Action Stars Then & Now (Pictures)

1. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Age: 73 Years old

Arnold did it all, he is the real incarnation of the American dream.

Arnold came to the US at the age of 21, he spoke little English, but he quickly climbed up the ladder of success.

In a few years, Arnold became the prominent face of Bodybuilding, he later won Mr. Olympia 7 times and became the greatest ambassador of bodybuilding.

  • Mr. Olympia 7 times
  • Mr. Universe 5 times
  • 38th Governor of California from 2003 to 2011

Personal records of Arnold Schwarzenegger in weightlifting

  • Deadlift – 721 lb (327 kg)
  • Bench press – 533 lb (241 kg)
  • Squat – 554 lb (251 kg)
  • Clean & press – 271 lb (122 kg)
  • Clean & jerk – 305 lb (138 kg)

Best Movies:

  • The Terminator
  • Predator
  • Total Recall
  • Commando
  • Conan The Barbarian
  • The Running Man
  • Last Action Hero
  • The Last Stand
  • Escape Plan
  • Eraser
  • End of days
  • Conan The Destroyer
  • Raw Deal

2. Steven Seagal

Age: 69 Years old

Steven Seagal is an 8th-dan black belt in Aikido.

He is the first foreigner who opened an Aikido dojo in Japan.

Steven Seagal also helped several UFC fighters in their training.

When former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva knocked out his challenger Vitor Belfort, Steven Seagal was credited for showing that kick to Silva.

Seagal also helped Lyoto Machida in his training. Machida used the same kick, crane kick, against the legendary Randy Couture, which resulted in a total knockout.

Steven Seagal is a close friend of Vladimir Putin. In 2016, Seagal was granted Russian citizenship.

Best Movies:

  • Under Siege
  • Above The Law
  • Hard to Kill
  • Out for Justice
  • On Deadly Ground
  • Marked for Death
  • The Glimmer Man
  • Fire Down Below
  • Exit Wounds
  • The Patriot
  • Executive Decision
  • Machete
  • Out for a Kill
  • The Keeper
  • Into The Sun

3. Sylvester Stallone

Age: 75 Years old

At the age of 75, Stallone seems to be gaining more muscles throughout the years.

Stallone’s Instagram page is full of pictures and videos of him training and showing off his physique.

Sylvester Stallone’s notable movies:

  • Rocky series
  • Rambo series
  • Expendables series

4. Dolph Lundgren

Age: 63 Years Old

The Swedish chemist made his breakthrough portraying the character of Ivan Drago in Rocky 4.

Dolph showed his unique talent portraying Ivan Drago, his height and frame helped him incarnate the perfect antihero against Rocky Balboa.

After Rocky, Dolph Lundgren starred in more than 42 movies and became one of the prominent action stars in the 80s and 90s.

Best movies:

  • The Expendables
  • Rocky IV
  • Creed ll
  • Universal Soldier
  • The Expendables II
  • The Expendables III
  • The Punisher
  • Aquaman
  • Masters of The Universe
  • Showdown In Little Tokyo
  • Black Water
  • Riot

5. Jackie Chan

Age: 67 Years old

Jackie Chan started acting at a very young age. 

During four decades of acting, Jackie Chan starred in more than 140 films.

Jackie Chan has a black belt in several martial arts:

  • Hapkido
  • Karate
  • Taekwondo
  • Jeet Kune do

Best movies:

  • Drunken Master
  • Armour of God
  • Police Story
  • Drunken Master ll
  • Rush Hour
  • Rumble in The Brox
  • Project A
  • CZ12
  • Whi Am I?
  • The Foreigner
  • Supercop

6. Jean-Claude Van Damme

Age: 60 Years old

The Belgian actor started martial arts at the age of 6, he began with Shotokan karate then switched to kickboxing and Muay Thai.

Also, Jean-Claude Van Damme holds titles in amateur bodybuilding.

At the age of 18, he won the national bodybuilding competition, Mr. Belgium.

Best movies by JCVD:

  • Bloodsport
  • Kickboxer
  • Universal Soldier
  • Hard Target
  • Lionheart
  • Hard Target
  • Double Impact
  • Timecop
  • Street Fighter
  • The Quest
  • Sudden Death
  • Maximum Risk
  • Cyborg
  • Nowhere to Run
  • No retreat, no surrender

7. Carl Weathers

Age: 73 Years old

Carl Weathers, better known for portraying the character of Apollo Creed in the Rocky saga.

Best movies by Carl Weathers:

  • Rocky saga
  • Predator
  • Toy Story 4
  • Little Nicky
  • Happy Gilmore
  • Force 10 from Navarone

8. Kurt Russell

Age: 70 Years old

Kurt Russell started his career as a child actor, he first portrayed several characters for Disney then dominated the action movie scene during the 70s.

The Guardian named Kurt Russell as one of the greatest actors who have never been nominated for an Academy Award.

Best movies by Kurt Russell:

  • Escape from New York
  • The thing
  • Tombstone
  • Big trouble in little China
  • The hateful eight
  • Overboard
  • Death Proof
  • Guardians of the galaxy vol.2
  • Tango & cash
  • Escape from L.A
  • Stargate
  • Backdraft
  • Bone tomahawk

9. Jet Li

Age: 58 Years Old

Lesser known facts about Jet Li:

1. Jet Li explained in one of his interviews that he suffers from hyperthyroidism. 

hyperthyroidism is a disease that causes the thyroid gland to produce too much of the hormone thyroxine which causes the metabolism of the body to go fast and high which leads to excessive weight loss.

2. Jet Li’s net worth is estimated at $200 million.

3. Contrary to the popular belief, Jet Li admitted in one of his interviews that he has never been in a real fight.

He is surely a master in martial arts, but he was always a quiet kid and he always avoided trouble.

4. Jet Li holds 4 gold medals in 3 different martial arts.

Best movies by Jet Li:

  • Fearless
  • Once upon a time in China
  • Fist of legend
  • Romeo must die
  • Shaolin temple
  • The forbidden kingdom
  • Hero
  • Unleashed
  • Kiss the dragon
  • Tai Chi master
  • The expendables
  • The one
  • Cradle 2 the grave
  • Lethal weapon 4

10. Chuck Norris

Age: 81 years old

1. Chuck Norris has built a wealth of $70 million over several years in Hollywood.

2. He recently launched a video game “NonStop Chuck Norris”.

3. Chuck Norris’s real beginning of martial arts learning was in South Korea when he was there with the U.S. Air Force.

Norris met a Korean master named Do Sik Mun who introduced him to the art of kicking.

4. Chuck Norris’s original martial art is Kyokushin Karate.

Best movies by Chuck Norris:

  • Lone Wolf McQuade
  • The Delta force
  • The way of the dragon
  • Missing in action
  • Invasion U.S.A.
  • The expendables 2
  • Delta Force 2: The Colombian connection
  • Code of silence
  • Braddock: Missing in action III
  • A force of One
  • Sidekicks
  • Good guys wear black
  • The hitman
  • Firewalker
  • The octagon
  • Hellbound

11. Bruce  Willis

Age: 66 years old

Lesser known facts about Bruce Willis

1. Bruce was born in Germany to a German mother and an American father.

2. He had a stuttering problem when he was a child. He later discovered in junior high school that his stutter goes away when he performs on stage, so he decided to pursue a career in acting.

3. In his biggest breakthrough movie Die Hard, Bruce suffered permanent hearing loss during a scene where the explosion had to be real and extremely loud.

Bruce lost 60% of his hearing in his left ear.

Best movies by Bruce Willis:

  • Die hard
  • The sixth sense
  • Pulp fiction
  • Unbreakable
  • The fifth element
  • Armageddon
  • Looper
  • 12 Monkeys
  • Death wish
  • A good day to die hard
  • Live free or die hard
  • Red
  • Die hard with a vengeance
  • Sin city
  • Tears of the sun

12. Wesley Snipes

Age: 59 Years old

Lesser known facts about Wesley Snipes:

1. He is best known for portraying the character of Blade in the Blade saga.

2. Wesley Snipes didn’t pay taxes in 3 years from 1998 to 2001. He later got convicted of three misdemeanor counts and was sentenced to spend 3 years in jail.

3. Wesley holds a 6th dan black belt in Shotokan Karate, 4th dan black belt in Hapkido and 2nd dan black belt in Kyokushin Karate.

4. Many of Wesley’s costars talked about him getting high all the time in the film set for the Blade saga.

5. Wesley Snipes received a star in the Hollywood walk of fame.

Best movies by Wesley Snipes:

  • Blade
  • Blade Trinity
  • Demolition man
  • White men can’t jump
  • New Jack city
  • Passenger 57
  • The Expendables 3
  • U.S. Marshals
  • Money Train
  • Dolemite is my name
  • Jungle fever
  • The art of war
  • Undisputed
  • Major league
  • Murder at 1600

13. Danny Trejo

Age: 77 years old

Lesser known facts about Danny Trejo

1. Danny Trejo spent more than 11 years in and out of jail. He was a convicted criminal and drug addict. 

2. He won the welterweight championship belt in boxing while he was jailed in San Quentin.

3. After a long time in and out of jail, Danny Trejo had enough and decided to change his life. He completed the 12-step rehabilitation program.

4. His acting career started accidentally when he landed a role in a movie called Runaway Train.

One of the film crew spent time in jail with Danny Trejo and recognized him in the set, he then talked to the production to offer Trejo a bigger role in the movie.

Best movies of Danny Trejo

  • Machete
  • Machete kills
  • Desperado
  • Spy kids
  • From dusk till dawn
  • Con air
  • Runaway train
  • Once upon a time in Mexico
  • Heat
  • Grindhouse
  • Predators
  • Anaconda
  • Blood in blood out
  • The devil’s rejects

14. Keanu Reeves

Age: 56 years old

Lesser known facts about Keanu Reeves

1. Keanu Reeves almost changed his name to Chuck Spadina because his agents told him that his original name does not fit for Hollywood.

2. Keanu Reeves is a motorcycle fanatic.

He has his own motorcycle company and owns a wide collection of motorcycles. Reeves also has a ‘collection’ of scars all over his body because of motorcycle accidents.

He also has a missing spleen because of a motorcycle accident.

3. Keanu Reeves does not believe that William Shakespear wrote his own work.

This is a well known theory amongst historians of English literature.

Best movies of Keanu Reeves

  • John Wick
  • John Wick: Chapter 2
  • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
  • The Matrix
  • Speed
  • Point Break
  • My own private Idaho
  • The devil’s advocate
  • Constantine
  • Bram Stoker’s Dracula
  • Toy Story 4
  • 47 Ronin
  • Knock Knock
  • The lake house
  • The day the Earth stood still
  • Bill & Ted face the music
  • Always be my maybe
  • Replicas

15. Tom Cruise

Age: 59 years old

Lesser known facts about Tom Cruise

1. Did you know that Disney modeled Aladdin by taking some facial features from Tom Cruise?

2. Tom Cruise has three ex wives and he divorced them all when they reached 33 years old.

3. Tom Cruise saved the sunglasses company Ray-Ban.

In 1981, the Ray-Ban company suffered low sales which was going to put the company out of business. After Tom Cruise wore the Ray-Ban shades in several movies, sales went up and he saved the company.

4. He refuses to be an action figure.

Tom Cruise has expressed on many occasions that he will never accept being featured in any video game.

5. Tom Cruise follows the David Bekham diet where he consumes several snacks during the day.

The snacks have to be low calorie and should be organic.

Best movies by Tom Cruise

  • Mission Impossible saga
  • Top gun
  • Edge of tomorrow
  • Jack Reacher
  • Jerry Maguire
  • Top Gun: Maverick
  • Risky Business
  • Minority report
  • Rain Man
  • The mummy
  • Eyes wide shut
  • War of Worlds
  •  A few good men
  • The last Samurai
  • Tropic Thunder
  • Collateral
  • Oblivion
  • Knight and day
  • American made
  • Vanilla sky
  • Magnolia
  • Interview with the Vampire
  • The firm

16. Mel Gibson

Age: 65 years old

Mel Gibson bursted into the movie scene in the 80s where he portrayed iconic roles in big movies such as Lethal Weapon and the Mad Max saga.

After leading a successful career in acting, Mel Gibson went behind the camera and started a successful career in directing.

Best movies of Mel Gibson

  • Braveheart
  • The passion of the Christ
  • Lethal Weapon
  • Hacksaw ridge
  • Mad Max saga
  • Apocalypto
  • The patriot
  • Signs
  • What women want
  • Force of nature
  • Blood father
  • Edge of darkness
  • Daddy’s home
  • The Expendables 3
  • Dragged across concrete

17. Nicolas Cage

Age: 57 years old

Lesser known facts about Nicolas Cage

1. Nicolas Cage is going to be buried in a pyramid.

Yes it sounds strange, but Case has his reasons, he wants his body to be protected from groupies and crazy fans in graveyards.

2. Did you know that Cage eats animals based on how they mate?

Nicolas  Cage only eats animals that are dignified while they mate like birds and fish.

3. Nicolas Cage once bought a haunted mansion for one purpose only, getting inspired to write a horror novel.

4. He once got high on mushrooms with his cat.

Best movies of Nicolas Cage

  • Face/Off
  • Con air
  • National treasure
  • Leaving Las Vegas
  • Mandy
  • Ghost Rider
  • Gone in 60 seconds
  • Raising Arizona
  • Adaptation
  • Moonstruck
  • The Rock
  • Knowing