One of the best things about Hollywood movies is the tough guys. The glitz and gloss of Hollywood are known the world over, but the brooding, hard-as-nails tough guy is one of Hollywood’s most admired exports. Whether heroes, anti-heroes, morally-ambiguous loners or downright villains… we all recognize and admire the roles these men played; as boys we look up to them as role models and try to emulate them, and as men we find them reminders of what it means to be a real man in a world sodden with political correctness, feminism, and new sexual politics.
So here’s the salute to the twenty toughest characters you wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of…
One of the kings of gritty film noir, the small-but-scrappy, streetwise Garfield was the star of the classic “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” playing the doomed Frank Chambers, risking it all for hot-as-hell Lana Turner. Makes the list for steely, I-don’t-care-how-big-you-are-I’ll-knock-you-on-your-ass, street-honed stare and wise guy attitude.
Nobody could ever figure out Quinn’s ethnicity (he was Irish-Mexican) because he played so many varied roles, from Arab to Italian to Greek (he was Zorba) and countless others—but the connecting thread for all these different faces was that you just wouldn’t mess with the guy. He was the strongman in Fellini’s classic “La Strada,” a revolutionary in “Viva Zapata,” a boxer in “Requiem for a Heavyweight”… and even his tempestuous Gaugin is a brawler in “Lust for Life.”
Not much exposition necessary here. For most of us Connery is THE James Bond, the original and best, the one whose shoes were never quite filled. Latter day Bond Daniel Craig comes closest, but there’s still no Bond like Connery, who managed to convey at all times the right combination of suave sophistication and menace. You never believed that Roger Moore or Pierce Brosnan could kick your ass… but Connery always looked like he could kill you if you crossed him. Makes the list for his classic spy as well as for being practically the template of the crusty old Scotsman in real life… who you still wouldn’t cross.
Even his Moses was a brawling, takes-no-shit tough guy with a granite-hard attitude towards Pharoah. The pleasure of watching “The Ten Commandments” is the extended stare-down going on between Heston and Yul Brynner (see below). Makes the list for handling not only a recalcitrant Ramses but also for dispatching talking apes, a world-o-vampires, jungle ants and Roman charioteers with equal, no-nonsense machismo.
Tall and slim Coburn was the wiry sort of tough guy with a disarming grin that might put you at ease for a moment… until you looked in his sharp eyes and saw the danger lurking within. Makes the list for endless cowboy roles, as both hero and villain, (especially “The Magnificent Seven”) and for playing the parody spy Derek Flint: ultra-sophisticate, ultra-genius, ultra ladies man. Smooth and suave with a clear propensity for kicking your ass with whatever obscure martial art struck his fancy.
Ever-brooding and super-cool McQueen played cops, cowboys, crooks and soldiers… and no matter what the role, he had the car, (or the horse) the girl, the gun and the ‘tude, all balanced to “don’t give me your guff, punk” perfection. He’s the rebellious tough guy, the one with the motorcycle or the hot rod who looks the anti-hero no matter what the part.
Come on… Edward G. Robinson. The original Little Caesar (this one didn’t deliver pizzas) and perennial movie gangster… the pugnacious and pug-like grumbler with just a tiny touch of the psycho behind his knife-edged eyes. Even when playing the good guy he had a threatening demeanor about him (“The Stranger” for instance, or his insurance investigator in “Double Indemnity”)… so odd when you realize this guy, in real life, was an art collector and knew a thing or two about fine wines. Makes the list for all those death scenes in a hail of bullets.
At home equally in roles playing psychotic villains (“Cape Fear”) or menacing preachers (“The Night of the Hunter”) or historic figures (“Midway”) Mitchum is the guy who stares you down and then casually lights a cigarette before informing you just how it is and how it’s going to be… and you know damn well you don’t want to disagree with him. Makes you believe you could follow him on the beaches of Normandy or into an ambush with gangsters… and while he might come out bloodied and beaten up, he’ll still be standing… and you should see the other guy.
Ever the sociopathic gangster with cruel charm oozing from every pore, Cagney gets points for umpteen classic roles where he fights society time and time again… and almost gets away with it. For a moment he’s even on top of the world… before it blows up underneath him. Not the guy you cross under any circumstances, and don’t by ANY means betray him… because he won’t rest until you pay. He’ll put you at ease, make you trust him and think all is well… then he’ll drill you full of holes and laugh while doing it. Points for danger, tight-as-a-tightwire edginess and for knowing how to handle a grapefruit.
Remembered for playing a psychopathic gangster who shoves an old lady in a wheelchair down a staircase, Widmark was ever the guy you didn’t want to turn your back on, even when playing the hero. Never a pretty man, never a kind, softhearted role (in real life he was a softie of course) but always the guy you’d want on your side in a street brawl… because you know he’d fight damn dirty.
One of my personal faves and, I think, one of the most underrated actors of classic Hollywood, who deserves a larger following… I have literally never seen Dana Andrews in a bad film or a crap role. Andrews had that LOOK in his cold, hard eye… you knew he’d do what he’d have to do, and he’d never shirk from it. Best remembered role: the tough detective in “Laura” who not only solves the murder, but along the way gets to intellectually spar with Clifton Webb, sucker punch Vincent Price, and win drop-dead gorgeous Gene Tierney. Not a bad day’s work.
Not one of my personal favorites, but to leave him off would have been sacrilege, I thought. Bronson is the ugly ex-boxer you DEFINITELY want in your corner of the ring when it comes time to deal out justice to punks, gangsters, and all the other low-lifes of society. Give the guy a wide berth, and for god’s sake leave his family alone.
I am not at all a fan of John Wayne and for me he loses points for his ultra-patriotism–when in truth he never stepped up to the plate during WWII to fight (he instead looked to his career). Even so, he’s got to make the top ten for obvious reasons. Wayne is the original and best bow-legged cowboy whose rolling stroll is dripping with his patented and carefully crafted attitude—he’s all about justice and he does whatever a man needs to do… quietly, calmly and without much more to betray his feelings than that curl in his lip and the narrowing of his eyes.
He’s played everything from boxers to Homeric heroes (“Ulysses”), from Spartacus to tortured soul Vincent Van Gogh, from Doc Holliday to a Viking… but regardless of the role he was ever the fighter, ever the clenched-teeth and broad-chested man’s man (well, not so much Van Gogh, but every tough guy has his departure) with more than a little edginess about him; in fact Douglas usually can be described as “seething.”
Athletic, good looking, toothy and always ready-for-a-rumble, Burt Lancaster was an ex acrobat, and it shows in how he holds himself, moves, and deals with situations where he’s gotta kick some ass. Dead serious but knows how to have some fun when the time was right, he was both admired leader of men and ladies man extraordinaire. Never doubt, however, that Lancaster was ready to handle shit when it was necessary. He was Jim Thorpe, All American… Wyatt Earp (“Gunfight at the OK Corral”), morally challenged but blusteringly larger-than-life “Elmer Gantry,” the Crimson Pirate, the Rainmaker… just watching him deal with life, women, pressure and problems was like watching a finely-tuned machine run with smooth precision.
Makes the list for steely toughness as gunfighter (“Magnificent Seven”), Pharoah, King and con man… and for his shiny shaved pate, which he dares you to comment on (no one ever does). Each word is spoken like being spat, and each movement of his body delivered with shoulders back, chest out, daring you to take a poke at him. (No one ever does). Moses’ god may be the true god, but Brynner’s Ramses is the guy we root for half the time because he’s just so damn impressive a figure.
So let it be written… so let it be done.
An obvious choice, Bogie makes it for his Sam Spade, his Philip Marlow, and his Dobbs in “Treasure of the Sierra Madre.” Also for countless gangster and good guy roles where he outwits and outfights the Nazis, beats the devil, and wins the girl (but, like all tough guys, sometimes has to let the girl go). Although more a figure of romance in “Casablanca,” he makes it on the list also for that classic role where he has to balance personal pain with self-sacrificing nobility… though as tough guy scenes go, few beat the way he man-handles Peter Lorre in “The Maltese Falcon” or how he deals with slimy French collaborators in “To Have and Have Not.” Bogie’s toughness always comes with that edge of vulnerability—sometimes he shakes a little, because he’s human—sometimes he’s scared—but he always shoots it out in the end and he’s still standing.
Another underrated talent from Hollywood’s golden years, Ryan was in a class by himself in the dark and gritty film noir days, when no one could out-do his superb combination of menace, determination, and “I won’t take your crap” attitude… nor did anyone else have his cold, glaring eyes. In real life Ryan was a gentleman and a long-time fighter for Civil Rights… onscreen however, he played everything from anti-semites to racists, and yet always seemed to garner a grudging admiration out of the audience. A boxer in real life, legend has it that Ryan even managed to out-intimidate feisty director Sam Peckinpah during the filming of “The Wild Bunch.” This was a guy you didn’t argue with and you knew if you stood in his way he was going right through you. Ryan deserves a new audience of fans—there are few better tough guys on the screen (in fact, I think only two) and certainly no one today matches up to him (let alone any of the others on this list).
What can be said of Clint Eastwood that hasn’t already been said? Like John Wayne, he’s an iconic figure for his loner cops and loner gunfighters—ever the anti-hero, every the man among men who has to step up to the plate and take action when the powers-that-be won’t lift a finger. Hard-edged and snarling, Eastwood is rarely subtle, but he’s more than one-dimensional. Pretty decent with comedic twists on his tough persona (“Every Which Way But Loose”) as well as an accomplished director (he’s got quite a few winners under his belt, most notably the recent “Million Dollar Baby”) Eastwood is a skilled craftsmen, and it’s hard to believe that he’s not least a little like his onscreen persona. I’ve never been disappointed in him onscreen, even when the movie he was playing in wasn’t the best. He always delivers, both in character and out.
My personal favorite, and I’m not even sure I know why, but I know that Marvin always came off as believable to me—and yet somehow humble. Definitely a real-life tough guy and no poseur, it almost didn’t matter if Marvin was playing bad guy or good guy—the result was the same: unafraid, irresistible, rocklike and imperturbable… a stand-up guy, but one you didn’t want to turn your back on for a moment. The gravelly voice, the eyes that cut right through the screen, that snarling lip… at all times he’s a little bit the no-nonsense Marine that he was in real life, even when lampooning himself in “Cat Ballou.” It’s a pleasure to watch him work.
Contributor: Randall
I would have put Cagney much higher, maybe even number one. It’s funny how for all his iconic status as a tough man he began in Vaudeville and won an (admittedly deserved) Oscar for Yankee Doodle Dandy. White Heat is so intense. And smashing a grapefruit in his girlfriend’s face (was that The Public Enemy?) is the ultimate in mundane cruelty.
Few actors could touch Robert Mitchem. Of course, I’d rather he touched me.
Where’s Chuck Norris? Expected to see him on the list, even just as a bonus…not that it really matters to me, just surprised, is all.
Sylvester Stalone – I wouldn’t eff with Rocky!!!!
I think Sean Connery should have been higher on the list and how dare you talk about John Wayne like that!!!!
Yea, Old Chuckie deserves a spot on here too…
My dad’s a huge Lee Marvin guy.
I was always a Clint Eastwood.
(:
Funny… I wouldn’t have even thought of Dana Andrews. I guess I just haven’t seen many of his films.
Fred MacMurray did a great performance in Double Indemnity. I woulda had him in there for that.
No Christopher Walken???…my god =)
The Duke should have been number 1. Just call him a one eyed fat man and see what happens.
Great list Randall. Other than Charlton Heston, he’s like William Shatner without the self-deprecating humor. It could be that his political views have tainted my impression of him. He was damn fine in the 10 Commandments.
I think I would have included Paul Newman, but that could be just because my dad looks exactly like him. You always like what you know. Mind you he’s not always a tough guy.
Charles Bronson in a tres-*****ty actor. Horrible, He was much better in the westerns than the death wish series. He does deserve credit for speaking out against vigilante violence after the Bernard Goetz fiasco/murder. And he does convey menace rather well.
I would have reversed the order putting Clint Eastwood higher than Lee Marvin but that is just nit-picking.
Good Job.
well, you forgot Christian Bale, and secondly john wayne? whos name was marionne? yea one letter away from being a girl, or tony jaa, the only person in real life who could kill you.
great list randall. some guys i know nothing about. my one issue…please put a different picture of sean connery. he looks like he just farted and is trying to hold back a smile. not a good pic for this particular list.
Sarah, Matt; The list is “Classic Hollywood Tough Guys”. We can make our own current list if you like.
Bruce Willis would be on it, Chuck Norris (although he seems kind of fruity in Walker Texas Ranger. Maybe because he can’t act). Ooo Ooo, Samuel L. Jackson. Christopher Walken (although he has become a caricature of himself) Feel Free.
before this gets too far, remember the name of the list people…CLASSIC hollywood. this wouldn’t include bale or jaa (though he is amazing) or whomever.
I’m happy with Lee Marvin. As I was reading the list I’m scrolling through thinking he better be on here. Good choice for #1. Not only was he a tough guy in the movies but also in real life if you look up his history.
I know this was a list for CLASSIC tough guy so I’m not saying Michael Madsen should go on the list but he would fit in perfect with this group.
Hey Randall; I read a bio on John Wayne. Said he was rather ashamed of his lack of military service. I agree with whomever it was that stated that his contribution as a hero/icon during war time was probably better for the American public than whatever small part he could have played in combat. Or maybe he was just a coward in real life. Who knows.
if Wayne would have gone to war he wouldn’t have been put in harms way, he was too iconic to get killed needlessly. he’d have been put behind some desk somewhere counting shell casings or some such *****. As far as Wayne’s toughness, read about what he did to Frank Sinatra’s bodyguard… knocked him out with one punch. My top three would be Lee Marvin, John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, in that order.
Great list.
Lee Van Cleef and/or Jack Palance could be substituted into this list somewhere.
William Holden? Pretty damn attitudinal/tough in Stalag 17 & River Kwai.
Steve McQueen and Clint Eastwood are my tops.. Bullitt…damn good movie, McQueen is such a tough guy. Love the car chases. Eastwood. Man he’s a tough guy too.
I’m so happy Lee Marvin was number one! One of my favourites. Also, it was a sad sad day for me when I heard Charlton Heston had died.
What ? No PeeWee Herman ?
Where is James Dean?!
Nice job, Randall.
Great List!
I would love to see a current tough guy list, though I doubt the “Tough Guys” for today could compete with the tough guys of “Classic Hollywood”
Clint is my all time favorite actor hands down.
No one has more expressive eyes/facial features than him. He often does his best acting when he has no lines.
trojan_man; Kudos for mentioning Lee Van Cleef. He would make a great addition; I prefer him to either Charlton Heston or Charles Bronson. Jack Palance is pretty cool too.
A good list, though I feel John Wayne should be a bit higher. But, it’s your list and it’s not like you put in schlubs. So, bravo
The fact that Eddie Deezen wasn’t included on this list only reinforces my belief that people need to take this site more seriously.
Excellent list, Randall. Should you decide to make its modern counterpart I think a good inclusion would be Joe Pesci if only for his touch of the crazy in Goodfellas…. “What? Like I never dug a hole before?”
Mom424: Thanks…Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach, and of course Clint Eastwood have to be the greatest trio of machismo in a single movie ever. The final gunfight scene had an eternity of music with no spoken lines and it spoke volumes.
The list is perfect. No one needs to be added. No one needs to be deleted. No one needs to be rearranged.
Nice list. However, I have to question the toughness of Eastwood and Marvin (especially at nos 1 and 2) after they starred in the musical “Paint Your Wagon”.
“Gonna paint your wagon / Gonna paint it fine / Gonna use an oil-based paint, ’cause the wood is pine”
You kidding JDS just imagine the courage it took to put your name to that movie.
32. JDS
hahaha. I think Clint Eastwood (Man with No Name, Dirty Harry, SS agent from In the Line of Fire, Undefeated) and Lee Marvin (Dirty Dozen is all I can think of at the moment) have proven their respective toughness over the years.
Bruce Lee anyone???
would’ve had Clint #1. agree with Jack Palance.
when you say “classic”, how current are you going? Connery is mid-sixties/early seventies.
Thanks for including Robert Ryan and Dana Andrews. As you said, very underated, but terrific actor’s. Good list !!!
Great list, I think I would have added William Holden and Warren Oates.
I saw Lee Marvin for the first time in “The Emperor of the North”, and after that alone, I would have put him at the top of this list!
Ok, you can’t dis Bronson, Deathwish crap aside, take a look at The Great Escape, The Dirty Dozen and Mag 7 again. Tough doesn’t even start. How many of these guys git buried alive and still went back in the tunnel!
Excellent list Randall, as soon as I saw the title I knew this would be authored by you!
I have to say Randall you thought of all the tough guys would have thought of. The order is of course very debatable depending on your taste in toughness. I also liked your description in the beginning.
“What it means to be a real man in a world sodden with political correctness, feminism, and new *****ual politics.”
Here is a clip that demonstrates this quite well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmZfJuS4sVc
The guy in the clip is my #1
Thanks for putting this list together.
I think that Sean Connery needs to be closer to number 1 on this list.
Um, BRANDO?
Randall:
Excellent List, Excellent Comments.
Sure, I may have come up with different names, in a different order, but I didn’t write the list – you did.
Thank you.
Blogball: this is a list of tough guys, not necessarily dickheads.
Jen, believe me I don’t condone or admire what Cagney does in this scene. I just used this clip as an example of what Randall was talking about as far as political correctness, feminism, and new *****ual politics and how things have changed. Plus I think sometimes you can be tough guy and a dickhead at the same time.
Uhhh excuse me? This is rediculous… how is Marlon Brando not on this list?
Godfather, Apocalypse Now, On the Waterfront, Viva Zapata? C’mon… How is Brando not on this list
Apart from him:
Bruce Lee
Robert DeNiro (despite his goofy new crap)
Toshiro Mifune (although he mostly made movies in Japan)
Ray Liotta
Tom Hanks… haha just kidding
But yeah… MARLON BRANDO
Randall – Finally your list made it!
I’ve never heard of Lee Marvin but apparently I should! Is it just me or do almost all these badasses have either a cigarette or a gun in their hand?
Also, and I think this probably is only me, is it ironic that the underrated Dana Andrews whose name is (now) more of a girl’s name is in a movie with an actress whose name is Gene (which is more of a guy’s name)? I just found that humorous.
I did think James Dean would have been on this list but I like reading about things I didn’t know about and this list has quite a few of those. Excellent job Randall.
Classic remember…a time when most people smoked through ignorance.Ryan, Bogart, Wayne, Marvin,all died prematurely from the effects of smoking (and excessive drinking).Ryan made a touching PSA while dieing of lung cancer urging young people not to smoke.
Andre:
It’s a CLASSIC list, for one thing, which explains why most of your picks aren’t on here.
Second, I hardly consider Ray Liotta a “tough guy” in league with the guys on this list.
Thirdly, Brando, I admit, is a seeming omission. But not really. A) Brando, like DeNiro, is an actor who’s done a wide range of characters. A lot of tough guys, yes, but in a way he seems not to fit the mold. Think about the roles he’s played and maybe you’ll see what I mean.
I know he’s not a toughy but I wanted to mention that Dan Duryea comes to mind none the less. His name to fame in part was all about slapping the dame/doll/hussie ect.
maybe he’d fit on that “top ten clasic hollywood weasels” list your also working on Randall.
great list!
mine would have to include telly savalas but everyone else is spot on
nice list Randall, I for once completely agree with the order and choices! Of course I’m positive if I wasn’t, any of these guys could beat my ass….
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Lee.
fivestrong63:
Sylvester Stallone is a HACK. He’s made one really good movie in his life (Rocky… the original) and one fairly good one (The Lords of Flatbush) and that’s IT. The rest of the man’s movies have varied in *****tiness… but all have been ******ty.*
Chuck Norris is also a joke.
Schwarzenegger I like, but again–this is a list of CLASSIC tough guys.
Diogenes:
That’s a pretty good idea…. Hollywood Weasels… hmmmm..
Aw, come on. Sylvester Stallone in Rambo II was fantastic. That movie also gave me my favorite action movie weapon ever: Exploding-tip arrows. They’re so absolutely ridiculous and absurd, they’re phenomenal.
But in all honesty, Rocky really is his only truly great film. If he wants to be happy for the rest of his life, he needs to legally change his name to Rocky Balboa and move to Philadelphia. Philadelphians love him because of Rocky, and they would absolutely welcome him with open arms.
Good list, can’t complain. (maybe a quibble, Bronson seems a bit high). Very few current actors can match these guys for toughness. Cant believe we’re stuck with Jude Law and Hayden Christenson types to *****in be impressed with.
Harrison Ford only recent actor that absolutely could fit in with this list.
Randall: What? No love for Rocky 6? That was a great movie…honestly, I enjoyed all the Rocky movies except for Rocky 5.
In all seriousness, though, you’d think some people couldn’t read. #52 is a good example. It says CLASSIC right there in the goddamn title. I’m also pretty sure Csimmons has no clue who at least 15 people on this list are.
It really is too bad that the parade of B-grade Death Wish movies have blemished his cred, but if anybody ever needs any justification as to why Charles Bronson should be on this list, one only needs to watch him in “Hard Times”. James Coburn was in it as well, but not so much as a tough guy, but more of a fast-talking slickster type.
James Caan!!!
He’s as much “classic Hollywood” as Clint Eastwood.
It’s true that Eastwood has a 10 year head start on Caan, but other than that there isn’t much difference in their careers.
I mean they have both done televison as well as movies…
Some of Caan’s best:
The Godfather
A Bridge Too Far
Misery
and many others…
hell, he was even tough in Honeymoon in Vegas!
good list in terms of “classic hollywood” seems like the suggestions given forget the title of the list.