Warrior Casting

[qos]

I'm taking a poll: which actors (from the 1980's to the present) do you think have been the most convincing in portraying warriors: people who fight and kill other people as a way of life, whether as good guys or bad guys. They look like they have both the physical strength and the mental orientation to engage in deadly force and survive long enough to get good at it. There's usually a ruthless streak in them.

Off the top of my head: Russell Crowe in Gladiator is a standout. I've always found it easy to believe Sean Bean, especially as Sharpe. Chow Yun-Fat has the natural grace and strength, as well as the mental focus. I was willing to believe Uma Thurman in Kill Bill and Michelle Yeoh in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Ken Watanabe in The Last Samurai.

Your thoughts?

Comments

[athenian-abroad.livejournal.com]

Willem Dafoe and Tom Berenger in Platoon. Michael Biehn in The Abyss (also not bad in Aliens and Terminator). Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro in The Hunted (a bad movie, but with interesting bits -- best training montage ever! -- and lots of pretty footage of Portland).

Let me also second the nominations of Tom Hanks and Jean Reno. (Reno is also good in Ronin.)

I'll also put in a good word for John Amos, who plays Admiral Percy Fitzwallace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, on television's West Wing. Not exactly the sort of warrior you have in mind, I suppose, but worth thinking about.

I notice that I seem to favor portrayals of more or less contemporary soldiers...nobody on my list carries a sword. Maybe I don't find ancient/fantasy portrayals "convincing"...the temptation to romanticize may just be too strong to allow a really convincing portrayal. Or maybe I just like guns.... No, that's probably not it.

[qos.livejournal.com]

More movies I haven't seen. . .