Attention Movie Buffs: Who Is The Greatest On-Screen Tough Guy Of All Time?
Over the years there have been some great tough guys. Charles Bronson, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Lee, Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Al Pacino.
I must admit I do like all of the Lethal Weapon movies. Mel Gibson plays a tough cop in those movies and has played a lot of tough guys over the years in Tequila Sunrise, Braveheart and many other movies. Who could forget Robert De Niro in Raging Bull, Goodfellas and The Untouchables? He was amazing!
When I think about on-screen tough guys, they have it all: good looks, very impressive builds, careers that span decades, and look the part.
For me, my greatest tough guy of all time would be John Wayne. John made over 200 movies spanning 50 years. Think about that he did what he loved for over 50 years. WOW! Years ago I used to watch war movies every Saturday with my dad and it seemed every one of those movies had John Wayne in it. It didn’t matter if bullets were flying or bombs were dropping he rarely died. I loved him in Green Berets, The Comancheros, The Alamo and my favorite will always be True Grit. He was and still is a movie icon.
Not only was he in 200 movies - he was always working. He made at LEAST one movie a year for 50 straight years! That streak may never be broken.
- What is your criteria for a movie tough guy?
- Who is your favorite tough guy of all time?
- What do you think of my choice?
- Who else should be considered?
I look forward to your comments.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:06 am
I think you missed The James Bond guys. Sean Connery and Roger Moore. Granted that aren’t all muscle bound, but they have the brains, quick wit, and still managed to escape danger…
May 28th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Though I love John Wayne, I grew up watching one of my favorite tough guys. He was a cop named Dirty Harry. As tough as John Wayne was, he always seemd likeable. Clint Eastwood was able to make you love to hate his character.
May 28th, 2008 at 11:22 am
I’m going with Charlton Heston. I mean he rode the heck out of a chariot, went toe to toe with Pharaoh and bested those “Damn dirty apes”. And in real life uttered the memorable “From my cold dead hands” line.
May 28th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
My all time favorite is The Duke with Eastwood a very close second!
May 28th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
For me it’s a no-brainer: the greatest movie tough guy of all time is Humphrey Bogart. Whether it’s slapping around Peter Lorre, interrogating some femme fatale rapid-fire style, or just lighting a smoke, he was always the coolest tough guy around. I think there is a reason why so many people do impressions of him, myself included.
And when the chips were down and he was in a tight spot, he could drop his cynical, world weary façade and do the right thing. Which sometimes is the toughest thing of all.
May 28th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Stephenie,
Good choices for sure - if you could only pick one who is your favorite?
Merrill
May 28th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Paul,
I just saw Dirty Harry last week - great movie, great actor, great tough guy!
Thanks.
Merrill
May 28th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Bob,
I hadn’t thought of him. I think I need to see more of Bogarts movies.
Thanks.
Merrill
May 28th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
I’m going Sir Sean.
The Untouchables, The Hunt for Red October…
May 28th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
I have to agree with Bob - Bogart for me but I think that would be rather obvious to those people that know me
May 28th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Stephenie,
Good choice. I must admit I did like Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. I think he is starring in another 007 movie later this year.
Merrill
May 28th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Merrill,
What about Carrot Top?
kath
May 28th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Kath,
I thought that was a given - clearly he is everyone’s tough guy!
Merrill
May 28th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Samuel L Jackson is the baddest, hands down.
Jules Winnfield, Shaft, a jedi. And he was tired of the &$^# snakes on that *#&$ plane!
May 28th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
From his first action film in 1967, “The Dirty Dozen”, until his last in 1986, “The Delta Force”, there was no one quite like Lee Marvin. “Point Blank”, “The Killers”, “The Professionals” and “Emperor of The North Pole” (one of Bob Graham’s all-time favorites) are classic films worth a rental if you have not seen them. Lee Marvin was the prototype, old school hard-boiled tough guy.
The funny thing is he won an Oscar in 1970 for “Paint Your Wagon”, a musical comedy, which also starred above mentioned tough guy Clint Eastwood.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Ed,
I always loved Lee Marvin especially Dirty Dozen - Also in that Movie was Jim Brown and Ernest Bourgnine (sp?).
Thanks for the memories.
Merrill
May 29th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
First, I have to correct my good friend Ed Sugar. Lee Marvin got his Oscar for “Cat Ballou”, not “Paint Your Wagon”. Ironically, Marvin’s performance of “Wand’rin’ Star” from PYW was released as a single in Europe and became a minor hit.
I’m a big fan of Wayne, Marvin and Eastwood but my all-time favorite tough guy is James Cagney. He always seemed like a stick of dynamite with a short fuse, waiting to explode. For those who haven’t seen them “White Heat” and “Public Enemy” are must sees. A few other favorites who haven’t been mentioned yet: James Coburn, Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas.
The term tough guy, though, should not be limited to actors, as I think it could also be applied to film directors: Raoul Walsh, Howard Hawks, Bob Aldrich, and the all time tough guy champ: Sam Peckinpah.
June 2nd, 2008 at 11:24 am
Clint Eastwood is my favorite. For me, it’s more about attitude than brute strength. John Wayne is in the same league — good choice.
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Good choices all. But, you folks missed a very important guy.
Steve McQueeen. Whether in the Great Escape or the Getaway or any other film he did, one thing was for sure you had the feeling no matter what you could possible do to the guy, it was nothing worse than he would do to himself. Going into the proverbial dark alley, no matter what you brought you were gonna come out hurt.
Damn just when he looked at you mean there was a sense of the understated craziness that you got out of Mel Gibson in the Lethal Weapon movies, but all he had to do was give you the look. Guy in real life I’d be afraid of hands down Bruce Lee.