Much like our celebrated 100 Greatest Movie Villains countdown, we are kicking off the New Year with the 100 Greatest Movie Heroes!
Criteria:
A hero must be a character or group of characters that fits into one or more of these categories:
- The hero(es) puts the needs of others, whether it is one person or many, before their own needs. This can mean putting themselves in extreme physical danger or crippling emotional trauma.
- The hero exemplifies bravery in situations where most wouldn't.
- The hero's actions and/or character inspires others to do great things.
NOTE: Anti-heroes are defined as protagonists of a story that lack traditional heroic values. Some anti-heroes DO make the list, but only when they fall into one of the previously mentioned criteria. Some heroes start as anti-heroes and redeem themselves through the film or series of films, and in the end do portray positive hero qualities. Examples would include: Han Solo, The Man With No Name or Rick Blaine. These anti-heroes DO make the list (you'll have to continue reading to find out where). Anti-heroes that are motivated by revenge, money, power or self-preservation do NOT make the list. Examples would include: Beatrix Kiddo, Danny Ocean or Michael Corleone.
And now... let the countdown begin...
100 - Daniel LaRusso
PORTRAYED BY:
Ralph Macchio
AS SEEN IN:
The Karate Kid (1984)
- Then why train?
- So I won't have to fight.
99 - John Rambo
PORTRAYED BY:
Sylvester Stallone
AS SEEN IN:
First Blood (1982)
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
Rambo III (1988)
Rambo (2008)
Any of you boys want to shoot, now's the time. There isn't one of us that doesn't want to be someplace else. But this is what we do, who we are. Live for nothing, or die for something. Your call.
98 - Elliot Ness and The Untouchables
PORTRAYED BY:
Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Andy Garcia, Charles Martin Smith
AS SEEN IN:
The Untouchables (1987)
You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way! And that's how you get Capone.
97 - The 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team
AS SEEN IN:
Miracle (2004)
Great moments... are born from great opportunity. And that's what you have here, tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game. If we played 'em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can! Tonight, WE are the greatest hockey team in the world. You were born to be hockey players. Every one of you. And you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time is done. It's over. I'm sick and tired of hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw 'em. This is your time. Now go out there and take it.
96 - Sgt. Alvin York
PORTRAYED BY:
Gary Cooper
AS SEEN IN:
Sergeant York (1941)
Well I'm as much agin' killin' as ever, sir. But it was this way, Colonel. When I started out, I felt just like you said, but when I hear them machine guns a-goin', and all them fellas are droppin' around me... I figured them guns was killin' hundreds, maybe thousands, and there weren't nothin' anybody could do, but to stop them guns. And that's what I done.
95 - Maximus
PORTRAYED BY:
Russell Crowe
AS SEEN IN:
Gladiator (2000)
My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.
94 - Robocop
PORTRAYED BY:
Peter Weller
AS SEEN IN:
Robocop (1988)
Dead or alive... you're coming with me.
93 - Walt Kowalksi
PORTRAYED BY:
Clint Eastwood
AS SEEN IN:
Gran Tornio (2008)
Ever notice how you come across somebody once in a while you shouldn't have fucked with? That's me.
92 - Léon
PORTRAYED BY:
Jean Reno
AS SEEN IN:
Léon: The Professional (1994)
You're not going to lose me. You've given me a taste for life. I wanna be happy. Sleep in a bed, have roots. And you'll never be alone again, Mathilda. Please, go now, baby, go. Calm down, go now, go.
91 - John Willoughby (John Doe)
PORTRAYED BY:
Gary Cooper
AS SEEN IN:
Meet John Doe (1941)
Why can't that spirit, that warm Christmas spirit, last all year long?
90 - Martin Riggs & Roger Murtaugh
PORTRAYED BY:
Mel Gibson & Danny Glover
AS SEEN IN:
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Lethal Weapon 2 (1999)
- You don't trust me at all, do you?
- Well, I'll tell you what. You make it through tomorrow without killing anybody, especially me, or yourself, then I'll start trusting you.
- Fair enough.
89 - Ree
PORTRAYED BY:
Jennifer Lawrence
AS SEEN IN:
Winter's Bone (2010)
I'd be lost without the weight of you two on my back. I ain't goin' anywhere.
88 - Lou Gehrig
PORTRAYED BY:
Gary Cooper
AS SEEN IN:
The Pride of the Yankees (1942)
Today, I feel like the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.
87 - Frank Serpico
PORTRAYED BY:
Al Pacino
AS SEEN IN:
Serpico (1973)
The reality is that we do not wash our own laundry - it just gets dirtier.
86 - Shrek
PORTRAYED BY:
Mike Myers (Voice)
AS SEEN IN:
Shrek (2001)
Oh, you were expecting Prince Charming?
85 - Wyatt Earp & Doc Holiday
AS SEEN IN:
My Darling Clementine (1946) - PORTRAYED BY: Henry Fonda & Victor Mature
Tombstone (1993) - PORTRAYED BY: Kurt Russel & Val Kilmer
You die first, get it? Your friends might get me in a rush, but not before I make your head into a canoe, you understand me?
84 - Mahatma Gandhi
PORTRAYED BY:
Ben Kingsley
AS SEEN IN:
Gandhi (1982)
Whenever I despair, I remember that the way of truth and love has always won. There may be tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they may seem invincible, but in the end, they always fail. Think of it: always.
83 - Annie Sullivan
PORTRAYED BY:
Anne Bancroft
AS SEEN IN:
The Miracle Worker (1962)
It's less trouble to feel sorry for her than it is to teach her anything better.
82 - Jake & Elwood Blues
PORTRAYED BY:
John Belushi & Dan Akroyd
AS SEEN IN:
The Blues Brothers
We're on a mission from God.
81 - Guido Orefice
PORTRAYED BY:
Roberto Begnini
AS SEEN IN:
Life is Beautiful (1997)
- "No Jews or Dogs Allowed." Why do all the shops say, "No Jews Allowed"?
- Oh, that. "Not Allowed" signs are the latest trend! The other day, I was in a shop with my friend the kangaroo, but their sign said, "No Kangaroos Allowed," and I said to my friend, "Well, what can I do? They don't allow kangaroos."
80 - Wolverine
PORTRAYED BY:
Hugh Jackman
AS SEEN IN:
X-Men (2000)
X2: X-Men United (2003)
Yeah. We're outnumbered. I'm not gonna lie to you. But we lost Scott. We lost the Professor. If we don't fight now, everything they stood for will die with them. I'm not gonna let that happen. Are you? Then we stand together... X-Men, all of us.
79 - Forrest Gump
PORTRAYED BY:
Tom Hanks
AS SEEN IN:
Forrest Gump (1994)
I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it's both. Maybe both is happening at the same time.
78 - Spock
PORTRAYED BY:
Leonard Nimoy (1979-2009)
Zachary Quinto (2009)
AS SEEN IN:
The Star Trek series. Notably Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) and Star Trek (2009)
- Don't grieve, Admiral. It is logical. The needs of the many outweigh...
- ...the needs of the few...
- ...Or the one. I never took the Kobayashi Maru test until now. What do you think of my solution?
I have been and always shall be your friend. Live long and prosper.
77 - Edward R. Murrow
PORTRAYED BY:
David Strathairn
AS SEEN IN:
Good Night, and Good Luck (2005)
No one familiar with the history of this country, can deny that congressional committees are useful. It is necessary to investigate before legislating. But the line between investigating and persecuting is a very fine one, and the Junior Senator from Wisconsin has stepped over it repeatedly. We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always, that accusation is not proof, and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another.
76 - Lt. Frank Bullitt
PORTRAYED BY:
Steve McQueen
AS SEEN IN:
Bullitt (1968)
- Frank, we must all compromise.
- Bullshit.
75 - The Magnificent Seven
PORTRAYED BY:
Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter, James Coburn, Horst Buchholz
AS SEEN IN:
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
- What I don't understand is why a man like you took the job in the first place, hmm? Why, huh?
- I wonder myself.
- No, come on, come on, tell me why.
- It's like a fellow I once knew in El Paso. One day, he just took all his clothes off and jumped in a mess of cactus. I asked him that same question, "Why?"
- And?
- He said, "It seemed to be a good idea at the time."
74 - Shaun
PORTRAYED BY:
Simon Pegg
AS SEEN IN:
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Look, I don't care what the telly says, all right? We *have* to get out of here. If we don't they'll tear us to pieces, and that is really going to exacerbate things for all of us.
73 - Father Flanagan
PORTRAYED BY:
Spencer Tracy
AS SEEN IN:
Boys Town (1938)
There is no such thing as a bad boy.
72 - Philip Marlowe
PORTRAYED BY:
Humphrey Bogart (1946)
Elliot Gould (1973)
AS SEEN IN:
The Big Sleep (1946)
The Long Goodbye (1973)
My, my, my! Such a lot of guns around town and so few brains! You know, you're the second guy I've met today that seems to think a gat in the hand means the world by the tail.
71 - Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, Jack Swigert
PORTRAYED BY:
Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon
AS SEEN IN:
Apollo 13 (1995)
Houston, we have a problem.
70 - The Ghostbusters
PORTRAYED BY:
Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson
AS SEEN IN:
Ghostbusters (1984)
- Gozer the Gozerian... good evening. As a duly designated representative of the City, County and State of New York, I order you to cease any and all supernatural activity and return forthwith to your place of origin or to the nearest convenient parallel dimension.
- That oughta do it. Thanks very much, Ray.
69 - Simba
PORTRAYED BY:
Matthew Broderick (Voice)
AS SEEN IN:
The Lion King (1994)
Run. Run away, Scar. And never return.
68 - Lee
PORTRAYED BY:
Bruce Lee
AS SEEN IN:
Enter: The Dragon (1973)
You will not agree with what I'm going to do. It is contrary to all that you have taught me, and all that Su Lin believed. I must leave. Please try to find a way to forgive me.
67 - Theo Faron
PORTRAYED BY:
Clive Owen
AS SEEN IN:
Children of Men (2006)
I can't really remember when I last had any hope, and I certainly can't remember when anyone else did either. Because really, since women stopped being able to have babies, what's left to hope for?
66 - Tony Stark
PORTRAYED BY:
Robert Downey, Jr.
AS SEEN IN:
Iron Man (2008)
Iron Man 2 (2010)
"Iron Man". That's kind of catchy. It's got a nice ring to it.
65 - William Wallace
PORTRAYED BY:
Mel Gibson
AS SEEN IN:
Braveheart (1995)
Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!
64 - Hawkeye (Nathaniel Poe)
PORTRAYED BY:
Daniel Day Lewis
AS SEEN IN:
The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
After seven years indentured service in Virginia, they headed out here 'cause the frontier's the only land available to poor people. Out here, they're beholden to none. Not living by another's leave.
63 - Neo
PORTRAYED BY:
Keanu Reeves
AS SEEN IN:
The Matrix Trilogy (1999-2003)
I know you're out there. I can feel you now. I know that you're afraid... you're afraid of us. You're afraid of change. I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it's going to begin. I'm going to hang up this phone, and then I'm going to show these people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world without you. A world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries. A world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you.
62 - Rooster Cogburn
PORTRAYED BY:
John Wayne (1969)
Jeff Bridges (2010)
AS SEEN IN:
True Grit (1969)
True Grit (2010)
Fill your hands, you son of a bitch!
61 - Capt. James T. Kirk
PORTRAYED BY:
William Shatner (1979 - 1995)
Chris Pine (2009)
AS SEEN IN:
The Star Trek series (1979 - 2005)
Attention crew of the Enterprise, this is James Kirk. Mr. Spock has resigned commission and advanced me to acting captain. I know you are all expecting to regroup with the fleet, but I'm ordering a pursuit course of the enemy ship to Earth. I want all departments at battle stations and ready in ten minutes. Either we're going down... or they are. Kirk out.
60 - Jason Bourne
PORTRAYED BY:
Matt Damon
AS SEEN IN:
The Bourne Trilogy (2002-2007)
I can tell you the license plate numbers of all six cars outside. I can tell you that our waitress is left-handed and the guy sitting up at the counter weighs two hundred fifteen pounds and knows how to handle himself. I know the best place to look for a gun is the cab or the gray truck outside, and at this altitude, I can run flat out for a half mile before my hands start shaking. Now why would I know that? How can I know that and not know who I am?
59 - Chuck Yeager, Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Gordo Cooper, Gus Grissom
PORTRAYED BY:
Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Fred Ward
AS SEEN IN:
The Right Stuff (1983)
There was a demon that lived in the air. They said whoever challenged him would die. Their controls would freeze up, their planes would buffet wildly, and they would disintegrate. The demon lived at Mach 1 on the meter, seven hundred and fifty miles an hour, where the air could no longer move out of the way. He lived behind a barrier through which they said no man could ever pass. They called it the sound barrier.
58 - Max Rockatansky
PORTRAYED BY:
Mel Gibson
AS SEEN IN:
The Mad Max Trilogy (1979-1985)
I'm beginning to enjoy it. Look, any longer out on that road and I'm one of them, a terminal psychotic, except that I've got this bronze badge that says that I'm one of the good guys.
57 - The Iron Giant
PORTRAYED BY:
Vin Diesel (voice)
AS SEEN IN:
The Iron Giant (1999)
I am not a gun.
56 - Ash
PORTRAYED BY:
Bruce Campbell
AS SEEN IN:
The Evil Dead Trilogy (1981-1992)
I know you're scared; we're all scared, but that doesn't mean were cowards. We can take these skeletons, we can take them, with science.
55 - Spartacus
PORTRAYED BY:
Kirk Douglas
AS SEEN IN:
Spartacus (1960)
And maybe there's no peace in this world, for us or for anyone else, I don't know. But I do know that, as long as we live, we must remain true to ourselves.
54 - Father Merrin & Father Karras
PORTRAYED BY:
Max Von Sydow & Jason Miller
AS SEEN IN:
The Exorcist (1973)
Especially important is the warning to avoid conversations with the demon. We may ask what is relevant but anything beyond that is dangerous. He is a liar. The demon is a liar. He will lie to confuse us. But he will also mix lies with the truth to attack us. The attack is psychological, Damien, and powerful. So don't listen to him. Remember that - do not listen.
53 - Sherlock Holmes
PORTRAYED BY:
Basil Rathbone (1938-1946)
Robert Downey Jr. (2009-2011)
NOTABLY SEEN IN:
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1938)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)
Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Never theorize before you have data. Invariably, you end up twisting facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.
52 - Zorro
PORTRAYED BY:
Tyrone Power
AS SEEN IN:
The Mark of Zorro (1940)
How could I refuse a man anything with a naked sword in his hand?
51 - Tom Destry, Jr.
PORTRAYED BY:
James Stewart
AS SEEN IN:
Destry Rides Again (1939)
Oh, I think I'll stick around. Y'know, I had a friend once used to collect postage stamps. He always said the one good thing about a postage stamp: it always sticks to one thing 'til it gets there, y'know? I'm sorta like that too.
50 - The Wild Bunch
PORTRAYED BY:
William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Warren Oates
AS SEEN IN:
The Wild Bunch (1969)
We're not gonna get rid of anybody! We're gonna stick together, just like it used to be! When you side with a man, you stay with him! And if you can't do that, you're like some animal, you're finished! *We're* finished! All of us!
49 - General Patton
PORTRAYED BY:
George C. Scott
AS SEEN IN:
Patton (1970)
Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.
48 - Obi-Wan Kenobi
PORTRAYED BY:
Sir Alec Guinness
AS SEEN IN:
The original Star Wars Trilogy (1977-1983)
The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.
47 - The Incredibles
PORTRAYED BY:
Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Spencer Fox, Sarah Vowell
AS SEEN IN:
No matter how many times you save the world, it always manages to get back in jeopardy again. Sometimes I just want it to stay saved! You know, for a little bit? I feel like the maid; I just cleaned up this mess! Can we keep it clean for... for ten minutes!
46 - Moses
PORTRAYED BY:
Charlton Heston
AS SEEN IN:
The Ten Commandments (1956)
The evil that men should turn their brothers into beasts of burden, to be stripped of spirit, and hope, and strength - only because they are of another race, another creed. If there is a god, he did not mean this to be so.
45 - Marlin & Dory
PORTRAYED BY:
Albert Brooks & Ellen DeGeneres
AS SEEN IN:
Finding Nemo (2003)
- Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim.
- Dory, no singing.
- Ha, ha, ha, ha, ho. I love to swim. When you want to swim you want to swim.
- Now I'm stuck with that song... Now it's in my head.
- Sorry.
44 - Robin Hood
PORTRAYED BY:
Errol Flynn
AS SEEN IN:
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
I'll organize revolt, exact a death for a death, and I'll never rest until every Saxon in this shire can stand up free men and strike a blow for Richard and England.
43 - Sarah Connor
PORTRAYED BY:
Linda Hamilton
AS SEEN IN:
The Terminator (1984)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it, for the first time, with a sense of hope. Because if a machine, a Terminator, can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too.
42 - Aragorn
PORTRAYED BY:
Viggo Mortensen
AS SEEN IN:
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)
I do not know what strength is in my blood, but I swear to you I will not let the White City fall, nor our people fail.
41 - Nick & Nora Charles
PORTRAYED BY:
William Powell & Myrna Loy
AS SEEN IN:
The Thin Man Series (1934-1947)
- I'm a hero. I was shot twice in the Tribune.
- I read where you were shot 5 times in the tabloids.
- It's not true. He didn't come anywhere near my tabloids.
40 - Sheriff John T. Chance
PORTRAYED BY:
John Wayne
AS SEEN IN:
Rio Bravo (1959)
Let's get this straight. You don't like? I don't like a lot of things. I don't like your men sittin' on the road bottling up this town. I don't like your men watching us, trying to catch us with our backs turned. And I don't like it when a friend of mine offers to help and twenty minutes later he's dead! And i don't like you, Burdette, because you set it up.
39 - Ripley
PORTRAYED BY:
Sigourney Weaver
AS SEEN IN:
The Alien Quadrilogy (1979-1997)
God damn it, that's not all! Because if one of those things gets down here then that will be all! Then all this - this bullshit that you think is so important, you can just kiss all that goodbye!
38 - Shosanna Dreyfuss
PORTRAYED BY:
Mélanie Laurent
AS SEEN IN:
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
My name is Shosanna Dreyfus and THIS is the face... of Jewish vengeance!
37 - Frodo Baggins
PORTRAYED BY:
Elijah Wood
AS SEEN IN:
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)
- There and Back Again: A Hobbit's Tale by Bilbo Baggins, and The Lord of the Rings by Frodo Baggins. You finished it.
- Not quite. There's room for a little more.
36 - Tom Joad
PORTRAYED BY:
Henry Fonda
AS SEEN IN:
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
I'll be all around in the dark - I'll be everywhere. Wherever you can look - wherever there's a fight, so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever there's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there. I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad. I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry and they know supper's ready, and when the people are eatin' the stuff they raise and livin' in the houses they build - I'll be there, too.
35 - Sam Spade
PORTRAYED BY:
Humphrey Bogart
AS SEEN IN:
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
When a man's partner is killed, he's supposed to do something about it. It doesn't make any difference what you thought of him. He was your partner and you're supposed to do something about it. And it happens we're in the detective business. Well, when one of your organization gets killed, it's-it's bad business to let the killer get away with it, bad all around, bad for every detective everywhere.
34 - Judah Ben-Hur
PORTRAYED BY:
Charlton Heston
AS SEEN IN:
Ben-Hur (1959)
You may conquer the land; you may slaughter the people. But that is not the end. We will rise again.
33 - T.E. Lawrence
PORTRAYED BY:
Peter O'Toole
AS SEEN IN:
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
So long as the Arabs fight tribe against tribe, so long will they be a little people, a silly people - greedy, barbarous, and cruel, as you are.
32 - Clarice Starling
PORTRAYED BY:
Jodie Foster
AS SEEN IN:
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
You see a lot, Doctor. But are you strong enough to point that high-powered perception at yourself? What about it? Why don't you - why don't you look at yourself and write down what you see? Or maybe you're afraid to.
31 - The Terminator
PORTRAYED BY:
Arnold Schwarzenegger
AS SEEN IN:
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
- My mission is to protect you.
- Yeah? Who sent you?
- You did. 35 years from now you reprogrammed me to be your protector here - in this time.
30 - Detective Virgil Tibbs
PORTRAYED BY:
Sidney Poitier
AS SEEN IN:
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
They call me MISTER Tibbs!
29 - Popeye Doyle
PORTRAYED BY:
Gene Hackman
AS SEEN IN:
The French Connection (1971)
The son of a bitch is here. I saw him. I'm gonna get him.
28 - Marge Gunderson
PORTRAYED BY:
Frances McDormand
AS SEEN IN:
Fargo (1996)
So that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there. And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don'tcha know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well. I just don't understand it.
27 - "The Man with No Name"
PORTRAYED BY:
Clint Eastwood
AS SEEN IN:
A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
For a Few Dollars More (1965)
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966)
I don't think it's nice, you laughin'. You see, my mule don't like people laughing. He gets the crazy idea you're laughin' at him. Now if you apologize, like I know you're going to, I might convince him that you really didn't mean it.
26 - Ethan Edwards
PORTRAYED BY:
John Wayne
AS SEEN IN:
The Searchers (1956)
Injun will chase a thing till he thinks he's chased it enough. Then he quits. Same way when he runs. Seems like he never learns there's such a thing as a critter that'll just keep comin' on. So we'll find 'em in the end, I promise you. We'll find 'em. Just as sure as the turnin' of the earth.
25 - The Seven Samurai
AS SEEN IN:
This is the nature of war. By protecting others, you save yourselves.
24 - Capt. John Miller
PORTRAYED BY:
Tom Hanks
AS SEEN IN:
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
I'm a schoolteacher. I teach English composition... in this little town called Adley, Pennsylvania. The last eleven years, I've been at Thomas Alva Edison High School. I was a coach of the baseball team in the springtime. Back home, I tell people what I do for a living and they think well, now that figures. But over here, it's a big, a big mystery. So, I guess I've changed some. Sometimes I wonder if I've changed so much my wife is even going to recognize me, whenever it is that I get back to her. And how I'll ever be able to tell her about days like today. Ah, Ryan. I don't know anything about Ryan. I don't care. The man means nothing to me. It's just a name. But if... You know if going to Rumelle and finding him so that he can go home. If that earns me the right to get back to my wife, then that's my mission.
23 - Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein
PORTRAYED BY:
Robert Redford & Dustin Hoffman
AS SEEN IN:
All The President's Men (1976)
- So if the break-in was just one incident in a campaign of sabotage that began a whole year before Watergate...
- Then for the first time the break-in makes sense.
- This isn't so crazy. This whole thing didn't start with the bugging of the headquarters.
- Segretti was doing this a year before the bugging.
- And a year before, Nixon wasn't slaughtering Muskie, he was running behind Muskie, before Muskie self-destructed.
- *If* he self-destructed!
22 - Jefferson Smith
PORTRAYED BY:
James Stewart
AS SEEN IN:
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
You see, boys forget what their country means by just reading The Land of the Free in history books. Then they get to be men they forget even more. Liberty's too precious a thing to be buried in books, Miss Saunders. Men should hold it up in front of them every single day of their lives and say: I'm free to think and to speak. My ancestors couldn't, I can, and my children will. Boys ought to grow up remembering that.
21 - Luke Jackson
PORTRAYED BY:
Paul Newman
AS SEEN IN:
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Dyin'? Boy, he can have this little life any time he wants to. Do ya hear that? Are ya hearin' it? Come on. You're welcome to it, ol' timer. Let me know you're up there. Come on. Love me, hate me, kill me, anything. Just let me know it... I'm just standin' in the rain talkin' to myself.
20 - Chief Brody, Martin Hooper & Quint
PORTRAYED BY:
Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss & Robert Shaw
AS SEEN IN:
Jaws (1975)
- Jesus H Christ, when I was a boy, every little squirt wanted to be a harpooner or a sword fisherman. What d'ya have there - a portable shower or a monkey cage?
- Anti-Shark cage.
- Anti-shark cage. You go inside the cage? Cage goes in the water, you go in the water. Shark's in the water. Our shark.
19 - Detective Harry Calahan
PORTRAYED BY:
Clint Eastwood
AS SEEN IN:
The Dirty Harry series (1971-1988)
Go ahead, make my day.
18 - Shane
PORTRAYED BY:
Alan Ladd
AS SEEN IN:
Shane (1953)
A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that.
17 - Rocky Balboa
PORTRAYED BY:
Sylvester Stallone
AS SEEN IN:
The Rocky series (1976-2006)
Ah come on, Adrian, it's true. I was nobody. But that don't matter either, you know? 'Cause I was thinkin', it really don't matter if I lose this fight. It really don't matter if this guy opens my head, either. 'Cause all I wanna do is go the distance. Nobody's ever gone the distance with Creed, and if I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I'm still standin', I'm gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood.
16 - Juror #8
PORTRAYED BY:
Henry Fonda
AS SEEN IN:
12 Angry Men (1957)
It's always difficult to keep personal prejudice out of a thing like this. And wherever you run into it, prejudice always obscures the truth. I don't really know what the truth is. I don't suppose anybody will ever really know. Nine of us now seem to feel that the defendant is innocent, but we're just gambling on probabilities - we may be wrong. We may be trying to let a guilty man go free, I don't know. Nobody really can. But we have a reasonable doubt, and that's something that's very valuable in our system. No jury can declare a man guilty unless it's SURE. We nine can't understand how you three are still so sure. Maybe you can tell us.
15 - George Bailey
PORTRAYED BY:
James Stewart
AS SEEN IN:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Just a minute... just a minute. Now, hold on, Mr. Potter. You're right when you say my father was no businessman. I know that. Why he ever started this cheap, penny-ante Building and Loan, I'll never know. But neither you nor anyone else can say anything against his character, because his whole life was... why, in the 25 years since he and his brother, Uncle Billy, started this thing, he never once thought of himself. Isn't that right, Uncle Billy? He didn't save enough money to send Harry away to college, let alone me. But he did help a few people get out of your slums, Mr. Potter, and what's wrong with that? Why... here, you're all businessmen here. Doesn't it make them better citizens? Doesn't it make them better customers? You... you said... what'd you say a minute ago? They had to wait and save their money before they even ought to think of a decent home. Wait? Wait for what? Until their children grow up and leave them? Until they're so old and broken down that they... Do you know how long it takes a working man to save $5,000? Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you're talking about... they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Anyway, my father didn't think so. People were human beings to him. But to you, a warped, frustrated old man, they're cattle. Well in my book, my father died a much richer man than you'll ever be!
14 - The Tramp
PORTRAYED BY:
Charles Chaplin
AS SEEN IN:
City Lights (1931)
- Can you see now?
- Yes, I can see now.
13 - Atticus Finch
PORTRAYED BY:
Gregory Peck
AS SEEN INL
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
If you just learn a single trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.
12 - Luke Skywalker
PORTRAYED BY:
Mark Hamill
AS SEEN IN:
The Star Wars Trilogy (1977-1983)
I'm Luke Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you.
11 - Harry Potter
PORTRAYED BY:
Daniel Radcliffe
AS SEEN IN:
The Harry Potter saga (2001-2011)
How dare you stand where he stood! Tell them how it happened that night. How you looked him in the eye, a man who trusted you, and killed him.
10 - John McClaine
PORTRAYED BY:
Bruce Willis
AS SEEN IN:
The Die Hard series (1988-2007)
-Who are you then?
- Just a fly in the ointment, Hans. The monkey in the wrench. The pain in the ass.
9 - Oskar Schindler
PORTRAYED BY:
Liam Neeson
AS SEEN IN:
Schindler's List (1993)
This car. Goeth would have bought this car. Why did I keep the car? Ten people right there. Ten people. Ten more people. This pin. Two people. This is gold. Two more people. He would have given me two for it, at least one. One more person. A person, Stern. For this. I could have gotten one more person... and I didn't! And I... I didn't!
8 - Rick Blaine
PORTRAYED BY:
Humphrey Bogart
AS SEEN IN:
Casablanca (1941)
- We'll always have Paris. We didn't have, we, we lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.
- When I said I would never leave you.
- And you never will. But I've got a job to do, too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of. Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Now, now... Here's looking at you kid.
7 - Marshall Will Kane
PORTRAYED BY:
Gary Cooper
AS SEEN IN:
High Noon (1952)
I've got to, that's the whole thing.
6 - Han Solo
PORTRAYED BY:
Harrison Ford
AS SEEN IN:
Star Wars (1977)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Return of the Jedi (1983)
You're all clear, kid, now let's *blow* this thing and go home!
5 - Batman
PORTRAYED BY:
Michael Keaton (1989-1992)
Christian Bale (2005-Present)
AS SEEN IN:
Batman (1989)
Batman Returns (1992)
Batman Begins (2005)
The Dark Knight (2008)
You'll hunt me. You'll condemn me. Set the dogs on me. Because that's what needs to happen.
4 - Peter Parker (Spider-Man)
PORTRAYED BY:
Tobey Maguire
AS SEEN IN:
Spider-Man (2002)
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: "With great power comes great responsibility." This is my gift, my curse. Who am I? I'm Spider-man.
3 - Indiana Jones
PORTRAYED BY:
Harrison Ford
AS SEEN IN:
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
This site also demonstrates one of the great dangers of archaeology; not to life and limb, although that does sometimes take place. I'm talking about folklore.
2 - James Bond
PORTRAYED BY:
Sean Connery (1962 - 1971)
George Lazenby (1969)
Roger Moore (1973 - 1985)
Pierce Brosnan (1995 - 2002)
Daniel Craig (2006 - Present)
AS SEEN IN:
Dr. No (1962)
From Russia with Love (1963)
Goldfinger (1964)
Thunderball (1965)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Goldeneye (1995)
Casino Royale (2006)
The name's Bond. James Bond.
1 - Superman
PORTRAYED BY:
Christopher Reeve
AS SEEN IN:
Superman II (1981)
I'm here to fight for truth, and justice, and the American way.
