The allure of tough guys is a huge aspect of modern movie stardom. We want to believe that the guy kicking ninjas in the face is really as cool and effortlessly violent as they seem onscreen. Actors play into this phenomenon, giving detailed interviews about their workout routines, restrictive diets, and fight training; this is particularly heightened with actors taking on superhero roles. But there’s a distinct difference between an actor who’s capable of getting into comic book hero shape and one who embodies the gritty edges of the hero they’re portraying.
It can be a fine line between performative tough guy antics and genuine tough guy credentials. The genuine tough guys can often seem like volatile people offscreen - agents of chaos that are somehow miraculously wrangled into dynamic performances. Just as often we’re dealing with professionals who are simply good enough at their craft to invoke that feeling of danger and edginess without actually giving into it in their personal lives.
Is your favorite superhero actor a genuine tough guy, or is it all a mask they’re wearing in service of the character? The answers may surprise you.
These are 8 Superhero Actors Who Are Legitimate Tough Guys (And 7 Who Are Only Tough On Screen).
TOUGH: Christian Bale
Christian Bale’s intensity and dedication to his craft are almost legendary at this point. The former Batman drops and gains weight at frankly alarming levels, and transforms himself inside and out for his roles. It’s really not surprising that such obsessive dedication would come with some rough edges.
Bale’s freak out while filming Terminator: Salvation – the film’s Director of Photography reportedly disrupted a particularly emotional scene, throwing Bale over the edge – is one of the more embarrassing examples of the actor’s notorious emotional volatility, but he’s also used that intensity for noble purposes.
While filming American Hustle, GQ reported that director David O. Russell became so abusive toward co-star Amy Adams that Bale physically put himself between the two and told Russell to knock it off. You can take the Batman out of Gotham…
NOT TOUGH: Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton brought a cool, steely eyed menace to his take on the Caped Crusader, a man not particularly physically intimidating, but with a spark that suggested he might genuinely be unhinged. It is, for many people, still the definitive cinematic version of Batman.
Yet there are few people who seem less likely to be a costumed avenger than Michael Keaton. Up until he donned the cape and cowl, Keaton had made a name for himself in comedies like Mr. Mom and Night Shift, a charming everyman who had more in common with Tom Hanks than Sylvester Stallone.
Keaton has gone on to one of the most eclectic careers in Hollywood, but perhaps his greatest trick was proving to people he could credibly beat up Jack Nicholson.
TOUGH: Henry Cavill
Henry Cavill’s Superman has been a surprisingly polarizing figure in the 21st century superhero film boom. A Superman prone to self doubt and introspection proved to be a divisive concept, and three films in it’s still not entirely clear what sort of man this version of Clark Kent will ultimately be.
None of that is really on Cavill, though, who seems to relish his superhero stardom. Cavill not only keeps up the usual superhero movie star workout regimen, he trains in Jiu Jitsu, is an avid outdoorsman, and has even been spotted heroically stopping traffic to save a turtle.
Maybe all DC needs to do to make his Superman seems more vibrant is to embrace some of Cavill’s real world bravado – give or take a magnificent mustache.
NOT TOUGH: Hugh Jackman
Arguably the toughest, most vicious onscreen superhero ever is Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. The feral X-Man is almost always smoking a cigar, cracking a beer, or covered in the blood of someone who looked at him funny. Jackman’s animalistic energy has been the animating force of the X-Men film franchise for almost two decades, never more enthrallingly gritty than in his grand finale, Logan.
Jackman has often downplayed his personal connection to Wolverine’s intensity, and his teenaged son agrees. Jackman told Stephen Colbert that he overheard his son tell one of his friends Jackman is not tough or cool like his iconic cinematic counterpart. Jackman doesn’t seem to mind.
Maybe now that he’s hanging up his adamantium claws, Jackman can explore more of the musical roles, like Les Miserables, Australia, and The Greatest Showman that he loves so much.
TOUGH: Chris Pratt
Chris Pratt’s ascension to A-list movie star is still somewhat bewildering to fans who discovered him as doughy manchild Andy Dwyer on the beloved NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation. His turns as Owen Grady in the Jurassic World films and Peter Quill in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies – as well as the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War – revealed the chiseled, leading man action hero beneath the silly exterior of Pawnee, Indiana’s favorite doofus.
It actually turns out the real world Pratt had a bit more in common with the tough guy movie star than was generally known.
Pratt is an avid outdoorsman, and has spoken at length about his love of hunting and drinking whiskey; he apparently lost most of his weight for Guardians of the Galaxy by giving up beer. Nobody seems to be having a better time with movie stardom these days than Pratt.
NOT TOUGH: Ben Affleck
On a surface level, Ben Affleck seems like he’d be a prime example of a Hollywood tough guy. The current – and maybe future – Batman has had well publicized issues with alcohol, infidelity, and gambling addictions, and has exhibited anger publicly. His furious dismantling of Bill Maher and author Sam Harris over charges of Islamophobia on live television has become the stuff of legend.
Yet there’s an apparent sadness to most of Affleck’s issues that severely undercut any sort of bad boy image. Affleck – a gifted writer and director, as well as humanitarian – seems to be in a constant struggle with his demons to be the sort of man he really wants to be. It’s understandable if people don’t feel a lot of sympathy for a rich, handsome movie star, but Affleck himself would likely wince at the suggestion he’s any sort of tough guy.
TOUGH: Chris Evans
Chris Evans is a conventional tough guy in a few ways. The outgoing Captain America is obviously no strange to the gym. He’s also an avid football fan; a lifelong New England Patriots fanatic who often banters with fellow Marvel hero Chris Pratt during games over Twitter.
Evans’ brand of toughness is a bit off the beaten path.
A vocal proponent for progressive political issues, Evans often takes to social media to point out the hypocrisy and corruption he sees in those in power, and he often stands up for people whose voices aren’t as loud as his due to his fame. It’s a different sort of braveness and strength, but it’s just as relevant as the guys who climb mountains and drink a lot, if not more.
NOT TOUGH: Tom Hardy
Tom Hardy has become one of the most fascinating movie stars of his generation. The English actor has made a name for himself starring in dark, violent films like Bronson, Legion, and Mad Max: Fury Road. He became a household name when he squared off with Christian Bale’s Batman in The Dark Knight Rises as the villainous Bane, a nightmarish, muscle bound terrorist wheezing behind a rubber mask. His bloody standoff with Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant added some award-worthy credibility to his resume as well.
Hardy has suggested in recent years his onscreen persona doesn’t line up with the man he’s trying to be.
Admitting he was more prone to outbursts as a younger man, Hardy claims that he’s striving to be as peaceful and loving as he can in real life. That’s a noble goal - let’s just hope he remembers to bring his edge to Venom.
TOUGH: Josh Brolin
Josh Brolin just has one of those faces. Even if he didn’t have a reputation as a tough guy, you’d likely assume he did anyway based on that lantern jaw and a seemingly frozen expression of mild irritation. Brolin’s been a Hollywood staple for over 30 years – he’ll portray both Thanos and Cable this year - and he has a decidedly checkered reputation.
On the lighter side of things, he volunteered to fight real fires in preparation for his role in Only The Brave, and has aired a pretty funny feud with director James Cameron for turning down a role in Avatar. On the darker side, Brolin was charged with domestic battery in 2004, and with public intoxication in 2013.
There’s undeniably an air of danger around Brolin.
NOT TOUGH: Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr. is one of Hollywood’s greatest redemption stories. After rising to prominence as a classic Hollywood bad boy in the ’80s, Downey’s issues with substance abuse derailed his career, to the point he was borderline uninsurable by the early ’00s.
Downey eventually got clean and, after a run of lower profile, well-received film performances, found megastardom again in the role of Tony Stark, as Iron Man kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Downey has become something of a champion of clean living, espousing the benefits of yoga and Buddhism.
That’s all incredibly commendable, but it’s a far cry from the tough guy, bad boy persona that so defined his earlier life. Downey is almost certainly happy to trade in that tough guy reputation for his status as one of Hollywood’s brightest stars.
TOUGH: Jason Momoa
Jason Momoa initially seemed a slightly strange actor to take on Aquaman, the famously blonde, blue eyed underwater hero. Momoa’s version of the aquatic warrior is a bit of a cross between its source material and an underwater Game of Thrones, which makes sense considering Momoa logged a season as Dothraki leader Khal Drogo. His upcoming solo Aquaman film is one of the most hotly anticipated superhero offerings.
Momoa is one of the most gregarious movie stars in the world.
The hulking star jumps at life with a childlike glee, routinely climbing mountains, and throwing axes when he’s not busy making movies. He does it all with a grin that lets you know he’s enjoying every minute. Momoa may be tough, but his wide-eyed enthusiasm for tough guy antics is infectious.
NOT TOUGH: Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds managed to resuscitate a flagging career with the surprise megahit Deadpool, where Reynolds played the titular anti-hero with his trademark snark and an abundance of violent bliss. Reynolds imbued the hard living, foul-mouthed Wade Wilson with an undeniable charm that made it easy to ignore the fact he was a deeply unstable criminal.
Reynolds is a much milder character than Deadpool.
He’s a vocal advocate for environmental conservation, claiming he and his wife Blake Lively – whom he met during the making of his ill-fated Green Lantern film - have solar panels and a compost heap at their home, and he’s a well-documented animal lover. Maybe he gets all of his darker energy out of him by destroying guys with Zambonis as Deadpool.
TOUGH: Chris Hemsworth
Chris Hemsworth’s upbringing is almost overwhelming Australian. The Thor star spent a portion of his youth growing up in the Outback while his father was a cattle rancher, culling buffalo from grazing land. Hemsworth even spoke of how he bought a gigantic knife to attempt to catch fish when he was a grade schooler.
Hemsworth may be a big Hollywood movie star now, but he’s still the outdoorsy type, spending as much time surfing and biking as he can. His schedule likely hasn’t allowed for much free time lately, as he’s become one of Hollywood’s most versatile and in demand leading men.
When he’s not appearing as Thor in films like Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War, he’s showing off his surprisingly sharp comedic chops in Ghostbusters and Saturday Night Live.
NOT TOUGH: Mark Ruffalo
It’s still pretty strange that Mark Ruffalo is a superhero. The soulful actor largely avoided mainstream fare before Joss Whedon cast him as Bruce Banner in The Avengers. Ruffalo seems both bemused and delighted by his place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, an unlikely diversion in a career built on highbrow, off-the-beaten-path art films.
Ruffalo himself could not be much farther from a tough guy. Ruffalo’s public appearances tend to be in service of some sort of progressive political cause, like supporting anti-fracking efforts and opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Ruffalo is likely more than happy to eschew a tough guy persona, as he spends his time devoted to higher minded ideals. Still, it’s probably best to not make him angry, just in case.
TOUGH: Gal Gadot
Gal Gadot has become the unlikely face of the DC Extended Universe. After Henry Cavill’s Superman and Ben Affleck’s Batman proved to be unexpectedly divisive, Gadot’s Wonder Woman became an instant hit. Her brief appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was one of that film’s most universally celebrated aspects, and her solo film was the DCEU’s first unqualified success, and proved there’s more than enough demand for female-led superhero films.
For her part, Gadot is probably the toughest person on this list. The Israeli-born Gadot spent two years in the Israeli Defense Forces as a combat instructor. Gadot has suggested she was hired for the Fast and Furious films due to that military background. It probably goes without saying, but just for the sake of clarity: it’s best not to mess with Wonder Woman.
What other tough superhero actors can you think of? Let us know in the comments.
