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]

But are real warriors anything like the warriors we see in the movies?

Excellent question. Put another way, is there a difference between a "convincing" portrayal and a "realistic" one? And if so, what does that tell us about our ideas about war and warriors?

One thing I notice about a lot of people's picks (including my own) is that they tend to be older than real soldiers often are. Also, by comparison to the U.S. military, at least, somewhat more likely to be white.

[qos.livejournal.com]

I knew I could count on both of you gentlemen, poliphilo and athenian_abroad, to bring up this aspect of the discussion.

But are real warriors anything like the warriors we see in the movies?

is there a difference between a "convincing" portrayal and a "realistic" one?

I deliberately did not ask for "realistic" because I don't consider myself to have sufficient expertise for evaluating the answers. I know that some portrayals make me willing to believe that the character has certain qualities I associate with the concept of warrior (listed in the original entry) and some don't.

I would be very interested in the answers of someone who has "been there/done that" experience. Assuming s/he wasn't laughing too hard at my question to actually get an answer out.

poliphilo makes a good point about Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne. However, I notice that both my initial question and list, and the lists I've received in response, focus more on the kind of people we would expect to do well in hand-to-hand/sword-to-sword struggle than what a civilian tends to associate with Air battles.

Good food for thought from both of you -- which, again, is what I always expect. Thanks!