A lot of the more recent films lack something that the older films made twenty years ago or more have: tough guys. A tough guy is someone who isn't physically imposing (that's why Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jean Claude Van Damme aren't tough guys) and who isn't afraid to get in a fight and get bloodied. My favorite tough guy is George Kennedy. Some of my other favorite tough guys are Lee Marvin, Steve McQueen, Yul Brenner, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Sean Connery and Robert Mitchum. I should include John Wayne as a tough guy, but he, at six feet four, may be too physically imposing to be a tough guy. Nah, he's the Duke. He's included. One actor that is frequently mentioned as a tough guy that I don't know should be included is Humphrey Bogart. He talked tough in his films, and may have been in a scrap or two, but I don't know if he got in a down and dirty fight, would he be believable as the winner? Something about him says he's a good actor, but not a tough guy.
This leads me to the inevitable questions. Are there tough guys today? You betcha. There may not be as many and they may take some roles that aren't "tough guy" roles, but I feel they could definitely hold their own with the tough guys from yesteryear. Some of the tough guys of today are Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, Samuel L. Jackson, Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, and Matthew McConaghey (see Reign of Fire).
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