The Best Action Heroes of the 1980s, Where Are They Now?

Any action fan worth their salt can tell you that the eighties was the decade when the genre really came into its own. The years between ’81 and ’90 were filled with a vast array of action hero archetypes, from the raided out man’s man to the everyday guy in a bad situation. What united each of these stars, though, was a swagger and skill that has since been abandoned in favor of a choice between realistic brutality and cartoonish hijinks. They really just don’t make them like they used to. Most of these heroes of yesteryear aren’t completely gone, though. Here’s an update on 15 action heroes from a bygone decade.

1. Bruce Willis

Things keep chugging along for the star of 1988’s Die Hard (aka, the best action movie ever freaking made). And while things keep getting hairier (and more far-fetched) in John McClane’s fictional slice of the planet, things have been slowing down for Willis in the fame department. Ever since the actor dropped out of a small part in Expendables 3 — for which he was set to be paid $3 million for four days work — following an on-set tiff with Sly Stallone over an extra million Willis claimed he was due, his roles have been more in the direct-to-DVD realm.