Action stars always attract the special interests of the viewers. This movie genre is the most popular among others, and action stars are always the center of chat when an action movie premiered with some big names. Some of these action stars might be a part of our childhood that we still love to watch their film today. Surely, we all admire their impressive strengths and
martial arts.
Have you ever wondered which star is the greatest? Every action star is the best in their movie. These stars always perform their wicked strength as a hero. But our heroes have different strengths when we make a comparison of all actors in this movie's genre. It’s hard to shorter the list of the best action stars and even harder to decide who is the winner.
However, we can trust in the majority who have their vote on the all-time greatest action stars. Let's check them out!
#1 Arnold Schwarzenegger
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Arnold Schwarzenegger, who started his career as a bodybuilder, is considered the greatest bodybuilder of all time. Years later, he decided to join the cinema world and made it big in Hollywood. In the late of his career, he became the governor of California between 2003 and 2011.
#2 Sylvester Stallone
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Sylvester Stallone faced challenges when he started his career. But he nailed his role as boxer Rocky Balboa in the first film of the successful Rocky series in 1976. Stallone also won the world heavyweight championship twice.
#3 Jackie Chan
Source: Parade
Jackie Chan who is regarded as one of the most influential cinematic personalities in the world has appeared in over 150 films since the 1960s. He is known for his acrobatic fighting style and weapon master. He was also the only Chinese who received the Academy Honorary Award.
#4 Bruce Lee
Source: Getty Images/Archive Photos
Bruce Lee is considered the most influential martial of all time and a pop cult icon of the 20th century. He is noted for his roles in five martial arts films: Lo Wei’s The Big Boss (1971), Fist of Fury (1972), Golden Harvest's Way of the Dragon (1972), and Enter the Dragon (1973), The Game of Death (1978).
Bruce Lee was the founder of Heet Kune Do which mixed Chinese traditional arts with modern martial arts (MMA).
#5 Bruce Willis
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Bruce Willis started his career on the Off-Broadway stage in the 1970s. He later achieved fame with his leading role in the hit television series Moonlighting (1985–89). Willis has received various accolades throughout his career, including a Golden Globe Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two People's Choice Awards.
#6 Keanu Reeves
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Keanu Reeves starred in many action thriller films including Point Break (1991), Speed (1994), and the John Wick Franchise (2014-now). His acting has garnered several awards, and he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
#7 Clint Eastwood
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Clint Eastwood who has appeared in over 70 films is recognized as an “action hero” thanks to his portrayal of John McClane in the Die Hard franchise (1998-2013). He achieved four Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, three Césear Awards, and an AFI Life Achievement Award.
#8 Jason Statham
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Jason Statham is known as the antihero typecast. His action-thriller roles were successfully performed by many stage combat and stunts. He started to practice kung fu, kickboxing, and karate when he was very young. He starred in prominent action movies such as The Expendables (2010-2014) the Fast and Furious franchise, and F9 (2021).
#9 Harrison Ford
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Harrison Ford gained worldwide fame for his starring roles as Han Solo in the Star Wars film series. His roles as John Book in the thriller Witness (1985) brought him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He starred in several action-thriller movies like The Fugitive (1993), and Air Force One (1997).
#10 Chuck Norris
Source: Chuck Norris/wikipedia
Chuck Norris won many martial arts championships and established his school of fighting called Chun Kuk Do. Norris is a friend and fellow martial artist of Bruce Lee. He appeared in the Way of Dragon alongside Bruce Lee in 1972. Code of Silence (1985) is regarded as one of the best films.
#11 Liam Neeson
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Liam Neeson has been nominated for several awards including an Academy Award for Best Actor, a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and three Golden Globe Awards for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama.
#12 Dwayne Johnson
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Dwayne Johnson who was a professional wrestler for the World Wrestling Federation for 8 years before shifting to an acting career is also known as the ring name The Rock. He starred in action-adventure films such as Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), Hercules (2014), and the Fast and Furious franchise.
#13 Jet Li
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Jet Li, so-called Li Lianjie, is a retired Wushu champion who made his debut with the Shaolin Temple (1982). He portrayed Han Sing in Romeo Must Die (2000) which was his first leading role in Hollywood. After that, he starred in many international action films, including Kiss of the Dragon (2001), The One (2001), The Forbidden Kingdom (2008), and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
#14 Jean-Claude Van Damme
Source: dreamstime
Jean-Claude Van Damme is a Belgian actor and retired martial artist best known for his martial art action films. He starred in Cyborg (1989), Kickboxer (1989), Death Warrant (1990), Double Impact (1991), Universal Soldier (1992), Nowhere to Run (1993), Street Fighter (1994), Sudden Death (1995), JCVD (2008) and Jean-Claude van Johnson (2016-2017 series).
#15 Sean Connery
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Sean Conney is now retired from his acting career. He won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Conney is best known for the role of James Bond in the series of seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983.
#16 Mel Gibson
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Mel Gibson is best known for his action hero roles as Max Rockatansky in the first film of the action series Mad Max and as Martin Giggs in the buddy cop film series Lethal Weapon. He also won two Academy Awards and was nominated fours time in different categories.
#17 Denzel Washington
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Denzel Washington is the one who reconfigured “the concept of classic movie stardom”. He has gained two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, one Tony Award, and 17 NAACP Image Awards.
#18 Kurt Russell
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Kurt Russell was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Silkwood (1983). He starred in some films directed by John Carpenter such as Escape from New York (1981). He also appeared in The Fast and Furious franchise, having starred in furious 7 (2015) and The Fate of the Furious (2017).
#19 Hugh Jackman
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Hugh Jackman is best known for portraying Wolverine in the X-men film series from 2000 to 2018. There are other brilliant action films such as Van Helsing (2004), Big Trouble in Little China (1986), and Elvis (1979).
#20 Charles Bronson
Source: Charles Bronsonwikipedia
Charles Bronson was often cast in the role of a police officer, gunfighter, or Vigilante in revenge-oriented plot lines. At the peak of his career in the 1970s, he was the No.1 box office attraction in the world, commanding $1 million per film.
