Showbiz can be a cruel world for older women, with actresses like Emma Thompson and Helen Mirren often lamenting the “outrageous” ageism that exists in Hollywood. But it seems older men, on the other hand, are considered something of a valuable commodity ― at least when it comes to action movies.
“Mission: Impossible ― Rogue Nation” and “Terminator Genisys” were two of this summer’s most hotly anticipated blockbusters, and both were loaded with star power from veteran Hollywood actors Tom Cruise, 53, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, 68.
And if you look across the film industry landscape, you’ll see the action genre dominated by older actors, in their 40s, 50s, 60s and even 70s.
Film blogger Stephen Follows recently did an analysis of the trend and concluded that the average age of the action star in the first half of 2015 was 48.4 years while just 10 years ago, in 2005, the average age was 35.5. It’s the oldest the average action film star has been in the last two decades.
The Guardian’s film critic, Adam Mars-Jones says, “A loophole seems to have opened up, almost a wormhole in the fabric of Hollywood space-time. Through this portal an entire generation of veterans is currently trooping.”
We think he might be on to something. Harrison Ford is still swashbuckling as he was 35 years ago in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Today, at 73, he recently starred in “The Expendables” and in the upcoming “Star Wars: Episode VII.” We’ll undoubtedly be seeing Cruise make another ― or maybe even another couple ― “Mission Impossible” installments. And we won’t be surprised if he continues to do many of his own stunts. Liam Neeson, 63, had made a major career shift, going from “Schindler’s List” to thug-pounding justice-maker in the “Taken” franchise, “A Walk Among The Tombstones” and “Non-Stop.” Bruce Willis is still doing “Die Hard” at 60. Let’s not forget Denzel Washington and Sly Stallone, who are still making action movies in their 60s.
Is it all about maintaining an enviable physique? Well, no, but it doesn’t hurt. Mars-Jones says, “The key principle is suavity: the refusal to break a sweat; sophistication with the faintest hint of self‑mockery; the actor letting us know that he is old enough to know how silly this all is.”
Still, the majority of action heroes are in their 30s and 40s, according to Follow’s analysis. But there’s still something about the “geri-action” stars, as The Telegraph puts it. While young bucks like Tom Hardy and Channing Tatum can brandish a gun and take off their shirts to reveal bulging muscles, it’s age that seems to bring real star quality.
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