The 90s were a great decade for many cinematic genres, but action movies definitely had their heyday during that time. The action movies of this decade featured exciting stunts and exaggerated special effects, which the audience loved. As a result, many action movie stars from the 1990s became household names. These actors went further in their roles to make their films entertaining for the audience. Some have continued their careers well into the 21st century, while others have taken a break from acting. Either way, these actors have earned their place among the top action movie stars of the 1990s.
10. Steven Seagal was a megastar in the 90s
Action movie star Steven Seagal began his acting career in 1988. The 1990s were the peak of his popularity and he starred in several hugely successful films. Among his thirty-seven feature films, fans often cite 1992’s Under Siege as his favorite. In addition to his career as a movie star, Seagal was also a martial arts specialist. These skills gave more authenticity to the action scenes of his main films and made them more exciting for the fans. He is a black belt in Aikido and received two Oscar nominations during the heyday of his film career. The actor has not starred in any new projects since 2019, and many believe he has retired unofficially from acting.
9. Jackie Chan is a martial arts action movie star
Jackie Chan is another example of a talented martial artist making his way to Hollywood. His skills in martial arts are evident in all his films because the actor mainly performs his own stunts. Although Mr. Chan has enjoyed a long career as an action movie star, many of his most successful films were released in the 1990s. For example, 1998’s Rush Hour was one of ten films. more blockbusters of the year of opening and sent a tax exemption of multiple films. The action star was so popular that Sony even produced a cartoon program based on him called Jackie Chan Adventures, which lasted five awesome seasons.
8. Harrison Ford brought his fame to the world of action movies of the 90s
Harrison Ford was a big action movie star in the 1980s. He played Han Solo in two Star Wars movies and released the long Indiana Jones franchise. While his action roles in the 90s weren’t as striking, he offered many solid performances that fans enjoyed. Most notably, Ford starred in Clear And Present Danger and played a fictional president of the United States in 1997’s Air Force One. The actor’s career continues to this day: he prepares to reprise his beloved role as Indiana. Jones in a fifth installment of the franchise, which is scheduled to debut in 2023.
7. Wesley Snipes took over powerful main parts in the 90s
Wesley Snipes is probably best known for Blade in 1998, but the action movie star also played a role in many other successful films of the 1990s. The 1993 film Demolition Man shows Snipes in his best moment, playing a dangerous villain named Simon Phoenix. In 1991, New Jack City gave the actor a chance to play another powerful character: drug mogul Nino Brown. The actor has moved away from the film scene in recent years and is said to be working on a book trilogy. With no film project in sight, Wesley Snipes fans will have to rely on re-watching some of their best films of the 90s to see it in action, for now.
6. Pierce Brosnan took on an iconic film franchise role in the 1990s
Pierce Brosnan is the image of the great discreet in most of his films. This was especially evident in the 1990s when the action movie star took on one of the most iconic roles in the genre: James Bond. The action movie star portrayed Agent MI-6 007 in three separate films from the 1990s: Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and The World Is Not Enough. The actor is considered among the best James Bond actors to date. He won a Saturn Award for Best Actor for Tomorrow Never Dies. He also won a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1997.
5. Nicolas Cage is a fan-favorite nostalgic action movie star
Actor Nicholas Cage has acted in more than a hundred films throughout his career, and many of these films fall into the action genre. In the 90’s, Cage was much loved by fans for his roles in films such as Face / Off, The Rock and Con Air. The action film star has an Oscar for Best Actor and a Golden Globe for his credit, among many other national and international recognitions. At one point, the actor was even assigned to play the role of Superman, a much coveted role among action movie actors. Unfortunately, the project did not come to fruition, but photos of Cage with his costume are still circulating on the Internet.
4. Jean Claude Van Damme is a multi-talented action movie star
Action film star Jean Claude Van Damme has multiple talents, including martial arts, acting and wrestling choreography. Her main acting career in Hollywood officially began with Bloodsport in the 1980s, and she enjoyed impressive success in the 1990s. Timecop was one of her most popular films, but she also starred in two films. Universal Soldier movies. He also played Colonel Guile in Street Fighter, a film based on a favorite video game of the same name by fans. In all, the actor has appeared in more than a dozen films from the 1990s. Today, he still plays occasional roles, but has branched out from action films.
3. Bruce Willis had a long career as an action movie star
Maybe Bruce Willis is retiring, but he’s left fans with dozens of great action movies to watch again. Also, unlike many action stars, Willis ’film catalog includes films from a variety of genres. Some of his best action films came to life in the 1990s, including two installments of the beloved Die Hard series. In addition to these sequels, Willis starred in the unforgettable film Armageddon and the sci-fi action classic The Fifth Element. Bruce Willis retired without ever winning an Academy Award, but he has earned almost every other recognition imaginable in his four decades of career.
2. Will Smith starred in several blockbusters in the 1990s
Will Smith definitely became a household name in the 1990s, and owed much of his success to the large number of highly successful action films he starred in over the decade. Among his most important hits of the 90s were Independence Day and the popular Men In Black. Surprisingly, Independence Day was the highest-grossing film of 1996, and Men In Black was among the five highest-grossing films of 1997. Both films also spawned sequels in the years following their release. . Will Smith has enjoyed a steady career and won his first Oscar in 2022 amid a series of dramatic events.
1. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the highest-grossing action star of the 1990s
As for the action movie stars of the 90s, no one is as successful as Arnold Schwarzenegger. The actor was the highest-grossing action star of the entire decade. One of his most successful films of the decade was Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the highest-grossing film of 1992. He also played the role of Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin and as a killer in the 1996 film Eraser. The name Schwarzenegger has become synonymous with the genre of action movies. The actor recently hinted at an upcoming film project, so fans can see him on the big screen again in the coming years.
