45 Under 45: The New Class Of Action Stars
Bruce Willis, Angelina Jolie, and Jackie Chan showed the world what a badass action film star is capable of, albeit over the past 30 years or so. With the average age of the industry's greatest action heroes on a steep uptick, who are the up-and-coming action film stars destined to take the place of the Fast and Furious crew when the franchise starts following Dom's ability to get around with a walker? Rising action film stars such as Maisie Williams, Tom Hardy, and Donald Glover look poised to take over as the premier heroes of Hollywood's coming action flicks. When your favorite action franchises start reaching the double-digit installments, these young action stars will be the ones taking the reins. As much as viewers love Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan, they can't be action stars forever.
- Age: 38
Birthplace: Melbourne, Australia
Chris Hemsworth is best known for his role as Thor in the MCU. He's arguably become a more interesting actor since Taika Waititi gave the God of Thunder some comedy chops in Ragnarok.
- Age: 40
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Captain America himself, Evans can withstand the cold in Snowpiercer and the heat of playing an Israeli Mossad agent in the thriller The Red Sea Diving Resort.
- Age: 37
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States of America
She's Black Widow in Iron Man 2, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and all of the subsequent Avengers films, which is probably a safer bet than trying to revive Motoko Kusanagi as a white woman in 2017's Ghost in the Shell remake.
- Age: 36
Birthplace: Rosh Ha'ayin, Israel
Thanks to the success of Wonder Woman, Gadot is slated for several more DC appearances, including a sequel to her breakout role. Even when superpowers fail her, she still gets to be badass in Furious 7.
- Age: 44
Birthplace: Hammersmith, London, England, UK
As long as he puts a mask on, Tom Hardy's good to go. Whether it's Bane, Venom, Mad Max, or the pilot from Dunkirk, the actor can be counted on to spit out lines without ever moving his mouth (as far as anyone knows).
- Age: 25
Birthplace: Kingston upon Thames, London, United Kingdom
Best known as Spider-Man, the young Brit can also be seen in Doug Liman's 20199 dystopian thriller Chaos Walking. As an added bonus, he's a trained gymnast, meaning Holland really can do all his own stunts.
- Age: 34
Birthplace: Santa Ana, California, USA
Fahrenheit 451 was met with mixed reviews, but it does serve as a reminder that Wallace from The Wire can imbue even the silliest of roles with drama. A double-dipper in the MCU, Jordan's played both the Human Torch in Fantastic Four and the villainous N'Jadaka (AKA Erik "Killmonger" Stevens) in Black Panther.
- Age: 42
Birthplace: Virginia, Minnesota, USA
The formerly chunky Parks and Recreation alum now serves as the hero of a few major action franchises. He's Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy and Owen Grady, the Raptor Whisper, in Jurassic World.
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Chadwick Boseman
Age: 37Birthplace: Anderson, South Carolina
After playing Thurgood Marshall, the South Carolinian proved his metal as T'Challa, AKA the Black Panther.
- Age: 39
Birthplace: Constanta, Romania
Yes, he's the MCU's Winter Soldier. But as audiences of I, Tonya know, the Romanian actor can be just as dangerous with a sagging mustache as he is with a machine gun and robot arm. Look for him in We Have Always Lived in the Castle, I'm Not Here, Destroyer, and reprising his role as Bucky Barnes in the next Avengers.
- Age: 32
Birthplace: Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
The lone X-Man (or woman!) in The Avengers, this Scarlet Witch has been upstaging her Full House-starring siblings with leading roles in adaptations of the horror-thrillers Oldboy, Silent House, and Godzilla.
- Age: 34
Birthplace: Inverness, United Kingdom
Karen Gillan is instantly recognizable. Whether it's in a breakout horror movie like Oculus, a silly A-lister romp like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, or Marvel blockbusters like Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Infinity War, Gillan just stands out. Expect more of her.
- Age: 31
Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Just based on prior performances, you could already put J-Law in the Action Hero Hall of Fame. She's played roles from Katniss to Mystique, with detours into space travel (Passengers) and spying (Red Sparrow). Look out for her reviving her X-Men role in 2019's Dark Phoenix.
- Age: 43
Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Falcon from MCU. Martin Luther King from All the Way. Sergeant J.T. Sanborn from The Hurt Locker. "Guy with fedora" from The Adjustment Bureau. Truly, Anthony Mackie can do it all.
- Age: 34
Birthplace: London, England
This Game of Thrones actress jumps from dragons to a falcon (the Millennium kind) in the Star Wars prequel Solo.
- Age: 32
Birthplace: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Chris Hemsworth's younger brother played opposite Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games and opposite some giant aliens in Independence Day: Resurgence.
- Age: 30
Birthplace: New York, New York, USA
The Teen Wolf heartthrob also stars in the labyrinthian YA action franchise Maze Runner.
- Age: 24
Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
After her turn in Kick-Ass, Chloë Grace Moretz feels destined to be an action star. Her stone-cold delivery and remarkable stunt talents make her an ideal action heroine. Just give her her own John Wick or Atomic Blonde and watch her shine.
- Age: 35
Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Who wouldn't want to see Quicksilver in a standalone film (or more likely, a music video)? The American Horror Story stalwart is expanding his range at a breakneck pace, starring in The Pirates of Somalia and American Animals.
- Age: 24
Birthplace: England
The Game of Thrones starlet follows her on-screen older sis Sophie Turner into a post-Game of Thrones stint at the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters; she headlines New Mutants as Rahne Sinclair, better known as Wolfsbane.
- Age: 38
Birthplace: Edwards Air Force Base, California, USA
The real star of the 2018 Star Wars spin-off isn't the self-titled Solo, but comedian/producer/actor/Emmy winner Childish Gambino, AKA Donald Glover. The Atlanta star and creator takes over Billy Dee William's role in this prequel as Lando Calrissian, already a fan favorite.
- Age: 31
Birthplace: Vällingby, Sweden
Is it weird to find out Pennywise the Dancing Clown is younger than his co-stars in the sequel to IT? Don't worry, he's not clowning around with his other roles in movies like Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde, and Assassination Nation.
- Age: 42
Birthplace: Guatemala City, Guatemala
After paying his dues with the Coen Brothers on Inside Llewyn Davis, the Cuban and Guatemalan-American actor wound up in some major blockbuster franchises, including Star Wars, X-Men, and The Bourne Legacy.
- Age: 32
Birthplace: Sacramento, California, USA
She's Captain Marvel - enough said.
- Age: 14
Birthplace: Marbella, Spain
Millie Bobby Brown continues to break fans' brains as Eleven in Netflix's Stranger Things. That will definitely help ensure her success opposite a giant lizard monster in 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
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