel Gibson was born in the States but raised, from age 12, in Oz. Studying acting in Sydney at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts, Gibson's first big break came courtesy of director George Miller, who cast the 23 year-old, 5' 10" unknown in a star-making role as futuristic road warrior Mad Max. Experiencing big-time Stateside fame in Richard Donner's Lethal Weapon quadrilogy, Gibson has been a major Hollywood player ever since, a versatile filmmaker who won a Best Director Oscar for Braveheart (1995) but is today best known for historical horror film The Passion and a booze-fuelled anti-Semitic rant that many believe revealed his true colours.
Trivia: Gibson has an estimated fortune of $850 million, making him the wealthiest actor in the world.
Greatest Hits: Mad Max (1979), Gallipoli (1981), Mad Max 2 (1981), The Year of Living Dangerously (1983), The Bounty (1984), Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), Lethal Weapon (1987), Tequila Sunrise (1988), Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Hamlet (1990), Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), The Man Without A Face (1993), Braveheart (1995), Ransom (1996), The Patriot (2000), We Were Soldiers (2002), Signs (2002).
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Action Hero: Bruce Willis
Quote: "Hair loss is God's way of telling me I'm human."
Life and Times: Born in 1955 in Germany, where his father was stationed in the army, but raised, from the age of two, in New Jersey, Bruce Willis sampled a variety of careers before turning to acting, finally hitting the big time as cocky private eye David Addison in telly sensation Moonlighting (1985-89). Setting his sights on movie stardom he hit the nail on the head with Die Hard (1988), technically the most perfect action movie ever made. A capable actor who shifts through the genres more comfortably than most, 5'11¾" Willis has made his fair share of turkeys over the years but really just as many classics, not just action movies, but horrors, thrillers, comedies and dramas.
Trivia: Willis once worked as a security guard at a nuclear generating station on an artificial island on the Delaware.
Greatest Hits: Blind Date (1988), Die Hard 2 (1990), The Last Boy Scout (1991), Death Becomes Her (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Die Hard With a Vengeance (1995), Twelve Monkeys (1996), Last Man Standing (1996), The Fifth Element (1997), Armageddon (1998), The Sixth Sense (1999), The Whole Nine Yards (2000), Hart's War (2002), Tears of the Sun (2003), Sin City (2005), Lucky Number Slevin (2006), 16 Blocks (2006), Die Hard 4.0 (2007).
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Action Hero: Chuck Norris
Quote: "There are a dozen death spots, another dozen paralysing death spots, and many, many disabling spots on the body. We human beings are quite fragile, you know."
Life and Times: Born in Oklahoma in 1940, Carlos Ray Norris was stationed with the air force in Osan, Korea, when he discovered and dedicated himself to the martial arts. Training five hours a day, six days a week, he returned to the States with a black belt in Karate and a brown belt in Judo. While passing on his skills as a top chop socky instructor, Norris reigned as World Middleweight Karate champ from 1968 to 1974, retiring undefeated. Encouraged by former student Steve McQueen to work on his movie career, 5' 10" Chuck transformed into the action hero we know and love, later making his TV debut in hit show Walker, Texas Ranger (1993-2001).
Trivia: A born again Christian, Norris is only one of three Americans to achieve eighth-degree black belt status in tae-kwon-do.
Greatest Hits: The Way of the Dragon (1973), Breaker! Breaker! (1977), A Force of One (1979), The Octagon (1980), An Eye For An Eye (1981), Forced Vengeance (1982), Lone Wolf McQuade (1983), Missing in Action (1984), Code of Silence (1985), Invasion USA (1985), The Delta Force (1986), Delta Force 2 (1990), Sidekicks (1993).
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