Regarding Hollywood action films, there are undoubtedly “monuments” of the strongest and most powerful muscles in the hearts of every viewer. Because of their dream-inducing looks, no one has been able to top them despite spending decades on the screen. And here is a list of the top 5 internationally renowned muscle legends:
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Born in 1947 in an Austrian countryside in a poor family, Arnold Schwarzenegger started bodybuilding at the age of 15. At the age of 20, he was crowned Mr. Universe and also won 5 times in the beauty contest Mr. Olympia. In the late 60s, Arnold went to Hollywood and got his first role in the movie Hercules .
More than a decade later, he became a pop culture icon when he starred in James Cameron’s Terminator . Despite only saying a total of 18 lines, the character’s line of T-800: Hasta la vista (I’ll be back) has become a “classic” of screen history.
Over the past 35 years, Arnold Schwarzenegger has appeared in a total of five Terminator episodes and hit series such as True Lies, Conan The Barbarian, Predator, Total Recall, Escape Plan, etc. Coming up, Arnold has at least three New film projects, including The Legend of Conan with the role of Conan hit from the 80s, are now brought back to the silver screen.
In addition to cinema, Arnold Schwarzenegger also had an illustrious political career. As a Republican, he is the 38th Governor of California (USA) and served from 2003 to 2011.
Bruce Willis
Also starting his career at the same time as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis is also known as one of the legendary muscle stars of the 80s. In 1988, Bruce became an A-list star after the success of his role as John McClane in the action movie Die Hard. With a salary of up to 5 million USD in this period, Bruce Willis set a new record for salary for actors in the 80s period.
If Arnold is more of a counter-action, with Bruce, the “two-handed, two-gun” action sequences with mature skills have made the brand for this left-handed actor. In addition to his strong action genre, he also participated in many films with psychological depth such as 12 Monkeys, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Moonrise Kingdom, … Bruce Willis was ranked 22nd by Empire magazine in the list of “100” star of all time”.
Tom Cruise
As an actor who owns Hollywood’s top handsome face, Tom Cruise is also famous since the 80s through his action roles. After a period of acting in romantic movies, Tom Cruise enrolled in the action film genre after the success of Top Gun (1986). Then, in parallel with the psychological roles, he created an “empire” of Mission Impossible , starting in 1995 and creating attraction to this day.
At the age of U60, Tom Cruise still performs stunts by himself such as swinging people on planes, rushing through buildings or driving heavy motorcycles on the street. Possessing a charming appearance, he is also the leading “girl killer” in Hollywood. He has been through three marriages, to Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes. At the age of 57, he returned to being a single guy and continued to devote himself to cinema as a producer and actor.
Tom has been nominated for an Oscar three times, but luck has not smiled on him. In 2020, Tom Cruise will bring Top Gun back to the silver screen in part two, more than 30 years after part one.
Jason Statham
Impressing with his bald image and cool look, Jason Statham owns a large fan base around the world after the T ransporter trilogy (The Transporter). He created a “brand” with supercars and black suits and breathtaking action sequences. Jason Statham was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in 1967 in the UK, used to be a diver, model before becoming an action superstar.
Whether it’s a protagonist or a villain, Jason Statham is still a name that attracts action movies. Besides The Transporter , Jason Statham’s career is also associated with many other hit action “brands” such as Crank, Death Race, The Expendables, Mechanic or he has recently become an integral part of the big family. Fast & Furious .
Currently, Jason Statham is filming a new action movie called Cash Truck and will return next year with a comedic role in Spy 2 .
Vin Diesel
As the “soul” of the most popular action series of nearly two decades – Fast & Furious , Vin Diesel is also the most famous muscle star in the world today. Born in 1967 in California (USA), he never knew his biological father and was brought up by his mother of three bloodlines from England – Germany – Scotland and his stepfather of African descent.
Vin Diesel began to be noticed in 1998 after participating in the famous series Saving Private Ryan (Saving Private Ryan) by famous director Steven Spielberg. Before making his mark with The Fast & the Furious in 2001, Vin Diesel also had the movie Pitch Black that resonated.
To date, although he has not participated in many films, Vin Diesel is still one of the action movie superstars with the largest fan base in the world. In 2020, he will return to the role of “monument” Dominic Toretto in episode 9 of Fast & Furious . Vin Diesel has also accepted to participate in the next two episodes in director James Cameron’s blockbuster AVATAR .
“The Rock” Dwayne Johnson
Consistently the highest-paid star in recent years, Dwayne Johnson is the most expensive actor in the world today. Before achieving success with his acting career, he was a WWF “legend” wrestler. It wasn’t until 2001, when The Rock was hooked on cinema through the movie The Mummy Returns . Soon after, he decided to focus on acting and achieved success in both action films and family comedies.
Along with Vin Diesel, now Dwayne Johnson is also an integral part of Fast & Furious . Besides, he still creates his own personal brand of successful action works such as San Andrea, Pain & Gain or recently Jumanji .
Sylvester Stallone
If there is the title of “big brother” of the Hollywood “muscle army”, no one else is more deserving than Sylvester Stallone, considering both age and career length. The three-time Oscar-nominated muscular star was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in 1946 and started his career at the age of 23 with porn movies.
It was my only option. I was unable to pay my rent, so my new landlord fired me. In his memory of the tough period, Sylvester Stallone says, “One was to act in the movie, and the other was to steal to get through the day. When “Rocky,” a movie about a weak boxer who outperforms himself, was released more than 5 years later, it sparked a massive frenzy.
For almost 40 years, fans of all ages have been enthralled by Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo’s escapades.
More than 10 years after the final episode of Rambo: Last Blood, which aired in 2008, Rambo has made his return to the big screen in a new episode dubbed Vietnamese Rambo: Bloody Ending.
John Rambo had retired when the movie begins and residing in Arizona (USA), managing a horse ranch with his friend Maria Beltran and her niece Gabriela.
Gabriela once overheard a report about her father leaving her. Gabriela drives to Mexico in search of her father despite Maria and Rambo’s protests. However, Rambo’s gut told him that something horrible would happen on the treacherous frontier. Rambo, who had always considered Gabriela his daughter, was furious and resentful when he saw Gabriela being drugged and raped by a prominent criminal. Rambo is prepared for a bloody war and is prepared to sacrifice every last drop of blood to save Gabriela.
