Chuck Yeager is the American badass—a real hero—but not in the sense of snuffing people or blowing shit up (although he did both as a combat pilot). He’s fearless, tough, and impossible to rattle, the pillars of badassosity. As a maverick test pilot, he broke Mach 1 (with a set of freshly broken ribs no less) when many thought the feat would shatter the space-time continuum, and he kept on pushing the envelope for decades to follow. As The Right Stuff correctly depicts him, he’s the very mold of all that is man.
Most Badass Dialogue: “I think I see a plane over here with my name on it.”
Most Badass Moment: Yeager stalls a jet, falls back to Earth from literally the top of the world, chars half his face off and still marches away from the wreck while chewing his gum. You’re damn right that’s a man.
Other Notable Badasses Played by Actor: Garrison (Black Hawk Down); Wild Bill Hickock (Purgatory); Frank James (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford)
It’s always between John Rambo and John Matrix when it comes to the best of mass murdering heroes from ludicrous ’80s action films. However, Matrix would never break down like a little bitch as Rambo does at the end of First Blood. And that’s why he’s here and Rambo isn’t. Not to say, Matrix doesn’t have a sensitive side; after all, he does teach his daughter to feed Bambi during Commando‘s opening credits. Yet, when some exiled dictator kidnaps his brat, Matrix doesn’t bawl like Hillary Clinton on the eve of a primary. No. He just starts perishing everyone in sight, whether it’s on a commercial airplane, the side of a road, or a dictator’s front lawn. If you see John Matrix—especially if he’s carrying a steel pipe—scurry until your feet snap off. Too late, John Matrix has already expired you and blown your legs off in the process.
Most Badass Dialogue: “I eat Green Berets for breakfast. And right now, I’m very hungry.”
Most Badass Moment: Matrix kills an army. An entire army.
Other Notable Badasses Played by Actor: Conan (Conan the Barbarian); The Terminator (“The Terminator Trilogy”); Dutch (Predator); Ben Richards (The Running Man); Ivan Danko (Red Heat); Douglas Quaid (Total Recall); Jack Slater (The Last Action Hero); Harry Tasker (True Lies)
Considering Kurt Russell has played some mighty badasses, this was another toss up. Originally I leaned towards R.J. MacReady from The Thing because he rocks a sombrero and flame thrower and looks good doing it. However, Snake Plissken sports an eye patch and doesn’t take shit from Harry Dean Stanton. Plus he’s a fantastic basketball player and Clint Eastwood impersonator. So I swayed like a dashboard hula girl for awhile. And then I remembered the climax of Escape From L.A. In the annals of cynical, I-don’t-give-a-damn sociopath anti-heroes, Snake Plissken proves himself the boss with the push of a button.
Most Badass Dialogue: “I don’t give a fuck about your war… or your president.”
Most Badass Moment: Plissken sends Earth back to a technological Stone Age at the end of Escape From L.A.—probably killing 100s of millions as a result—just as a finger to the US President.
Other Notable Badasses Played by Actor: R.J. MacReady (The Thing); Jack Burton (Big Trouble In Little China); Stephen ‘Bull’ McCaffrey (Backdraft); Wyatt Earp (Tombstone)
