No. 14: Lee Marvin — Top Action Movie Stars

Perpetually grey-haired, Lee Marvin and Wilfred Brimley battle for the title of stars who were seemingly born old men. And yet, Marvin had a stone-etched visage, an old-fashioned voice and a toughness that emanated from his core.

His final role was opposite Chuck Norris in ‘The Delta Force,' and somehow, even in his advanced years, you believed he could hold his own on the battlefield. I haven’t seen enough of Marvin’s works, and there are a lot.

His early career includes tons of television credits and feature work ranging from World War II flicks to Westerns to cop stories. His most indelible role has to be his turn as the leader of ‘The Dirty Dozen.' But ‘Point Blank’ was a seminal film for me in that I realized not all films have to have a hero. Marvin was my first anti-hero! And I just recently watched ‘Emperor of the North’ in which Marvin faces off against the recently-passed Ernest Borgnine in a battle for dignity during the Depression. Marvin was a man’s man.

“Country’s gone to hell” –- A No. 1, ‘Emperor of the North'

“I never went in for embroidery, just results.” –- Major John Reisman, ‘The Dirty Dozen’