Feature: Top 10 80s Action Movie Stars

Mr. Seagal is low on the list because he only made his acting debut in 1988 with Above the Law. It, however, opened the floodgates for a slew of movies dominated by the fluid moves of Aikido. Dojos around the country flooded with enthusiastic participants thanks to him (of course they all soon quit when they realized it took hard work to master).

His portrayal of Snake Plissken in Escape from New York was the inspiration for the Solid Snake character in the Metal Gear Solid series. Enough said. Also see his entries in The Thing and Big Trouble in Little China.

Breaking into the American cinemas by killing Apollo Creed in Rocky IV, the statueque and intimidating (standing at 196 centimetres and weighing in at 111.5 kilograms) Lundgren continued his barrage in the 80s with films like Red Scorpion, The Punisher and I Come in Peace. He then racked up another ten or so action flicks in the 90s with limited success.

For the uninitiated Chuck churned out a number of respectable action flicks during the 80s including Forced Vengeance, Missing In Action, Missing in Action 2: The Beginning, The Delta Force, Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection . . . (I sense a trend here). Plus, he can actually kick ass in real life which is always a plus.

Side Fact: There is no ‘ctrl’ button on Chuck Norris’s computer. Chuck Norris is always in control.

Indiana Jones: Part-time teacher; part-time whip wielding archaeologist; full time badass. He found priceless treasures, never lost his hat and always had a hot female sidekick. I wanted to be him as a child.

But back to the point — Ford was by no means a one trick pony having starred in the critically lauded Blade Runner and the Star Wars films as the wise cracking Han Solo. Additional action success came his way in the following decades as Jack Ryan .

JCVD catapulted onto the scene with Bloodsport, a raw fighting movie showcasing some impressive moves. He followed this up with some solid efforts including Cyborg and Kickboxer. In the early 90s he continued his streak with the likes of Universal Soldier and Timecop before a combination of Street Fighter and cocaine helped to destroy his career.

Okay technically Mad Max was released in 1979, but The Road Warrior, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Lethal Weapon and Lethal Weapon 2 were all bonafide eighties material. So was his long feathered hairstyle.

Two words: Die Hard. Detective John McClane runs around Nakatomi Plaza eliminating terrorists one by one and all without shoes on! This film showcases Bruce at his best. In fact it is so good, that he didn’t even need to make any other action flicks in the decade to make the list. Yippee Kay Yay Motherfuckers!!!!

It was close race, but Sly missed out on the top spot because of his over-reliance on his trademark characters. Although his resume is impressive — the Rambo trilogy, Cobra and Over the Top (hey, I love it), I just feel he could have done with more variety.

Especially if he was to beat out . . .

Arnie has always delivered on all three of the criteria spelled out at the intro of this top 10 list. The King of One Liners spawned out numerous hits such as (deep breath): Conan the Barbarian, The Terminator, Commando, Raw Deal, Predator and The Running Man.

Not content with his domination of the 80s he pretty much maintained his dominance in the 90s with films such as Total Recall, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Last Action Hero, True Lies and Eraser. He’d like you to just ignore Batman & Robin if you could.