We acknowledge that it takes a lot of discipline to
achieve proficiency in the martial arts, we de-emphasize the mere fact of
formal training and focus instead on actors who may not have training but
showed exceptional courage in real-life situations.
10. Sir Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Lee (1922-2015) holds the Guinness
World Record for most film acting roles, having appeared in more than 240
movies since his debut in 1946. He played major villain roles, such as Count
Dracula in the Hammer Horror movies, Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequel
trilogy, Francisco Scaremonge in The Man with the Golden Gun, and the
Middle-Earth wizard Saruman in The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) and The Hobbit
Trilogies (2012-2014).
Although some researchers later refuted claims that he
served during World War II in the British SAS and SOE, there was never any need
to embellish his service record because he served meritoriously in North Africa
and Italy as an RAF pilot officer. He even took time off in the middle of war
to climb the dangerous volcano Mount Vesuvius, which erupted only days after he
had climbed it.
9. Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke started off as a boxer after graduating
from high school in 1971, winning his first match as a bantamweight boxer at
the age of 12. He trained at the 5th Street Gym in Miami Beach and joined the
Police Athletic League.
He left amateur boxing in 1973, with a record of 27
wins and only 3 losses. He went into acting and, during the 1980s, he appeared
in several films, including Diner (1982), Rumble Fish (1983) and Angel Heart
(1987).
He returned to boxing in 1991 to start a professional
career, but retired in 1994, undefeated in eight fights. He resumed his acting
career and won a Golden Globe in 2009, a BAFTA award, and a nomination for an
Academy Award for his role in The Wrestler (2008). He also appeared in Iron Man 2 (2010)
and The Expendables (2010).
8. Danny
Trejo
Danny Trejo had a very rough upbringing. He wanted to
become a professional boxer but ended up becoming an addict and spent 10 years
in prison for crimes. While serving his sentence in San Quentin, he honed his boxing
skills.
After leaving prison and completing a rehabilitation
program, he was offered a minor role in the movie Runaway Train (1985).
However, the screenwriter, who had known him at San Quentin and was aware of
boxing skills, hired him to train the actors for the action scenes.
While training Eric Roberts for his role, the director
noticed him and offered him a more prominent role. The role gave him the
exposure he needed to start an acting career and, because of his tough
appearance, he quickly became the go-to actor for hardened roles.
7. Dolph Lundgren
Swedish actor Hans “Dolph” Lundgren is a mixed martial arts expert who holds a third dan back belt in Kyokushin Karate and was the former European Karate champion (1980-1981). He holds a degree in chemical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm) and a master’s degree in the same disciple from the University of Sydney.
He met actress Grace Jones in Sydney and came to the U.S. in 1983 after being awarded a Fulbright Scholarship. But he left MIT and joined Jones in NYC where he worked as a bouncer at The Limelight, a Manhattan nightclub. Jones helped him to obtain a minor role in the James Bond movie A View to a Kill (1985).
He got his breakthrough when he landed the role of Ivan Drago in Rocky IV (1985). He went on to star in several films, portraying tough fighting characters.
6. Steve Buscemi
Steve Buscemi worked for some years as a firefighter in the 1980s before he became a successful actor. He has been portrayed more often in movies as a spineless villain than a tough guy, but it turns out that the real-life Buscemi is a hero. He showed courage and selflessness when he volunteered to work with his former firefighter colleagues in NYC after the 9/11 attacks. He spent more than 12 hours daily for several days helping with rescue efforts under dangerous conditions.
Many people were not aware of Buscemi’s involvement in the efforts to rescue people trapped in debris and rubble after the terrorist attacks only because he avoided talking to the media about it. When he was later asked why he joined the firefighters and risked his health and life in the forefront of rescue efforts, he answered that he only wanted to help his “brothers.”
5. Sean Bean
Sean Bean, best known for his role as Ned Stark in Game of Thrones, has the reputation of being a tough guy in real life. In 2012, while hanging out at a bar in London, someone made a smutty comment about his date. Bean confronted the man who left and returned later. He tried to stab Bean with a shard of glass, but he blocked it with his forearm.
Bean later walked calmly into the bar and asked for the first aid kit. He dressed up his wound and returned to his drink although the bar workers offered to call an ambulance. However, Bean would not have his night ruined by something as ordinary as a gash in the arm. The bar workers said they were not surprised by his reaction. He was a regular at the bar and they already knew he was a tough guy.
4. Ronda Rousey
Judo and mixed martial arts practitioner Ronda Rousey became the UFC Bantamweight Champion in February 2013 after joining from Strikeforce and went on an epic run with the belt. Before becoming a professional MMA fighter she had won a gold medal at the 2004 World Junior Judo Championship in Budapest. She became the first U.S. female athlete to win an Olympic medal in judo when she won a bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
She made her amateur debut in mixed martial arts in 2010 and never lost a fight until she lost to Holly Holm in November 2015.
She made her film debut in 2014 in The Expendables 3 (2014) and later appeared in Furious 7 (2015).
3. Michael Jai White
Michael Jai White is a native of Brooklyn, who made his debut in Toxic Avenger II. He is as much a tough guy in real life as he is on screen. He holds black belts in seven karate disciplines, including Shotokan, Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, Goju Ryu, and Kyokushin. He has won more than 25 martial arts titles, including the North American and U.S. Open titles.
He starred as Al Simmons in Spawn (1997) and played the role of Marcus Williams in Why Did I Get Married? (2007) and Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010). He also appeared in Mortal Kombat: Legacy as Jax Briggs, and portrayed Mike Tyson in the HBO movie Tyson (1995). All in all, he’s every bit as tough as he looks on-screen. He became an actor after the war and appeared in more than 40 movies between 1948 and 1969.
2. Audie Leon Murphy
Before his acting career, Audie Leon Murphy (1925-1971) served in the U.S. Army and saw action in North Africa, Italy and France. After being initially rejected for enlistment in 1941, he finally joined the Army in 1942, at the age of 17, and went on to become one of the most decorated combat soldiers of World War II, receiving practically every available U.S. Army award for valor.
He received the Medal of Honor at the age of 19 after he climbed alone into a burning tank and exchanged machine gun fire with a company of German troops, while his company retreated.
He became an actor after the war and appeared in more than 40 movies between 1948 and 1969.
1. James Doohan
James Doohan, who played Scotty in the Star Trek series, served with the Canadian Armed Forces during World War II. He was nicknamed the “Craziest Pilot in the Canadian Air Force” for his wild aerial antics, although he flew only as an artillery spotter and was actually never a member of the Air Force. Doohan once performed a dangerous stunt in a Taylorcraft Auster Mark IV, which involved meandering through a line of telephone poles only because someone dared him.
He served with the 14th Field Artillery Regiment of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and participated in the D-Day landing at Normandy. He killed two Nazi snipers while leading his platoon up the mined beaches, but later came under “friendly fire” and got shot six times. He lost the middle finger of his right hand as a result. Doohan took care to hide the amputation on the Star Trek TV series.
