1980s action stars then and now
With Arnold Schwarzenegger returning to theaters in "The Last Stand," his first starring role since leaving politics, join us for a look at what he and other 1980s action stars look like then and now.
The 1980s were a great decade for big-screen action and adventure. Join us for a then-and-now look at our favorite '80s action stars, starting with Chuck Norris.
The 1980s were a great decade for big-screen action and adventure. Join us for a then-and-now look at our favorite '80s action stars, starting with Chuck Norris.
Norris starred in several action movies in the 1980s, including "The Delta Force" in 1986. Other hits included "Code of Silence," "Invasion USA" and "Missing in Action."
Norris has gotten involved in politics the last several years, including supporting presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney in 2008 and 2012. After a seven-year break from movies, he returned in 2012 with a part in "The Expendables 2."
Arnold Schwarzenegger made a string of action hits in the 1980s, which included "Commando" and "Predator."
It was "The Terminator" in 1984, though, where the catchphrase "I'll be back" was born.
Schwarzenegger, now 65, is keeping that promise too, making a cameo in "The Expendables" while still California governor and ramping back up his acting career now that his term is over with an expanded role in 2012's "The Expendables 2" and the lead role in the new action flick "The Last Stand."
Schwarzenegger is hardly done with the action roles either. He will join his "Expendables" co-star Sylvester Stallone for the 2013 prison escape movie "The Tomb," play a DEA agent in 2014's "Ten," and is rumored to be making some sort of return to the "Terminator" franchise for the fifth movie in the series.
Although "Rocky" put Sylvester Stallone on the map, the action-adventure "First Blood" in 1982 made him an international superstar. His other '80s action roles included "Cobra" and "Rocky III" and "Rocky IV."
Sylvester Stallone continues making action films today, including recent installments of "Rocky" and "Rambo" along with "The Expendables," which he also directed, and its 2012 sequel, "The Expendables 2." His most recent action flick, "Bullet to the Head" (pictured), was directed Walter Hill, a man who also knows a thing or two about action movies, having directed "The Warriors," "48 Hrs." and "Red Heat."
Besides reunited with Schwarzenegger for "The Tomb," set for a fall 2013 release, Stallone, now 66, will also be returning for a third "Expendables" movie, tentatively set for release in 2014.
Already famous thanks to "Star Wars," Harrison Ford became a bigger action star in the '80s as "Indiana Jones," not to mention another sci-fi role in "Blade Runner."
Ford, now 70, returned to "Indiana Jones" in 2008 and most recently appeared in the western/sci-fi mash-up "Cowboys & Aliens." He'll again return to sci-fi for the movie version of "Ender's Game," set for release in November 2013, and has signed on to reprise the role of Indiana Jones for the fifth movie in that series.
First becoming a star on the sitcom "Moonlighting," Bruce Willis went "yippee-ki-yah" all over the bad guys in "Die Hard" in 1988.
Willis has kept with the action roles despite his age, now 57, including recent roles in "Red," "The Expendables 2" and "Looper." He is also returning to "Die Hard" with the fifth movie in the franchise, "A Good Day to Die Hard," set for a Feb. 14 release, stars in the big-budget sequel "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," and is currently filming a sequel to "Red," set for release this summer.
Mel Gibson's first big role was in 1979's "Mad Max," but the '80s saw him continue with action flicks, including 1987's "Lethal Weapon" and two "Mad Max" sequels.
Now 57, Gibson has hit a career bump thanks to several scandals, but he's still making action films, including 2010's "Edge of Darkness" and 2012's "Get the Gringo." He will also be appearing in Robert Rodriguez's action sequel "Machete Kills" this summer.
Dolph Lundgren starred opposite Sylvester Stallone as Russian boxer Ivan Drago in "Rocky IV" in 1985, and went on to star in a string of action movies.
Lundgren, now 55, has mostly appeared in smaller movies since his heyday two decades ago, but he did have a role in Stallone's "The Expendables" and returned for the sequel in 2012.
Carl Weathers, who starred opposite Sylvester Stallone in "Rocky," also starred in "Predator" opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987.
Weathers, now 65, has had recent TV roles in shows like "Psych," "The Shield" and "Brothers."
Sigourney Weaver proved in 1986's "Aliens" that women could also be action movie heroes.
Weaver, now 63, had a chance to return to the action genre by reuniting with "Aliens" director James Cameron for "Avatar" in 2009. She also appeared in the 2012 action-thriller "The Cold Light of Day" alongside Bruce Willis and Henry Cavill, and is rumored to be returning for "Avatar 2."
In 1981, Kurt Russell shed his Disney family film image for the sci-fi action-adventure "Escape From New York."
Russell, now 61, had a couple more action hits in the 1980s, including "Big Trouble in Little China" and "Tequila Sunrise."
