My number one choice would be Maurizio Merli from countless Euro crime flicks.He usually played a cop and was as hard as smurfin nails most of the time-if you look up the words “police brutality” on Wikipedia it will probably just be a picture of Merli.....
You can see him in flicks such as Violent Naples,Cynic,the Rat and the Fist,and Rome:Armed to the Teeth to name but three
yeah, I’ve been meaning to check out Merli’s stuff for a while now and will hopefully get around to it sooner rather than later. He actually got his start because of how much he resembled Nero, obviously Merli carved out a nice little career for himself though..
yeah, I’ve been meaning to check out Merli’s stuff for a while now and will hopefully get around to it sooner rather than later. He actually got his start because of how much he resembled Nero, obviously Merli carved out a nice little career for himself though..
He’s well worth checking out if you can get your hands on some of his stuff-I think he was in Mannaja as well,the spaghetti western that Blue Underground released a few years ago.The thing about him was that he was super fit,did all his own stunts yet died of a heart attack playing tennis when he was still in his forties.
The other big one for me would probably be Henry Silva!
Rutger Hauer? I personally am a huge fan of his work....like Nighthawks, Blade Runner, and two he starred in .....Wanted Dead or Alive and Split Second....I just love the guy......but please no one mention LadyHawke....whoops I guess I just did........
Very impressive range of tough guys here. Nice thread. Here’s some more suggestions:
David Field as Acko in “Two Hands”
John Jarret as Mick Taylor in “Wolf Creek”
Eric Bana as Mark Brandon Read aka Chopper in “Chopper”.
Hugh Keays-Byrne as Toe Cutter in “Mad Max”
Nick Cave as Maynard in “Ghosts of the Civil Dead”
Danny Huston as Arthur Burns in “The Proposition”
Bryan Brown as Pando in “Two Hands”
Jack Thompson as Foley in “Sunday Too Far Away”
Guy Pearce as Leonard in “Memento”
The Shark in “Jaws”
Teerence Stamp as The Limey
Very impressive range of tough guys here. Nice thread. Here’s some more suggestions:
David Field as Acko in “Two Hands”
John Jarret as Mick Taylor in “Wolf Creek”
Eric Bana as Mark Brandon Read aka Chopper in “Chopper”.
Hugh Keays-Byrne as Toe Cutter in “Mad Max”
Nick Cave as Maynard in “Ghosts of the Civil Dead”
Danny Huston as Arthur Burns in “The Proposition”
Bryan Brown as Pando in “Two Hands”
Jack Thompson as Foley in “Sunday Too Far Away”
Guy Pearce as Leonard in “Memento”
The Shark in “Jaws”
Terence Stamp as The Limey
I just watched Revolver, the Guy Ritchie film, this weekend with Ray Liotta and man was that a weird performance....I dont know if I liked the performance or if I thought it was too much, but it got to me somehow because I’m still thinking about it.
Revolver was a not so bad film from Ritchie - It is a slowed down (for ritchie’s usual) and a strategic film and I have to say seeing Jason S. with all that hair was hard to adjust to. The preformances were good, but Liota gave one of his over the top crazy acts and it kind of takes away from the film a little bit. I got a chance to see this thing a long ass time ago and I actually never thought is was going to come out - it was actually finished years ago!!! I heard Ritchie had some distrubution issues, but I am glad it did come out because he has to start working on getting back on track, his greatness ended way too early (since he hooked up with Madonna).
Revolver was a not so bad film from Ritchie - It is a slowed down (for ritchie’s usual) and a strategic film and I have to say seeing Jason S. with all that hair was hard to adjust to. The preformances were good, but Liota gave one of his over the top crazy acts and it kind of takes away from the film a little bit. I got a chance to see this thing a long ass time ago and I actually never thought is was going to come out - it was actually finished years ago!!! I heard Ritchie had some distrubution issues, but I am glad it did come out because he has to start working on getting back on track, his greatness ended way too early (since he hooked up with Madonna).
Yeah LJB, like I said I don’t know if I liked the performance Liotta gave or not, it was very over the top. It somehow seemed to work for me but it goes against everything I like from a tough guy actor which is silence and reaction....it was almost like a stage performance.....I didnt love the movie, I thought it was interesting, Jason Statham with hair was something I never got used to while watching....I dont know...I would be curious what others thought in the Diabolical Legion because I am still on the fence about this one.....and I am afraid he might be a one trick pony, Guy Ritchie, he has his own style but I’m still waiting for something that will blow me away....maybe his next film Rock N Rolla will get him back on track....
Samurai: I found Revolver to be a bloated, pseudo-philosophical mess. I think it’s no coincidence that this was the first film of his that Matthew Vaughn didn’t write. I didn’t hate it, but I thought it could’ve been so much more. A lot of people hate Ritchie, but I really enjoyed lock, stock and Snatch a great bit. He may be a bit of a one trick pony, but that trick is entertaining in my eyes. Like you said, here’s to hoping Rock N Rolla is good and a little off his beaten path. As for tough guys, I thought of 2 that in hindsight, I’m shocked no one mentioned:
1. James Caan- he is a cinematic bad ass and a tough guy in real life as well. I heard a story about how a few years ago, one of his young turk co-stars was joking around with him about how he was old, etc. and they got in the boxing ring and Caan BEAT THE SH*T out of the guy in a big way. As well, he is a black belt in Karate and was a regular on the rodeo circuit for a number of years. I’d say he qualifies…
2. Burt Reynolds: How did we miss The Burt? he was a ladies’ man and a man’s man… so many good tough guy roles to choose from..
