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Your Fave "Unlikely" Leading Men and Action Heroes

post #1 of 71
8/31/10 at 8:43pm
Thread Starter 
With Danny Trejo's Machete coming out this week, I thought it would be the perfect time to honour the unlikely heroes of world cinema. I'm talking about the guys who somehow get to be the star/kick ass/get the girl etc, even though they don't have those "matinee good looks" and probably never missed a meal. I'm not counting action stars who got fat later in life, actors who got a faceful of botched cosmetic surgery, or regular plain looking dudes like Tom Atkins. I'm looking for genuinely ugly and/or fat basts here. Some of my picks:

- Bronson. By his own admission he looked like "a rock quarry that someone has dynamited". In Italy he was known as "Il Bruto" ("The Ugly One"), to the French he was "Le Sacre Monstre" ("The Holy Monster"). Leone said his was the "granite face of destiny", and Bronson was in fact one of the original choices for The Man with No Name role (I can only assume Leone changed his mind after realizing that his third Dollars movie wouldn't work if The Good was more unattractive than The Bad and The Ugly combined)

- Matthau. Admired both for his great performances, and his remarkable ability to track day-old scents over vast distances

- Sammo Hung. Chubby, goofy looking legend of Hong Kong action cinema. Like fellow Peking Opera school alumnus Jackie Chan, Sammo endured brutal physical training at a very early age, which is why in his prime he could move like no fat guy you ever saw. For Sammo at his best, watch Eastern Condors or Pedicab Driver. Or just watch anything with him because he's awesome.

- Tomisaburo Wakayama. Aka "Lone Wolf" Ogami Itto. Definitely not a jolly fat man. Watch in awe as a sweaty, grimacing, paunchy guy in a kimono becomes a whirlwind of mass slaughter. One of the great movie badasses.

- Bud Spencer. Looked a bit like some guy you might find passed out in the buffet area at a bear pride convention. A rather hairy gentleman of shall we say portlier dimensions. Often teamed up with Terence Hill, but also had a successful solo career in Europe. A funny and instantly likeable presence, known for slapstick action scenes where he would manhandle much smaller opponents with seemingly minimal effort.

- Joe Don Baker. Mitchell himself! Whoever thought JDB should be a leading man deserves a goddamn medal. See also Walking Tall and Framed (where you should watch for a hilarious overlong fight scene with an even fatter guy 20 minutes in)

Who else you got... Perlman? Depardieu? Others?
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post #2 of 71
8/31/10 at 8:46pm
Tobey Jones. THE MIST. Not the "leading man" but he kicked more ass than any other actor in the film.
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post #3 of 71
8/31/10 at 8:49pm
First off the top off my head is Michael Keaton as Batman. Surprised alot of folks I think.
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post #4 of 71
8/31/10 at 8:53pm
Going on that line of thinking, no one but no one thought Matt Damon would be a convincing action hero in the lead up to Bourne Identity. Go back and re-think things. He was the crying dramatic guy from All The Pretty Horses and Legend of Bagger Vance. Jumping through windows and beating everybody senseless? Unheard of!
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post #5 of 71
8/31/10 at 9:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg Clark View Post
Tobey Jones. THE MIST. Not the "leading man" but he kicked more ass than any other actor in the film.
MY GOD, YES!!!
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post #6 of 71
8/31/10 at 9:17pm
Nic Cage immediately comes to mind.
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post #7 of 71
8/31/10 at 9:26pm
I always thought Ralph Fiennes did a pretty great job in Strange Days myself, it's a shame that wasn't enough of a hit for him to take more roles along those lines.
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post #8 of 71
8/31/10 at 9:34pm
Humphrey Bogart. Compared with Gable, Cooper, & Grant he was old, scrawny, short, & unpretty.
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post #9 of 71
8/31/10 at 9:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wadew1 View Post
Nic Cage immediately comes to mind.
Travolta's stint with Woo made me believe him to be an action hero/villain. Weren't the mid-to-late 90s all about making action leads out of unlikely people?

I'm not that fond of the movie, but James McAvoy struck me as an unlikely action lead in Wanted. Of course, that was the point of the movie.

In a more recent example, I think of Michael Cera in that one movie! You know the one I mean...
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post #10 of 71
8/31/10 at 9:47pm
Superbad? Damn, now that I typed it as a weak joke, it should have been about some badass dude.
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post #11 of 71
8/31/10 at 10:02pm
I know it is a comedy, but, Tim Allen as a...Kirk, like Captain in...Galaxy Quest! He fought a...Rock Monster, avoided deadly traps on his own ship, and became re-acquainted with his old castmates, especially, Sigourney Weaver's Gwen.
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post #12 of 71
8/31/10 at 10:15pm
Actually, my choice would be Steven Seagal. The first time I saw the "Above the Law" poster I thought he looked like the guy who would play Henchman #3 to the main villain in a Joel Silver movie. Think about it: not classically handsome, slicked back hair, cro magnon brow (and later, even a ponytail). The fact that his Aikido fighting skill was so unique at the time, was what sold him.
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post #13 of 71
8/31/10 at 10:16pm
It might seem like common sense now, but imagining Keanu Reeves as an action star before Speed was pretty much impossible. I sure as hell never imagined he'd be convincing doing kung fu.
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post #14 of 71
9/1/10 at 1:14am
Bruce Willis is really king of this thread. Prior to DIE HARD, he was known as David Addison, hardly someone who conjures up visions of asskicking, explosions or tough guy attitude.

I was about 20 when DIE HARD came out, and had been a huge fan of Moonlighting. I was really leery of Willis in an action pic, and the trailers, frankly, made it look pretty stupid. But he so quickly became an action icon that audiences always seem a little surprised when he succeeded in a non-action role.
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post #15 of 71
9/1/10 at 1:41am
Seth Rogen. He was just that chubby guy who had good one liners and was a funny dude.

Then he did Observe And Report, and made me believe that he is the next "Bruce Willis" when it comes to action movies.

Jean Reno and Jean-Paul Belmondo come to mind as well. Both did movies called "The Professional" and proved that they could do action roles and be believable. Belmondo I've read, even influenced Jackie Chan.
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post #16 of 71
9/1/10 at 4:41am
Not movies, but...James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano. Who knew that a (albeit, incredible) third-tier, fat villain character actor would go on to be the face of television drama in the 21st century.

By a similar standard: Bryan Cranston. Fuck yeah.
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post #17 of 71
9/1/10 at 4:43am
Also, Audy Murphy. Dude was like, 5'1 or something. But he was not only a badass movie star, he killed more Nazis than the Russians.
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post #18 of 71
9/1/10 at 4:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Z.Vasquez View Post
Not movies, but...James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano. Who knew that a (albeit, incredible) third-tier, fat villain character actor would go on to be the face of television drama in the 21st century.

By a similar standard: Bryan Cranston. Fuck yeah.
Michael Chicklis was Curly, The Commish, Daddio, John Belushi, and then Vic Mackey on The Shield.
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post #19 of 71
9/1/10 at 5:03am
True, and that's a character i don't know you'd have without Gandolfini and the Sorpano's doing what it did for the TV landscape.

Cranston as well, but he's a bit different in that he's not playing a brute. So much of what make Gandolfini and Chiklis work as those characters is their hulking physicality.
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post #20 of 71
9/1/10 at 5:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cameron Hughes View Post
Michael Chicklis was Curly, The Commish, Daddio, John Belushi, and then Vic Mackey on The Shield.
Good call. I always knew him as the Commish(and his character in Soldier). What a polar opposite Vic was.

How was he as Belushi? I know the story but I've never seen the film.
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post #21 of 71
9/1/10 at 5:55am
Daniel Craig. Apart from "that scene" in Layer Cake, there was far more of the thesp and not so much of the action man about him up until Bond. Whereupon, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, he pretty much nailed the hard bastard aspect of the role.

Perhaps akin to the Bourne submission earlier, but it stands on its own merit I think.
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post #22 of 71
9/1/10 at 5:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Z.Vasquez View Post
Also, Audy Murphy. Dude was like, 5'1 or something. But he was not only a badass movie star, he killed more Nazis than the Russians.

Cagney, too, until you find out he was a pretty tough bugger in real life as well. A lot of tough guys were/are of such diminutive stature they probably wouldn't make it into most police forces.
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post #23 of 71
9/1/10 at 6:07am
Cagney was also trained in judo, and in some of his pictures incorporated it into his fights. Can't remember the film, but I'll always remember a shot of him flipping a guy twice his size while the guy has Cagney lifted off the ground. I guess getting your milk money stolen and called shrimp all your early years has an effect.
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post #24 of 71
9/1/10 at 6:14am
I have to second the Willis mention. One of the primary reactions I remember to Die Hard coming out was "Holy shit! David kicks ass so hard!" It surprised everyone.
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post #25 of 71
9/1/10 at 6:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Z.Vasquez View Post
Cranston as well, but he's a bit different in that he's not playing a brute. So much of what make Gandolfini and Chiklis work as those characters is their hulking physicality.
Cranston works because Walt isn't a Soprano, Mackey or Draper who owns every room he steps into. He's an extremely emasculated beta male who's fighting tooth and nail to assert himself.

My additions: Michael Caine and Joe Pesci. Pesci was fucking terrifying in Goodfellas.
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post #26 of 71
9/1/10 at 6:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg Clark View Post
Cagney was also trained in judo, and in some of his pictures incorporated it into his fights. Can't remember the film, but I'll always remember a shot of him flipping a guy twice his size while the guy has Cagney lifted off the ground. I guess getting your milk money stolen and called shrimp all your early years has an effect.
I think the film is Blood on the Sun, and if memory serves he trained either soldiers in the US Army or CIA agents in judo as well. I was more honing in on the fact he didn't "look" much like an action hero. I'll be the first to acknowledge he wouldn't have been my first choice short arse to pick a fight with.
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post #27 of 71
9/1/10 at 6:30am
Given the thread title says "leading men" as well, I'd throw in Lee Marvin. A surefire tough guy, but a mould breaker as far as fulfilling the lead male actor archetype, I'd have said.
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post #28 of 71
9/1/10 at 6:50am
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post #29 of 71
9/1/10 at 9:40am
Damon as Bourne and Willis are the best I've read so far.

I'll thrown John Pankow in To Live and Die in LA.

Because up until Petersen has a facial lead injection via shotgun halfway through the movie, he's the sidekick. But he manages to carry the damn novie.
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post #30 of 71
9/1/10 at 10:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg Clark View Post
Going on that line of thinking, no one but no one thought Matt Damon would be a convincing action hero in the lead up to Bourne Identity. Go back and re-think things. He was the crying dramatic guy from All The Pretty Horses and Legend of Bagger Vance. Jumping through windows and beating everybody senseless? Unheard of!
Yeah, I always thought he was like a Streisand, but he rocked the shit in the Bourne flicks.
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post #31 of 71
9/1/10 at 10:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MichaelM View Post
Bruce Willis is really king of this thread. Prior to DIE HARD, he was known as David Addison, hardly someone who conjures up visions of asskicking, explosions or tough guy attitude.
Exactly what I was going to post. Who watched Moonlighting and saw John McClane in that performance?

How about Sigourney Weaver? Sure, she showed some toughness in Alien, but I don't think we expected what we got in Aliens.
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post #32 of 71
9/1/10 at 10:37am
Richard Dickson, I never watched...Moonlighting. I bought, the concept of...Bruce Willis, as an...Action Hero, in, Die Hard right away.
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post #33 of 71
9/1/10 at 10:52am
Simon Pegg in that movie about zombies menacing London. And, then again, Simon Pegg in the one where he's a police officer in some pretty little village outside of London.
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post #34 of 71
9/1/10 at 10:59am
Jackie Earle Haley, WATCHMEN. Brought to you by Phil.
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post #35 of 71
9/1/10 at 1:15pm
Thread Starter 
More:

Jack Palance

Klaus Kinski

Brian Dennehy

Dennis "Sipowicz" Franz

Edward Woodward

and Sir William of Forsythe, in low budget epics like Direct Hit (where he plays a tubby hitman with a heart of gold) and Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy (where he has a complete mismatch of a love interest in stunning soap star Hunter Tylo)

Almost put Gene Hackman, but he always had that Spencer Tracy everyman/guy next door thing going on to counter the unconventional factor.
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post #36 of 71
9/1/10 at 5:15pm
Michael C. Hall went from mid-mannered gay David on Six Feet Under to a lead in his own drama where he plays a serial killer, a very physical and dominating role.
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post #37 of 71
9/1/10 at 6:39pm
There was a time when James Woods, up until that point regarded as a charismatic but kinda sleazy-seeming character actor (Pauline Kael referred to him as 'The Snake', and not for the reasons you're thinking of), took on lead roles in dramas and even action movies. The '80s and early '90s, man...good times.
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post #38 of 71
9/1/10 at 7:27pm
Kurt Russell, from Disney child star and Used Cars to Snake Plissken!
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post #39 of 71
9/1/10 at 8:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jhp1608 View Post
Daniel Craig. Apart from "that scene" in Layer Cake, there was far more of the thesp and not so much of the action man about him up until Bond. Whereupon, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, he pretty much nailed the hard bastard aspect of the role.

Perhaps akin to the Bourne submission earlier, but it stands on its own merit I think.
He was the psycho Road to Perdition.

Most of these guys you have to look for the role they nailed as the thug, that then lead to being the action lead.

Travolta was in Pulp Fiction before Woo.

Reno was in Nikita before Leon/The Professional.

Even Ford was a sort of threatening creep in The Conversation and of course Bob Falfa.

Cruise was that douche in Taps.

Crowe was that douche in, well, everything...

Keanu was in River's Edge, but that was just a more realistic version of Ted. He didn't go Thug til that Raimi movie with Holmes-tits.

Keaton was Beetlejuice, which was reasonably threatening.

Bogart and Cagney are the posterboys for the Thug Turned Lead/Movie Star journey of action stars/leading men.

Willis was a TV bad guy before Moonlighting. David Addison was the switch there really.

Cranston and Hall are really actors more than "stars" - they'll never open a movie and they probably don't give a fuck.
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post #40 of 71
9/1/10 at 8:12pm
Vincent Price was very popular playing suave adventurer The Saint on the radio, but his only film role as an action hero was in CONFESSIONS OF AN OPIUM EATER (and, to a much lesser extent, HIS KIND OF WOMAN and THE LAST MAN ON EARTH). In OPIUM EATER he gets to tough talk the guys and the ladies, fist fight, sword fight, jump through windows, and blow shit up. He has a damsel-in-distress and a female dwarf sidekick. How cool is that? A must-see for Price fans.
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post #41 of 71
9/1/10 at 9:24pm
Thread Starter 
Ha, Price! Have heard of that one but never seen. Thanks for the tip, Mal.
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post #42 of 71
9/1/10 at 10:32pm
I think Ed Norton might fit the bill, sort of in the way Cranston is mentioned. His voice and build don't scream leading man, but he's been *the* star, and *the* lead in a number of films.
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post #43 of 71
9/1/10 at 11:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cameron Hughes View Post
Michael C. Hall went from mid-mannered gay David on Six Feet Under to a lead in his own drama where he plays a serial killer, a very physical and dominating role.
I disagree, he had only shown physically in a few occasions.
Has anyone drop Robert Downey Jr. here?
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post #44 of 71
9/2/10 at 3:56am
watching John Cusak kick some ass in Grosse Pointe Blanke was a bit of an eyebrow archer
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post #45 of 71
9/2/10 at 4:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Feral Akodon View Post
I disagree, he had only shown physically in a few occasions.
Has anyone drop Robert Downey Jr. here?
You missed all those times he wrestled or knocked out his victims?
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post #46 of 71
9/2/10 at 5:07am
And when he defeated someone as intimidating and trained as Doakes?
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post #47 of 71
9/2/10 at 5:15am
Carey Elwes AND Mandy Patinkin, bitches.

But yeah, Willis. It's almost impossible to remember his public image (which was considerable, thanks to Moonlighting) before Die Hard. Imagine, say, Tony Danza busting out as an action star.

The '70s should be considered separately. Virtually all the big stars of that decade-- Pacino, Hackman, Keitel, DeNiro, Hoffman-- were "unconventional" leads.
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post #48 of 71
9/2/10 at 8:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stelios View Post
And when he defeated someone as intimidating and trained as Doakes?
Fuck. I forgot about Doakes.
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post #49 of 71
9/2/10 at 10:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Jarvie View Post
watching John Cusack kick some ass in Grosse Pointe Blank was a bit of an eyebrow archer
Ooh, good one. Especially since it was really him. Although there was some inkling given of his capability in Say Anything.
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post #50 of 71
9/2/10 at 10:40am
John C Reilly is my favorite unlikely leading man of the moment. I love that he's starring in films.
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