10 Badass Actors Over 50

Jason Statham

Jason Statham (51) came to international prominence with the Transporter movie series in the ’00s, then maintained his action-star status particularly through the Expendables and Fast & Furious franchises, not to mention his comedic turn in the Melissa McCarthy comedy vehicle Spy back in 2015. This summer he once again holds his own with Dwayne Johnson in the F&F spin-off Hobbs & Shaw.

As a teenager, Statham began delving into martial arts, soccer, and diving; in fact, he spent 12 years on Britain’s National Swimming Squad and was close to qualifying for the Olympics (it’s still a “sore point” that he never got there). The man still has a killer six-pack, with a fitness routine that includes mobility work, fight training, strength and conditioning, and Olympic lifting. He has trained with military vet Logan Hood and gleaned knowledge from CrossFit trainer and author Kelly Starrett. And he’s not slowing down anytime soon.

Sylvester Stallone

Although Sylvester Stallone (72) may have a more humble presence in the Creed movies, playing a trainer as opposed to a fighter, the big-screen veteran is still in great shape and maintains a healthy workout regimen. While not stepping back into the ring like he did in 2006’s Rocky Balboa, his turns in the Expendables movies shows he isn’t someone you’d want to tangle with. Sly has also shown a knack for comedy in live-action and animated movies throughout his career, even during his ’80s action heyday. This is a man who past 70 is doing Pilates, intense pull-ups, lifting 100-pound dumbbells, and still throwing some punches. Check him out training for the next Rambo film then ask yourself if you worked out hard enough today.

Donnie Yen

Donnie Yen (55) is an Asian movie superstar, although not nearly as many people in the United States know about him as they should. They likely know of his starring role in the IP Man films, the third of which included Mike Tyson. More moviegoers got to get a glimpse of him in action in the Star Wars spin-off movie Rogue One, which showed he’s a lean, mean fighting machine who is still very much in command of his martial arts prowess. He also performed those scenes essentially blind like his character was.

Yen’s martial arts disciplines include Tai Chi, Hapkido, Taekwondo, Karate, Muay Thai, Judo, Wushu, and Wing Chun, which he helped popularize in the Ip Man series, where he portrays the man who trained Bruce Lee. To bring things full circle, Yen actually trained under the character’s oldest real-life son. Badass indeed.

Check out how spry he is just doing warm-up kicks: 

Tom Cruise

You’ve got hand it to Tom Cruise (56): the man continues to do all sorts of crazy stunts on his own, no matter what the risk might be.  He’s an action fan’s dream and an insurer’s nightmare. You’ve got to be a little nutty to hang onto the side of the plane during takeoff, climb the world’s tallest building (the Burj Khalifa), and become the first actor to perform a HALO jump — a high-altitude, low-open skydive – from 25,000 to 30,000 feet. And do it over 100 times during training and  filming for ultimately only three takes. That’s dedication. He has injured himself numerous times – injured muscles, broken bones, and nearly being stabbed in the eye and being decapitated.

Henry Cavill has said that he and Cruise admitted to each other the pain they were in near the end of a major fight sequence in Mission: Impossible – Fallout that took a month to film. (Action stars! They’re human like us!) He has a mobile gym he uses called the “pain cave” and reportedly enjoys sea-kayaking, caving, fencing, treadmill, weights, rock-climbing, hiking, and jogging. He eats no sugar while training. In his mid-50s, Cruise shows no signs of taking a break or letting anyone else stand in for him. And we love him for that.

Vin Diesel

Vin Diesel (51) first came to prominence with the start of the Riddick trilogy and the Fast & The Furious franchise. He is best loved by audiences as Dominic Toretto in the F&F series (he’s co-starred in six of them), Richard B. Riddick, Xander Cage in the xXx movies, and as the voice of Groot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The man has to stay in prime shape and maintain his chiseled looks in order to stack up against F&F costars like Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, and his arm-building workouts include power lifting and then higher-rep sets along with curls, pushdowns, dips, and overhead tricep extensions. He says he focuses on each body part to define it, and he does not worry about the length of his workouts but rather what he is achieving. The results speak for themselves.

Jackie Chan

A man who has made 150+ movies both in Hong Kong and Hollywood, Jackie Chan (64) is one of the greatest stuntmen in cinematic history. He has trained in Wushu, Kung Fu, and Hapkido, and while maybe he’s not doing quite as many crazy stunts as he used to, he remains in great shape and continues to crank out film after film. His hyperkinetic energy is unique to the screen. Nobody else moves the way he does. He’s been scraped, kicked, punched, burned, thrown through windows, and hit by cars – takes a licking and keeps ticking. Even falling into a week-long coma in 1986 did not deter his passion for organic, visceral stuntwork. He just became more careful. He cross-trains at least three times a week, never diets and eats what he likes, and enjoys the occasional power nap. It sounds like a truly organic, non-gimmicky regimen. In 2012, the Guinness Book of World Records honored him with “Most credits in one movie” and “Most stunts by a living actor”. (He also has a successful singing career in Asia and can be heard on some of his movies’ soundtracks.) Let’s see if anyone can ever catch up to him.

Dolph Lundgren

Before he got into acting, Dolph Lundgren (61) was a Kyokushin karate champion in Europe at the start of the ’80s, then earned a degree in chemical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and a subsequent Masters degree from the University of Sydney, then was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to M.I.T. In 1983. Then he was hired to be a bodyguard for Grace Jones before she encouraged him to audition for movies. His menacing turn as killer boxer Ivan Drago in Rocky IV kickstarted his movie career. While a majority of his work fell into the direct-to-video realm, his recent appearances in the Expendables franchise, Creed II, Aquaman, the CW show Arrow, and his Take The Tower reality series have brought him a new audience and renewed respect. His five-days-a-week workout regimen includes upper-body exercises, forearm planks, side planks, hip thrusts and working on his chest and arms, back, shoulders and biceps, and legs and core twice a week. He’ll also bring out the medicine ball for push-ups. The man is still jacked after all these decades, and he has many more movies on the way.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

A former bodybuilder who won the Mr. Olympia contest seven times, an actor whose iconic movies include Conan the Barbarian, True Lies, Predator, and the Terminator franchise, and the former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger (71) was certainly the ’80s poster boy for physique and fitness. He was later appointed by President George H.W. Bush to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, which he served on from 1990 to 1998. He even wrote a monthly column for Muscle & Fitness. He is returning to the screen later this year with Terminator: Dark Fate, which wrapped filming late last year. While he forgoes heavy leg exercises to protect his knees, the man still lifts weights, does pull-ups and sit-ups, and is an avid cycler. He said he’d be back. He always returns.

Keanu Reeves

One of the endearing qualities of Keanu Reeves (54) that he doesn’t look like the kind of guy who would resort to violence to solve problems unless he absolutely had to. Watch him in movies like 47 Ronin and the John Wick franchise, and it becomes apparent that despite his Zen-like attitude you don’t want to piss him off. Hey, the element of surprise never hurts. Reeves has trained in Jiu-Jitsu, Wushu, Krav Maga, Judo, Karate, and boxing. As his trainer Patrick Murphy explained to Muscle and Fitness about his John Wick: Chapter 2 regimen, he opted not to use a traditional muscle building plan, instead focusing on joint stability, mobility, injury prevention, and explosive power. Unilateral exercises used included ice skaters and single-leg pistol squat hops. With the third John Wick movie coming our way, he won’t be slowing down anytime soon, although he is also going to be filming the third Bill and Ted movie with Alex Winter this summer. The threequel is slated for a summer 2020 release. Most righteous!

Terry Crews

A former defensive end and linebacker in the NFL, Terry Crews (50) has led an interesting double life as an actor.  He can play fierce roles in action flicks like Deadpool 2 and The Expendables series, then go for the laughs in Sorry To Bother You and the Brooklyn Nine-Nine series. No matter what he does on screen, the man stays ripped. He also has an unusual approach to diet. He takes vitamins three times a day and skips breakfast. In fact, he does not start eating until 2 PM. He has a workout routine that varies by day and focuses on different areas: legs, back, chest and arms, shoulders and plyometric exercises, and stretching, abs, and running. He also does an intense, weekly chest and arms workout that includes the “power clean” and regular bodybuilding exercises. His approach to fasting might not be for everyone, but his combination of tactics and techniques has produced some formidable results.