Only Movie Buffs Can Match These Action Stars To Their Movies
- by Michael Gordon
- – on
- in Movies and TV
There was a time (mostly back in the 1980's and 1990's) when Hollywood was chock full of dedicated 'action stars'. Guys with giant muscles and hard to pronounce names like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme shared multiplex space with American martial artists like Steven Seagal, Wesley Snipes and Chuck Norris, and everyone killed loads of bad guys while looking damn good doing it.
At some point, however, this brand of action star began to fade somewhat (or be relegated into the dreaded Direct-To-DVD realm), replaced by more well-rounded actors who wanted to try their hand at action roles. When Linda Hamilton and Sigourney Weaver bulked up and proved they could be viable action stars with Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Aliens, or when Nicolas Cage won an Oscar for his searing 1995 drama Leaving Las Vegas, then immediately followed it up with a 90's trifecta of action classics (The Rock, Face/Off and Con Air), it signalled that any actor could realistically be portrayed as a badass action hero with the right script, some physical dedication and a good filmmaker at the helm.
This quiz will test any fan of the action movies of the 2010's, and it covers a wide cross-section of all the guys and gals who have been shooting guns and throwing punches on our cinema screens. Let's see how well you can match the action star to the correct movie!
Chris Pratt
It's hard to believe, what with Chris Pratt's rise to leading man stardom in the last four years or so, that it really wasn't too long ago he was mostly known as the funny, schlubby guy in supporting roles. Hell, he once played a character named 'Disgusting Donald' in the Chris Evans/Anna Faris romcom What's Your Number! His leading role in this 2015 reinvigoration of the Jurassic Park franchise cemented his status as an action star that men wanted to be, and women wanted to be with.
Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise, as everyone is aware at this point, LOVES doing his own stunts. The man is a bit of an adrenaline junkie. His main money-making franchise has always been these thrilling action films, and with each one the stunts seem to get more and more dangerous. Hell, he even broke his ankle in August 2017, while filming the sixth installment 'Fallout'! But which franchise is Tom Cruise still the main character of after so many years and other movies?
Ben Affleck
A sequel is currently in development for this 2016 action thriller, which was directed by Gavin O'Connor (who was recently announced as the director of Suicide Squad 2). Ben Affleck starred as Christian Wolff, a man with a high-functioning form of autism who 'uncooks the books' for dangerous criminal organizations the world over. The supporting cast included Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, John Lithgow and Jon Bernthal. Yes, that's right, this movie featured Batman fighting The Punisher! We're sure fanboys everywhere got a kick out of that.
Chadwick Boseman
February 16th 2018 is a big date for Marvel Studios, and an even bigger date for people of colour all over the world. Chadwick Boseman will lead a predominantly black cast as they give us the most prominent solo blockbuster superhero movie with a black lead: Black Panther (who is a king of his own African Nation, no less). Boseman won rave reviews for his first performance as the character in this 2016 MCU entry, and it served as a wonderful primer for the solo movie to come.
Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is currently riding high on the massive success of his mega-fun Jumanji reboot, which has been busting blocks all through the Christmas/New Year period. The former WWE superstar was the world's highest paid actor in 2016, and his rise to this status really took off with his inclusion in this 2011 ensemble action film. Coming into an already-established franchise, Johnson did what he does best; owned the screen with giant muscles, mega charisma and a physical presence few actors can match.
Scarlett Johansson
In action movie terms, Scarlett Johansson is mostly known for her role as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She has appeared in five MCU movies so far, and has Avengers: Infinity War and a solo movie in the works too. However, she has also starred in a few other action movies, including this Luc Besson (Leon) sci-fi thriller in which she played a woman with psychokinetic abilities gained when a drug was absorbed into her bloodstream. The movie was a hit, making 11 times its budget at the box office.
Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson was already a highly respected, Academy Award nominated actor who had amassed a glittering career when he decided to become an action star in his mid 50's! His performance in 2008's Taken (which he apparently thought would go straight-to-DVD) made him Hollywood's go-to aging tough guy, and he has banged out several action-heavy movies since. He has formed a partnership with director Jaume Collet-Serra, making four movies together, including this thriller about an ordinary guy unwittingly recruited into a murder conspiracy.
Kate Beckinsale
English actress Kate Beckinsale was known for her work in dramas such as Brokedown Palace and The Aviator in the early 2000's, but made a career left turn into action territory in 2003 when she starred in the first installment of this vampires vs werewolves franchise. She followed that up with roles in Van Helsing and the Total Recall reboot, and then made this, her fourth appearance as Selene the Lycan-killing death dealer, in 2016. Despite caustic reviews, a sixth film in the franchise is planned.
Tom Hardy
English actor Tom Hardy packed on 30 lbs of muscle to play the terrifying villain Bane in this 2012 film, the third entry in Christopher Nolan's seminal Batman trilogy. With his face mostly hidden behind a frightening, almost insect-like mask, and a bizarre accent that juxtaposed with his imposing frame, Bane was a truly unique villain in comic book movie history. Bane was a terrorist (who was deemed too hardline for Ra's Al Ghul's League Of Assassins) and his plot involved blowing Gotham City up with a nuclear device.
Dave Bautista
Dwayne Johnson isn't the only ex-WWE wrestler making waves in Hollywood. Dave Bautista (who competed in the promotion as 'The Animal' Batista) made the transition to acting in 2010, and after a few smaller roles he found his breakout performance in this 2014 sci-fi extravaganza. Showcasing a real talent for comedy, as well as the physical gifts required for the action scenes, Bautista stole several scenes in the movie, and returned for a bigger role in the 2017 sequel. Nice!
Leonardo DiCaprio
One of the few genuine movie stars out there who is equally well-respected as one of the best actors of his generation, Leonardo DiCaprio has it all in Hollywood. Every time he makes a film, it is an event, and each one tends to do excellent business at the box-office. His role as Dom Cobb in this superlative 2010 Christopher Nolan sci-fi thriller is as close as he has come to an 'action hero' role, and it has remained one of his most popular movies.
Margot Robbie
Australian actress Margot Robbie was recently nominated for Best Actress at the upcoming 2018 Academy Awards for her role as disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding in I, Tonya. It's an amazing achievement for an actress who only broke through less than five years ago with her role in The Wolf Of Wall Street. She may be most famous, though, for her portrayal of zany comic book supervillain Harley Quinn in the most anarchic entry in the DC Extended Universe of films. She will reprise the role in Gotham City Sirens.
Jeremy Renner
Jeremy Renner has notched up important supporting roles in two massive franchises over the past decade. He, of course, plays Hawkeye/Clint Barton in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, and will appear in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War. He also played spy William Brandt in two Mission: Impossible movies. But in 2012 he attempted to secure his own franchise as a leading man, with this off-shoot of Matt Damon's massively popular Bourne series. The movie fared well financially, but received mixed reviews, and eventually Damon returned to the franchise with the fifth installment.
Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel is best known for playing Dominic Toretto in the astonishingly successful and amazingly long-lasting Fast & The Furious franchise. He has also played sci-fi mercenary Richard B. Riddick in three movies, and Xander Cage in two xXx movies. But we're not going to ask about any of those franchises! Rather, we want to know about this 2015 supernatural action film, which co-starred Elijah Wood and Michael Caine. And gave us some scenes with the usually-bald Diesel sporting a nifty long hair/beard combination!
Cara Delevingne
Cara Delevingne, a former fashion model who only started acting in 2012, might not be the first name that springs to mind when thinking of female action stars. But the 25-year-old has made a few forays into the genre in the last few years. First, she played the Enchantress in David Ayer's Suicide Squad in 2016, then followed that up in 2017 with a role in another comic book movie, this one based on a classic French graphic novel that inspired movies like Star Wars and The Fifth Element.
Matt Damon
Matt Damon, as an action star, is defined by his role as badass spy Jason Bourne. He has played the deadly man, who simply wants to be left alone and not be hassled by the CIA spooks who keep trying to kill him, four times and we wouldn't be at all surprised to see him come back for a fifth round. He has had other good action roles too, though, including in this gritty 2013 sci-fi spectacle, co-starring Jodie Foster and Sharlto Copley.
Denzel Washington
At the upcoming 2018 Academy Awards, Denzel Washington is up for his ninth Oscar nomination for his leading role in Roman J. Israel, Esq. He has made a career out of personal projects and serious dramatic roles balanced with more crowd-pleasing action efforts. In 2014, the 59-year-old Washington starred in this vigilante action thriller, which was based on the 1980's television show of the same name. In the movie, his retired CIA Black-Ops operative unleashes hell on the Russian mobsters who brutalize a young prostitute he befriends at his local diner.
Gal Gadot
In June 2017, Gal Gadot starred as DC Comics' premiere female superhero in a movie that became a genuine cultural event. Bringing in $821 million worldwide, it became the highest grossing superhero film of 2017 in the US, and the fifth highest grossing domestically in the all-time charts. Gadot's strong, charming and dynamic performance as Diana Prince struck a real chord with women and girls everywhere, and a sequel was quickly commissioned with director Patty Jenkins and Gadot both returning. It was also easily DC/Warner Brothers best superhero film since The Dark Knight.
Michael B. Jordan
Michael B. Jordan first came to Hollywood's attention in Ryan Coogler's excellent 2013 drama Fruitvale Station, which was based on a harrowing true story. They then re-teamed for this boxing drama in 2015, which took audiences by surprise by not only being an excellent film, but by also somehow managing to work as a standalone story, even though it was technically the seventh installment in a franchise. Jordan is superb in the film, as is Tessa Thompson as his love interest, and Sylvester Stallone picked up a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role.
Jamie Foxx
Before Marvel Studios made an unprecedented deal with Sony for Spider-Man to return home and appear in the MCU, Sony had made two different versions of the franchise themselves. Jamie Foxx appeared as Max Dillon/Electro in their second incarnation of the webhead, where he was played by English actor Andrew Garfield. Foxx's performance as Dillon, an electrical engineer who transforms into a power electrical creature and has an obsession with Spider-Man, was fairly good, but the movie as a whole was a disappointment.
Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis will always be indelibly linked to the Die Hard franchise, and rightly so. John McClane is one of the most popular action heroes in cinema history, and Willis has always imbued him with the perfect level of wry humour and tough guy grit. It's a pity that the movies haven't always managed to live up to expectations then, and this 2013 effort is probably the worst. Here, McClane teams up with his estranged son Jack (Jai Courtney) to battle a terrorist plot in Russia.
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves is action royalty at this point, having starred in several genre classics over the course of his career: Point Break, Speed, and The Matrix. He then added a modern classic to that list with this 2014 revenge flick, which came out of nowhere and made four times its budget at the box office. It revitalized Reeves' career and gave him his own 'aging badass' franchise. A sequel followed in February 2017, which expanded the world of the series and fared even better at the box office.
Charlize Theron
This 2015 action film was in development hell for many years, with numerous reports being released about delays in filming and frustrating false starts. In the end, principal photgraphy ended in December 2012 (with some more footage shot in November 2013), and the movie STILL didn't debut until May 2015. Then it turned out to be one of the greatest action movies ever made, with Charlize Theron's performance as Imperator Furiosa being particularly acclaimed. It was then nominated for ten Academy Awards. Not bad for a movie with production troubles!
Colin Firth
Colin Firth has spent a large chunk of his career playing slightly stuffy British romantic leads. His most famous roles are as Mark Darcy in the Bridget Jones movies, or as the stuttering future King George VI in The King's Speech (which won him a Best Actor Academy Award). This made him the perfect choice to be cast as secret agent Harry Hart in this rollicking 2015 spy adventure, as he could use his characteristic charm and impeccable presentation, but add in a new layer of action man gunplay and fight choreography.
Chris Pine
Chris Pine, one of Hollywood's leading Chris' (along with Evans, Hemsworth and Pratt), has been a charismatic leading man in several action movies: Unstoppable, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and his excellent performance in Hell Or High Water come to mind. He's most recently starred alongside Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman, adding yet another Chris to the never-ending stream of comic book movies (Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, and Chris Evans). However, he's probably best known for one of the films below.
Hugh Jackman
Many film fans were surprised and a little upset that Hugh Jackman didn't receive an Oscar nomination for his (supposedly final) performance as everyone's favourite animalistic mutant hero. By the time this gritty, ultra-violent and emotionally resonant final installment came around, Jackman had played the character nine times across six X-Men movies and three solo vehicles. This entry was critically acclaimed and embraced by fans, which helped it become the third highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, and even though Jackman was snubbed, the film did receive a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Will Smith
On December 22nd 2017, Netflix released their biggest and most ambitious original film yet on their streaming platform. A $90 million budgeted urban fantasy action film, it starred Will Smith and Joel Edgerton (playing an orc) as mismatched LAPD officers on the trail of a magic wand. The mixing of fantasy elements with director David Ayer's usual grounded crime milieu should have made for a unique vision, but the film just didn't quite add up to a satisfying whole and was critically derided for it. Bummer.
Ansel Elgort
English writer/director Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz) reportedly envisioned this film way back in 1995, after listening to the song 'Bellbottoms' by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and imagining a bank robbery and car chase being set to the song. This vision eventually became the first scene of the 2017 film, in which Ansel Elgort's music-obsessed getaway driver thrillingly evades the police. Elgort's performance is a true star-maker, and he will no doubt be returning for the sequel which Wright confirmed he is writing in December.
Chris Hemsworth
The all-conquering Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought us a heck of a lot of action heroes over the last decade. Chris Hemsworth's alien demigod Thor has always been one of the most popular members of the MCU, ever since his debut solo movie in 2011. But he had yet to appear in a truly great movie until this 2017 effort, which took Thor's world and made it funny. Like, hilariously funny. Kiwi director Taika Waititi saw Hemsworth's natural gift for humour and exploited it to the fullest, with audiences everywhere lapping it up.
Zoe Saldana
Zoe Saldana has carved out a brilliant career for herself in the last decade or so, with eye-catching roles in sci-fi franchises like Star Trek, Guardians Of The Galaxy and Avatar. She has shown herself to be more than capable of handling the demands of action films, and in 2011 took the lead role in this revenge thriller directed by the wonderfully named Olivier Megaton (Taken 3). She played Cataleya, a deadly assassin hellbent on murdering the drug lord responsible for her family's deaths.
Gerard Butler
Gerard Butler burst into the public consciousness with his mega-buff performance as King Leonidas in Zack Snyder's innovative 300 in 2006. He has since gone on to become a dependable action performer, and is even currently in theatres gruffing and shooting it up with the best of them in crime thriller Den Of Thieves. But for our money, his best action movie is this 2013 effort, which co-starred Morgan Freeman and Aaron Eckhart. We reckon it's the best cheesy 80's action movie that wasn't actually made in the 80's!
Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds has been in A LOT of comic book movies over the years. Starting with 2004's Blade: Trinity, he then moved on to X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2009, Green Lantern in 2011 and RIPD in 2013. Sadly, none of these movies were very good, despite Reynolds giving his all to the roles. It was only when he revisited his Origins character in 2016, with a completely different (and more authentic) take on the character, that he finally landed a solid gold hit. Good job, Ryan!
Milla Jovovich
Milla Jovovich, the striking former model of Ukrainian descent, is best known as an actress for her role as Alice in the Resident Evil franchise. The most successful video game-to-movie series ever, the franchise birthed six films from 2004 to 2016 and grossed over $1.2 billion at the box office, despite being repeatedly savaged by critics. This installment saw franchise regulars like Jovovich and Ali Larter joined by newcomers like Ruby Rose, the Australian model and star of Netflix' Orange Is The New Black.
Mark Wahlberg
Even though Mark Wahlberg has appeared in the last two Transformers movies (Age Of Extinction and The Last Knight), which are utterly dreadful on almost every level, we are inclined to forgive him because he's normally much more reliable in other action fare. He has formed a particularly formidable partnership with director Peter Berg (The Kingdom) and together they have made three action dramas based on real life stories. This one, which dramatised a doomed mission for a four-man Navy SEAL team in Afghanistan, was their first collaboration.
Benicio Del Toro
Oscar-winning Puerto Rican character actor Benicio Del Toro has been plying his trade in Hollywood since the late 1980's, and has generally made a habit of being the best thing in whatever film he appears in. This is true of this 2015 thriller, which was directed by Denis Villeneuve (Arrival) and co-starred Emily Blunt and Josh Brolin. Del Toro played Alejandro, a mysterious man of concealed motivations who was part of a team sent down to Juarez, Mexico, to cause trouble for the Sonora drug cartel.
Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence's rise to stardom was stratospheric. She broke through in the 2010 indie Winter's Bone, and within two years had two franchises under her belt. She first played Mystique in X-Men: First Class in 2011, and has appeared twice more as the character. But the franchise that has made her the highest-grossing female action heroine of all time (with box office totals of $2.9 billion worldwide for four films) began with this initial film in 2012, which was based on the YA novels by Suzanne Collins.
Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt has been one of Hollywood's most famous men for nearly three decades, and he has managed to maintain that status without taking on very many action roles. 2004's Troy and 2005's Mr & Mrs Smith (where he, of course, met future wife Angelina Jolie) flexed his action muscles, but the only other blockbuster in his career is this 2013 action horror film, which grossed over $540 million worldwide. A sequel is currently in production, helmed by David Fincher, whom Pitt worked with on Seven and Fight Club.
Idris Elba
Idris Elba is everywhere these days, with multiple high profile film and television roles every single year. He is able to balance Hollywood productions like Molly's Game and Prometheus with his role as DCI John Luther in the hugely popular BBC crime series, set and filmed in his native London. In 2016 he appeared as the 'Gunslinger' Roland Deschain in a long-awaited adaptation of a series of horror fantasy novels by Stephen King. He battled Matthew McConaughey's evil Man In Black, but unfortunately the move tanked with critics and fans alike.
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award in 1999 for her performance in Girl, Interrupted, and her star ascended very quickly after that. She soon began taking on some action roles, including two stints as a very famous video game heroine, and other action efforts like Mr & Mrs Smith and Wanted. In 2010 she starred in this thriller in which she played a CIA agent accused of being a Russian sleeper spy, who is forced to go on the run to clear her name.
Michael Fassbender
Acclaimed Irish actor Michael Fassbender is no stranger to action movies at this point, having played the (sometimes) villainous Magneto in three X-Men movies, as well as a Spartan warrior in 300. In 2016 he dipped his toe into the video game movie pool with this action-adventure in which he played dual roles: Callum 'Cal' Lynch, a modern day criminal sentenced to death, and Aguilar de Nerha, a killer in 15th Century Spain. The movie co-starred Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons and, unfortunately, was rejected by critics and fans alike.
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan exhibited some genuine dramatic chops in this 2017 action thriller, which was directed by Martin Campbell (Goldeneye, Casino Royale) and co-starred Pierce Brosnan. Chan plays Quan, the owner of a Chinese restaurant whose daughter is killed in a bombing. He then heads to Belfast on a revenge mission on the terrorist group he believes is responsible, whose public face is Brosnan's Liam Hennessy. It is a departure for both Chan and Brosnan, yet somehow it works well, and the movie is a taught, hard-hitting ride.
Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling has consistently been one of Hollywood's best actors in the last decade or so. He makes interesting choices and takes big risks with his roles, and has shown himself to be as adept with heartbreaking drama (Blue Valentine) as he is with slapstick comedy (The Nice Guys). He can also kick some ass too, as he showed in the brutal 2011 film Drive, and this 2017 sci-fi noir. He starred alongside Harrison Ford and Jared Leto, and the film won rave reviews across the board.
Daniel Craig
There are few roles more iconic than British super-spy James Bond. There have been 24 Bond films, reaching all the way back to 1962's Dr. No, which makes it the longest continually-running film series of all time. Daniel Craig took over the role in 2005 with Martin Campbell's gritty reboot Casino Royale, and has starred in three more subsequent movies. This one, from 2012, was director Sam Mendes' first of the franchise and the first Bond film to make more than $1 billion worldwide.
Sylvester Stallone
In this 2013 thriller, aging badass Sylvester Stallone played the wonderfully named hitman Jimmy Bobo, who was forced to work with a cop in order to bring down a corrupt businessman and mafia boss. The movie co-starred Sung Kang and Jason Momoa, and was based on a French graphic novel. It was directed by action movie legend Walter Hill (The Warriors, 48 Hrs) and seemed like it was going to be a return to form for Stallone. Sadly, the movie tanked, with Stallone's second lowest opening weekend gross ever!
Arnold Schwarzenegger
In 2013, Sylvester Stallone wasn't the only elderly action star who attempted a big box office comeback. January saw the release of this, Arnold Schwarzenegger's first lead acting role for a decade (after he took a sabbatical from Hollywood for politics, following 2003's Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines). Arnie's comeback went about as well as Stallone's though, with the movie tanking on its opening weekend; a number 9 finish, with a paltry $6.3 million earned. Critics also had a field day with the movie which, admittedly, was pretty terrible.
Jake Gyllenhaal
Considering the amount of boxing movies that have been made over the years (and the high percentage of good ones), it's fair to say that boxing is an inherently cinematic sport. This 2015 film, which starred a remarkably committed (and shredded) Jake Gyllenhaal, was directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and written by Kurt Sutter (Sons Of Anarchy). Gyllenhaal played a boxer who tried to get his life back on track after losing his beloved wife (Rachel McAdams) to an accidental gunshot and subsequently his daughter to Child Protective Services.
Henry Cavill
After taking the Victorian detective Sherlock Holmes and turning his story into a rollicking action-adventure franchise starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, director Guy Ritchie next turned to an adaptation of a 1960's British spy TV show. He cast Superman himself, Henry Cavill, as professional thief-turned-CIA-agent Napoleon Solo, and filled his supporting cast with names like Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander and Hugh Grant. The movie was a fun adventure with some great action scenes, but sadly it failed to catch fire with the public.
Charlie Hunnam
This 2017 epic fantasy film sank like a stone at the box office, with critics tearing it to shreds and audiences reacting with a shrug. It seemed like it had the makings of a hit, with Pacific Rim star Charlie Hunnam taking the lead and Eric Bana, Jude Law and Djimon Hounsou lending scenery-chewing supporting turns. Warner Brothers reportedly wanted the film to be the first in a cinematic universe, and gleefully threw supernatural elements into the story which had never appeared in the previous versions.
Brie Larson
Brie Larson had small, eye-catching roles in films like Scott Pilgrim Vs The World and 21 Jump Street before she broke out with her amazing performance in 2015's Room. Her portrayal of Joy, a woman who had been held captive with her five-year-old son Jack in one squalid room for seven years, was stunning, and she won the Best Actress Academy Award. Her first foray into action cinema then came with her role in this 2017 monster adventure in which she played an anti-war photographer.
Jason Statham
Jason Statham is one of the last few actors working in Hollywood today who is primarily seen as an 'action star'. Most actors who take on action movies do them alongside roles in other genres, whereas Statham has carved out a niche as a bona fide action star who (mostly) sticks within that genre. Tne former diver (who competed at the 1990 Commonwealth Games) is known for doing his own stunts, which came in handy for this 2016 thriller where he played a hitman who stages his jobs to look like accidents.