What have some of the more beloved action stars from the 1980s been up to in recent
years? Many of them have kept right on making awesome movies, of course. We just can't quit
these tried-and-true '80s action heroes, and here's why.
Let's start with the source. Sylvester Stallone has had such a fortunate ride with the Rocky
film franchise that he could have done only those films and been considered a success.
He rode Rocky all the way to the bank, culminating in an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe
win for his performance in Creed in 2016. Stallone acts, directs, writes, and produces,
and his work is so prolific in Hollywood that he even appeared on The Muppet Show. After
Rocky came Rambo, followed by dozens of other performances. Actors and actresses who appeared
alongside him saw their careers skyrocket. Stallone is a Hollywood powerhouse, and he
likes it that way.
If he has learned one lesson in filmmaking, it is "stick to what works!" In that vein,
he is still, more than 30 years after Rocky first premiered, making both Rocky and Rambo
movies. And The Expendables franchise is also a hit, though it will not likely see the longevity
of the other two. Why? Well, to quote another action star:
"I'm too old for this s---."
When Harrison Ford appeared as lovable scoundrel Han Solo in the first Star Wars film in 1977,
he became that which he never aspired to be: a movie star. Still, as he told PA Media in
April 2020,
"Success has been very important to giving me options in my life. I am very grateful
for that."
Ford has appeared in blockbusters like The Fugitive, Air Force One, and Patriot Games,
as well as some film franchise you've probably heard of before. In case you were wondering,
Ford told Entertainment Weekly he finds his Indiana Jones character much more interesting
than Solo.
Clint Eastwood's Hollywood career has spanned more than 60 years. After establishing himself
as an actor in the '50s and '60s, Eastwood transitioned into directing. However, he didn't
abandon one side of the camera for another. His 1971 directorial debut, Play Misty for
Me, kicked off a string of rough-and-tumble films in the 70s and 80s in which he both
starred and directed.
In the '90s, the actor/director turned his focus to films like The Bridges of Madison
County, which relied more heavily on character development than action. His 1992 film, Unforgiven,
won both the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars.
"I'm just a fella now. I ain't no different than anyone else."
He continued to explore complex characters in films like Gran Torino in the 2000s, and
he again won both the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars with Million Dollar Baby.
His focus shifted again in the 2010s, when most of his work was done behind the camera
with biopics like American Sniper and Richard Jewell.
Eddie Murphy is, of course, a comedy legend. Rolling Stone ranked him the second-best Saturday
Night Live cast member in history, behind only John Belushi . They also credit Murphy
with single-handedly saving SNL during his tenure there in the early '80s, writing,
"It is customary (and accurate) to say that Eddie Murphy is the only reason SNL survived
the five-year wilderness without Lorne Michaels."
Murphy appeared on the SNL 40th Anniversary Special in 2015 and returned in 2019 to host
the show.
His film career kicked off with 48 Hours, which was followed by Beverly Hills Cop and
Coming to America. Roles like these seemed perfectly suited for the raunchy, fearless
Murphy. If you had told us, on the heels of his Delirious and Eddie Murphy: Raw stand-up
specials, that he would become a family film staple, we wouldn't have believed you. The
leather-clad, foul-mouthed stand-up comedian was as far from family-friendly as it gets.
But, here we are in the 2020s, and Murphy delivered us The Nutty Professor, Doctor Dolittle,
and Shrek's Donkey.
Life takes us places we never dreamed we'd go, and Murphy is heading back to the '80s.
Sequel Coming 2 America is scheduled for a 2021 release, and Digital Spy reported that
Beverly Hills Cop 4 is on the way.
Santa Claus brings Bruce Willis to us every year in the way of Die Hard showings. If an
annual visit from Willis' Die Hard character, John McClane, were all we had of the actor,
it might be enough. But Willis is thankfully the action-hero gift that keeps on giving.
"Welcome to the party, pal."
From blockbuster movies like The Fifth Element and Armageddon to psychological thrillers
like The Sixth Sense, Willis is a box-office draw. Continued success is certainly not a
disqualifier for The Expendables films, and Willis appeared in the first two films in
the franchise. His rare career longevity is a testament to his acting chops.
Willis never stopped delivering awesome silver-screen performances, and it's easy to forget he got
his big break on the ABC television dramedy Moonlighting alongside Cybil Shepherd. He
also never stopped playing the role of dad as part of a family unit with his ex-wife
Demi Moore, and their kids. Their daughter, Rumer, told Larry King her parents, quote,
"always made an effort to do all of the family events still together...as one unit." They
even quarantined together as one big happy family during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2009, on the day he won the Golden Globe for his performance in The Wrestler, Mickey
Rourke told ABC's Barbara Walters he had "self-destructed" in the '90s and that the only thing keeping
him alive was concern over who would take care of his dogs. What led him to rock bottom?
People reported it was the fallout from Rourke's arrogance following the success of films like
Body Heat, The Pope of Greenwich Village, and 9½ Weeks. Angel Heart director Alan Parker
said of Rourke's reputation for being difficult,
"Working with Mickey is a nightmare. He is very dangerous on the set because you never
know what he is going to do"
In 1991, Rourke became a professional boxer, a passion from his youth. He told the New
York Times he made the move because,
"I'd be less of a man if I didn't react violently to the war in my head."
Injuries from fights disfigured his face, and the plastic surgery required rendered
his face unrecognizable.
Far from his days as a counterculture heartthrob, Rourke showed he still had powerful performances
to deliver when he was cast in The Wrestler. This role, for which he was nominated for
an Oscar, offered Rourke an opportunity to be, as CNN put it, "Hollywood's latest comeback
kid." It worked, and he subsequently obtained roles in blockbusters like The Expendables
and Iron Man 2.
Dolph Lundgren's success story is quintessentially '80s. His life changed forever after being
assigned to guard Grace Jones' dressing room as a bouncer. The two became romantically
involved, and the Swedish-born hunk decided to sidestep a Fulbright Scholarship to MIT
to follow Jones to New York, where he modeled and spent time with the "fabulosity" crowd
at Studio 54.
After being cast in a small role in the James Bond film A View To a Kill, Lundgren received
the break of a lifetime in 1985 when he was cast as Soviet boxer Ivan Drago , the antagonist
of Rocky IV . This led to roles like He-Man in Masters of the Universe and a Soviet operative-turned-hero
in Red Scorpion.
A career slump in the '90s resulted in more than a decade of low-profile acting work,
but Lundgren got another big break when old Sly came through again. The Expendables jump-started
Lundgren's career, and the actor slayed his first theatrical release in 15 years. In addition
to appearing in both Expendables sequels, Lundgren was cast in high-profile roles like
King Nereus in Aquaman and a reprisal of the role of Drago in Creed II.
A brilliant dramatic actor from Northern Ireland, Liam Neeson just barely squeezed himself into
80s-action-hero status with his appearance in Next of Kin with Patrick Swayze . While
many of our action heroes on this list had their heyday in the 80s, Neeson was just getting
started. His real acting launching pad was his 1994 role as Oskar Schindler in Schindler's
List, for which he was Nominated for an Academy Award. Amid dozens of roles in dramatic and
suspense films, he appeared as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom
Menace, a box office smash. He also voiced lion Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia flicks
in the 2000s, played Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins, and was the lead in the Taken trilogy.
Sigourney Weaver knows a good film franchise when she sees it—and she's smart enough
to ride that wave of success as far as it will go. Many fans refer to her as "The Queen
of Sci-Fi," thanks to Weaver's iconic breakout role as Ellen Ripley in Alien. That film launched
a decades-long career in action films with an extra-terrestrial bend, along with some
human-centric flicks. Stellar performances in Aliens, Gorillas in the Mist, and Working
Girl earned her three Academy Award nominations. In 1989, Weaver won both the Best Leading
Actress and best Supporting Actress Golden Globe Awards for Gorillas in the Mist and
Working Girl.
It wasn't just a lucky casting break that propelled her success. Weaver came to Hollywood
armed with an MFA from the esteemed Yale University School of Drama, where she studied and performed
with classmate Meryl Streep. After the first film in the Alien franchise, Weaver signed
on for Ghostbusters and a slew of other film and television roles befitting the Queen of
Sci-Fi. She hasn't yet been cast in The Expendables, but Weaver's dance card is extremely full
right now with another film franchise. The first Avatar, in 2009, introduced Weaver as
Dr. Grace Augustine . IMDb says Avatar 4 and 5 are currently filming, and Avatar 2 and
3 are in post-production.
When bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared on the silver screen as Conan the Barbarian
in 1982, who would have predicted the Austrian-born five-time Mr. Universe and six-time Mr. Olympia
would parlay his Barbarian-turned-Terminator fame into being The Governator ? After marrying
into the Kennedy family in 1986, he and wife Maria Shriver had four children and moved
into the California Governor's Mansion in Sacramento when he won a special election
in 2003. Schwarzenegger and family stayed through his second term, following his 2006
reelection. Term limits prevented The Governator from running for a third term, and he left
the Governor's mansion in January 2011. His marriage to Shriver also dissolved that year
when it was revealed Schwarzenegger had fathered a child with their housekeeper.
Starting anew in many ways, the star lived up to the line he made famous...
"I'll be back."
...and eventually went back to Hollywood. He appeared in The Expendables and The Expendables
2. He is also revisiting the Terminator, having starred in two new films in the franchise,
released in 2015 and 2019, with another announced for production.
Chuck Norris' reputation as an action hero and martial arts champion has earned the 80-year-old
actor legendary status. A six-time undefeated World Professional Middleweight Karate Champion,
Norris started in Hollywood as a martial arts trainer for celebrities, including Steve McQueen,
Donnie and Marie Osmond, and Priscilla Presley. His friend in martial arts, Bruce Lee, suggested
he try acting in action movies. And the rest is history.
Roles in indie martial arts hits like The Octagon and An Eye for an Eye in the early
'80s led to appearances in box-office hits like Lone Wolf McQuade, Missing in Action,
Code of Silence, The Delta Force, and its 1990 sequel. But nothing cemented Norris'
mainstream status as a man not to be crossed than his television role as Cordell Walker
on Walker, Texas Ranger from 1993 to 2001. While The Expendables 2 seems to be the only
film in which Norris has starred in the last decade, he has become an active conservative
political activist. And, of course, he remains active in the martial arts world, having founded
the United Fighting Arts Federation.
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