This is a list of action heroes who appear in a number of genres including action films, adventure films, swashbuckler films, Westerns on television, old-time radio, adventure novels, dime novels, pulp magazines, and folklore. These heroes often display exaggerated physical characteristics such as extreme physical stature and/or fitness.
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Male action heroes
Actors
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- Jestoni Alarcon
- Richard Dean Anderson
- Kevin Bacon
- Christian Bale
- Eric Bana
- Antonio Banderas
- Humphrey Bogart
- David Boreanaz
- Charles Bronson
- Pierce Brosnan
- Bernard Bonnin
- Gerard Butler
- Nicolas Cage
- John Cena
- Jackie Chan
- Hayden Christensen
- Sonny Chiba
- George Clooney
- Sean Connery
- Kevin Costner
- Daniel Craig
- Tom Cruise
- Matt Damon
- Mark Dacascos
- Ricky Davao
- Monsour del Rosario
- Vin Diesel
- Michael Dudikoff
- Clint Eastwood
- Gary Estrada
- Jinggoy Estrada
- Joseph Estrada
- Douglas Fairbanks
- Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
- Sean Faris
- Mark Anthony Fernandez
- Rudy Fernandez
- John Foo
- Harrison Ford
- Errol Flynn
- Brendan Fraser
- Clark Gable
- Eddie Garcia
- Mel Gibson
- Cam Gigandet
- Jake Gyllenhaal
- David Hasselhoff
- Charlton Heston
- Hulk Hogan
- Tony Jaa
- Hugh Jackman
- Samuel L. Jackson
- Thomas Jane
- Don Johnson
- Tommy Lee Jones
- Val Kilmer
- Sho Kosugi
- Shin Koyamada
- Lito Lapid
- Tom Laughlin
- Brandon Lee
- Bruce Lee
- Zoren Legaspi
- Jet Li
- Dolph Lundgren
- Jay Manalo
- Edu Manzano
- Steve McQueen
- Cesar Montano
- Toshirō Mifune
- Wentworth Miller
- Ralf Moeller
- Liam Neeson
- Paul Newman
- Chuck Norris
- Clive Owen
- Robin Padilla
- Paul Bettany
- George Peppard
- Chris Pine
- Tyrone Power
- Brad Pitt
- Andy Poe
- Fernando Poe Jr.
- César Ramírez
- Basil Rathbone
- Burt Reynolds
- Ryan Reynolds
- Keanu Reeves
- Ramon Revilla Sr.
- Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr.
- Bembol Roco
- Brandon Routh
- Austin St. John
- The Rock
- Kurt Russell
- Phillip Salvador
- Raymart Santiago
- Romnick Sarmenta
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Steven Seagal
- Tom Selleck
- Christian Slater
- Will Smith
- Wesley Snipes
- Kevin Sorbo
- Sylvester Stallone
- Jason Statham
- Clive Standen
- Ray Stevenson
- Kiefer Sutherland
- Patrick Swayze
- Mr. T
- Channing Tatum
- Robert Taylor
- Karl Urban
- Vic Vargas
- Gardo Versoza
- Jean-Claude Van Damme
- Ace Vergel
- Mark Wahlberg
- Denzel Washington
- John Wayne
- Bruce Willis
- Sam Worthington
- Ramon Zamora
- Zaldy Zshornack
- Chow Yun-Fat
Film
- Rocky Balboa from the Rocky series
- James Bond from the James Bond series
- Jason Bourne from the Bourne series
- Colonel James Braddock from the Missing in Action trilogy
- Xander Cage from xXx
- Harry Callahan from the Dirty Harry series
- James Carter from the Rush Hour series
- Chan Ka-Kui from the Police Story series
- Chen Zhen from Fist of Fury
- Cheng Chao-an from The Big Boss
- John Connor from The Terminator franchise
- James Dalton from Road House
- Samuel Gerard from The Fugitive and U.S. Marshals
- Flash Gordon from Flash Gordon
- Ethan Hunt from the Mission: Impossible series
- Billy Jack from four films between 1967 and 1977
- Indiana Jones from the Indiana Jones franchise
- Obi-Wan Kenobi from the Star Wars films
- Paul Kersey from the Death Wish film series
- Lee from Enter the Dragon
- Inspector Lee from the Rush Hour series
- Mani from Brotherhood of the Wolf
- Raizo from Ninja Assassin
- Raj Malhotra from the Khiladi series
- James Marshall from Air Force One
- Frank Martin from The Transporter trilogy
- John McClane from the Die Hard franchise
- Darren McCord from Sudden Death
- Neo from The Matrix franchise
- Rick O'Connell from The Mummy franchise
- Snake Plissken from Escape from New York and Escape from L.A.
- John Rambo from the Rambo series
- Kyle Reese from The Terminator franchise
- Richard B. Riddick from The Chronicles of Riddick series
- Martin Riggs from the Lethal Weapon series
- Max Rockatansky from the Mad Max franchise
- Jack Ryan from The Sum of All Fears, Clear and Present Danger, Patriot Games and The Hunt for Red October
- Casey Ryback form the Under Siege films
- John Shaft from the Shaft series
- Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars films
- Mr. Smith from Shoot 'Em Up
- Han Solo from the Star Wars films
- Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Carribean series
- Harry Tasker from True Lies
- Terminator from The Terminator franchise
- Will Turner from Pirates of the Carribean series
- Napoleon Wilson from Assault on Precinct 13
- Tequila Yuen from Hard Boiled
- Zorro from Zorro
Television
- Captain Apollo from Battlestar Galactica
- Jack Bauer from 24
- Nash Bridges from Nash Bridges
- James "Sonny" Crockett, Miami Vice
- James "Sawyer" Ford from Lost
- Benton Fraser from Due South
- Heny Garvie from Ultimate Force
- Jack Harkness from Doctor Who and Torchwood
- Hercules from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
- Horatio Hornblower from Hornblower
- Sayid Jarrah from Lost
- Clark Kent from Smallville
- Michael Knight from Knight Rider
- Angus MacGyver from MacGyver
- Hiro Nakamura from Heroes
- Jack O'Neill from Stargate SG-1
- Matt Parkman from Heroes
- Peter Petrelli from Heroes
- Buck Rogers from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
- Michael Scofield from Prison Break
- Richard Sharpe from Sharpe
- Jack Shephard from Lost
- Lieutenant Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica
- Cordell Walker from Walker, Texas Ranger
- Dean Winchester from Supernatural
- Sam Winchester from Supernatural
Video games
- Niko Bellic from the Grand Theft Auto series
- Christopher Blair from the Wing Commander series
- Toni Cipriani from the Grand Theft Auto series
- Captain Falcon from the F-Zero series
- Sam Fisher from the Splinter Cell series
- Gordon Freeman from the Half-Life series
- Chris Jacobs from the Mercenaries series
- Carl "CJ" Johnson from the Grand Theft Auto series
- Jin Kazama from the Tekken series
- Leon S. Kennedy from the Resident Evil series
- Johnny Klebitz from the Grand Theft Auto series
- Huang Lee from the Grand Theft Auto series
- Link from The Legend of Zelda series
- Luis Lopez from the Grand Theft Auto series
- Master Chief from the Halo series
- Ken Masters from the Street Fighter series
- Mattias Nilsson from the Mercenaries series
- Duke Nukem from the Duke Nukem series
- The Prince from the Prince of Persia series
- Chris Redfield from the Resident Evil series
- Tyson Rios from the Army of Two series
- Ryu from the Street Fighter series
- Elliot Salem from the Army of Two series
- Siegfried Schtauffen from the Soul series
- Solid Snake from the Metal Gear series
- Sora from the Kingdom Hearts series
- Claude Speed from the Grand Theft Auto series
- "Serious" Sam Stone from the Serious Sam series
- Victor Vance from the Grand Theft Auto series
- Tommy Vercetti from the Grand Theft Auto series
Literature
- Iliad and Odyssey: Odysseus and a number of other characters
- Beowulf (hero) in Beowulf
- King Arthur
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
- Robin Hood
- D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers
- The Count of Monte Cristo
- The Scarlet Pimpernel
- Ben Hur [disambiguation needed]
- Ivanhoe
- Zorro
- James Bond in James Bond novels (Ian Fleming)
- Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin in Modesty Blaise novels
- Doc Savage
- The Shadow
- The Spider
- Conan the Barbarian
- Tarzan
- Drizzt Do'Urden
- Dirk Pitt
- Harry Dresden
- Horatio Hornblower
- Richard Sharpe (fictional character)
Female action heroes
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Main article: Woman warrior
Actresses
- Catherine Mary Stewart
- Jessica Alba
- Gillian Anderson
- Devon Aoki
- Kate Beckinsale
- Halle Berry
- Honor Blackman
- Tia Carrere
- Lynda Carter
- Connie Chan Po-chu
- Priyanka Chopra
- Geena Davis
- Angie Dickinson
- Tamara Dobson
- Eliza Dushku
- Anne Francis
- Jennifer Garner
- Sarah Michelle Gellar
- Summer Glau
- Teresa Graves
- Pam Grier
- Linda Hamilton
- Lena Headey
- Gloria Hendry
- Daryl Hannah
- Kelly Hu
- Sibelle Hu
- Angelina Jolie
- Famke Janssen
- Milla Jovovich
- Keira Knightley
- Mila Kunis
- Cynthia Khan
- Lucy Lawless
- Moon Lee
- Iyari Limon
- Lucy Liu
- Rachel Lobangco
- Cynthia Luster
- Rose McGowan
- Angela Mao
- Nora Miao
- Carrie-Anne Moss
- Nichelle Nichols
- Renee O'Connor
- Bobbie Phillips
- Maggie Q
- Diana Rigg
- Lucia Rijker
- Michelle Rodriguez
- Cynthia Rothrock
- Katee Sackhoff
- Aurora Sevilla
- J.A. Steel
- Amanda Tapping
- Uma Thurman
- Gina Torres
- Lindsay Wagner
- Sigourney Weaver
- Peta Wilson
- Michelle Yeoh
- Zhang Ziyi
Film
- Alice from the Resident Evil series
- Padmé Amidala from the Star Wars series
- Foxy Brown from Foxy Brown
- Natalie Cook from the Charlie's Angels series
- Sarah Connor from the Terminator series
- Beatrix "The Bride" Kiddo from Kill Bill
- Alex Munday from the Charlie's Angels series
- Princess Leia Organa from the Star Wars series
- Ellen Ripley from the Alien series
- Dylan Sanders from the Charlie's Angels series
- Selene from the Underworld series
- Sonja from the Underworld series
- Elizabeth Swann from the Pirates of the Caribbean series
- Trinity from The Matrix series
Television
- Kate Austen from Lost
- Sydney Bristow from Alias
- Samantha Carter from Stargate
- Sabrina Duncan from Charlie's Angels
- Echo from Dollhouse
- Kelly Garrett from Charlie's Angels
- Phoebe Halliwell from Charmed
- Piper Halliwell from Charmed
- Prue Halliwell from Charmed
- Sun-Hwa Kwon from Lost
- Helen Magnus from Sanctuary
- Paige Matthews from Charmed
- Jill Munroe from Charlie's Angels
- Kris Munroe from Charlie's Angels
- Julie Rogers from Charlie's Angels
- Kara Thrace from Battlestar Galactica
- Sharon Valerii from Battlestar Galactica
- Tiffany Welles from Charlie's Angels
- Xena from Xena: Warrior Princess
Video games
- Samus Aran from the Metroid series
- Cammy from the Street Fighter series
- Chel from Portal
- Chun-Li from the Street Fighter series
- Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider series
- Jennifer Mui from the Mercenaries series
- Claire Redfield from the Resident Evil series
- Anna Williams from the Tekken series
- Nina Williams from the Tekken series
- Jill Valentine from the Resident Evil series
Further reading
- Ho, Sam. "Licensed to Kick Men: The Jane Bond Films." The Restless Breed: Cantonese Stars of the Sixties. Hong Kong: Urban Council of Hong Kong, 1996. ISBN 962-7040-50-9
- Inness, Sherrie A. (ed.) Action Chicks: New Images of Tough Women in Popular Culture, Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
- Kim, L. S. "Making women warriors: a transnational reading of Asian female action heroes in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media. No. 48, Winter, 2006.
- Magoulick, Mary. "Frustrating Female Heroism: Mixed Messages in Xena, Nikita, and Buffy." The Journal of Popular Culture, Volume 39 Issue 5 (October 2006).
- Osgerby, Bill, Anna Gough-Yates, and Marianne Wells. Action TV : Tough-Guys, Smooth Operators and Foxy Chicks. London: Routledge, 2001.
- Tasker, Yvonne. Action and Adventure Cinema. New York: Routledge, 2004.
- ———.Spectacular Bodies : Gender, Genre, and the Action Cinema. London and New York: Routledge, 1993.
External links
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