Tough guy actors have always been the common idol of movie fans all over the world, and their influence can often exceed the restrictions of nationality. Bruce Lee, for example, has fans all over the world, and his filmography continues to this day.
The early generation of tough guy actors such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Bruce Willis were almost the business cards of Hollywood in the last century, and China's Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li also spread Chinese kung fu to every corner of the world.
Every boy has a heroic dream, which is the most fundamental reason why tough guy actors have become popular all over the world. The screen images of tough guy actors are often decent characters, and the so-called bravery of all men is most appropriate to describe them.
Stallone's "First Blood Series" and Bruce Willis's "Die Hard" series have created almost perfect decent characters with both wisdom and courage, which greatly satisfy the vanity of boys to punish evil and promote good deeds and righteousness.
Music knows no borders because good music can transcend language limitations. The same is true of the action design in the movie, the excellent action design can also be circulated all over the world, whether the lines are understood or not, anyway, the smooth and intense action scenes can achieve shocking effects.
That's why Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li were able to get their place in Hollywood — to express movies with action, not lines. Even Jason Statham said bluntly: "Jackie Chan is my idol, and I really like his action movies." ”
There are talents in the Jiangshan generation, each leading the way for hundreds of years. The tough guys in China and Hollywood have unconsciously completed the replacement of the old and the new, and they have also successfully carried the banner of tough guy movies, with unparalleled box office appeal in the film market.
Who are the hottest Hollywood tough guy actors on the big screen in recent years?
That's right, it's the three guys mentioned in my title, Van Diesel, Dawn Johnson, and Jason Statham.
Van Diesel has secured the top spot in Hollywood for the ongoing box office marvels of the Fast and Furious series, with nine films racking up nearly $6 billion worldwide, single-handedly helping Universal Pictures and other film giants compete.
Dawn Johnson became famous for WWE, became a box office hit after transforming into an actor, and his strong body made fans affectionately call him "Dwayne Johnson". His fame experience is somewhat similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger's, and what is more interesting is that Schwarzenegger entered politics after becoming famous, and was successfully elected governor of California, and Dwayne Johnson confirmed that he would participate in the US presidential election.
Jason Statham has always been a relatively special presence in Hollywood, his image is not a traditional decent, so it has more to try, and the role of good and evil is unique under his interpretation. Many works that are not too high at the box office also have a large fan base, such as "Anger Attack" and "Mechanic".
Most of Hollywood tough guys are muscular and burly macho men, while the image of Chinese tough guys is different, and the Chinese tough guy screen image is actually more concerned about manhood than full of muscles.
This is also similar to the cultural differences between China and foreign countries, when children abroad are bullied, they will always dream of being a big man, so that they can show the strength of their own strength. In their perception, muscles are strength, but they ignore the mysterious power from the East. When domestic children are bullied, they always dream that they can do kung fu, so that they can do chivalry and righteousness.
Therefore, most of the tough guy actors in China are not muscle men from the gym, but righteous men with masculinity. For example, Wu Jing and Zhen Zidan, both of whom have a deep kung fu background, are in line with the domestic audience's vision of tough guys. Although Zhang Hanyu does not know kung fu, the righteous awe and fearless temperament that exudes from him also make him a tough guy representative.
However, the difference between domestic and foreign tough guy actors is in the appearance, but the similarity lies in the inside.
Whether it is Hollywood or China, tough guys often represent the power of justice, so their action scenes cannot be dragged back. Their popularity is exchanged for their lives, and their status is also accumulated by dangerous actions. The action knows no borders, and the dangers faced when shooting are no different.
Tough guy actors have a strong box office appeal because action movies have always been the biggest box office players in the film market. Drama movies are easy to produce movie emperors, while action movies are easier to make superstars.
The reason why action movies have been popular all over the world is because of the innate "popcorn" attribute of action movies, after all, watching movies is only one of the pastimes in our lives, in today's fast-paced life, "popcorn" movies are equivalent to "decompression movies".
Spend two hours on a fantasy adventure, experience the thrill of hormone release in intense fights, and experience visual spectacles in imaginative images and deafening sounds. The intense and exciting viewing process will make us temporarily forget the troubles of life, so that the body and mind can be greatly relaxed and satisfied.
Perhaps, this is also the reason why the art of film has always stood tall.
When the popcorn is finished, the movie should be over, and when the lights of the movie theater come on and we slowly walk out of the movie hall, the plot of the movie has become blurred. The only things we remember are the roaring explosions and blood-pumping action scenes, and the tough guy actors in the film. For drama films, we remember the plot, remember the transition of light and shadow.
Therefore, tough guy actors leave a deeper impression on the audience, and they also have a stronger box office appeal.
Movie emperors often exist, while action superstars do not often have them.
Bruce Lee died many years ago and still no one has been able to take on his mantle, Jet Li has almost quit the film industry and there is no successor to him, Jackie Chan's old dangerous actions have more than enough and insufficient strength, but we can hardly see anyone who stands out. In contrast, Hollywood is facing the same dilemma, and finding action superstars has become a pain point for major film agencies.
Tough guy actors are also facing their own industry pressure, when the age of the decline in function, when young to hand to catch the difficult action, one day will be very difficult. Jackie Chan in the movie "Vanguard", there is a self-deprecating section of taking the elevator, replaced by the young Jackie Chan, he has a hundred handsome ways to go downstairs, but he will never take the elevator.
However, there is the same strange phenomenon in the global film and television circle: more and more actors are transforming into tough guy actors, and tough guy actors are still insisting even when they reach retirement age, and almost all tough guy actors will answer like this: "Fight until you can't move." ”
For example, Robert Pattinson took over as Batman and completed the transformation from small fresh meat to tough guys; Yang Yang, a young domestic actor, also received a lot of praise for his military drama "Special Battle Glory".
However, there are still some tough guy actors who have successfully transformed at the end of their careers and completed their breakthroughs.
For example, the famous Japanese tough guy actor Ken Takakura, who has passed away, made a soft action movie when he was young, and later transformed successfully, not only won the International Film Festival Film Emperor Award with a feature film, but also cooperated with Zhang Yimou in a "Thousand Miles to Ride Alone", and the heart-warming and delicate performance hit people's hearts.
In addition, there is Hong Kong veteran tough guy actor Xie Xian, as a classic villain actor in the Hong Kong film industry, the role he plays will always make people shudder. Xie Xian, who is 85 years old this year, won the Best Actor of the Hong Kong Film Directors Association in 2021 with the feature film "Kill a Dusk", which is a successful sublimation of his acting career.
If Van Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, who are now in hot hollywood, work together on a movie, and Chinese tough guys Wu Jing, Zhang Hanyu and Zhen Zidan work together on a movie, which tough guy movie will achieve better box office results? Which tough guys are you most looking forward to working with?