Who are the best action stars working today?

There is currently no bigger action star – and perhaps no bigger movie star – than Johnson. The erstwhile Rock can sell an action flick by himself. Are we watching “Skyscraper” or “Rampage” without Johnson? Probably not, but Johnson did star in them, so we watched. The man knew how to wrestle, and he knows how to be an action star.

Reeves has been one of the biggest action stars in the world for going on 30 years now. First, it was films like “Speed.” Then there were the “Matrix” films. After that, he moved on to “John Wick.” Both the “Wick” and “Matrix” movies are still active, and Reeves is still in them. Not bad for the guy who started as Ted Logan.

Blunt and Johnson are starring in the new action movie “Jungle Cruise,” and they make for quite the action movie two-hander. While “A Quiet Place” and its sequel are more horror films than action films, Blunt still has her bona fides. Have you seen her turn in “Edge of Tomorrow?” Then you know that she can make it work as an action star.

Yes, Pratt is in the MCU, but he’s done plenty of action beyond his turn as Star-Lord. He took over as the face of the “Jurassic Park” series in the “Jurassic World” films. It’s not all pre-existing IP, either. Pratt also stars in the action movie “The Tomorrow War.”

If you want to slap a B- action movie together, Wahlberg is your guy. His movies are rarely critical darlings, or even huge hits, but they succeed. He’ll do war movies, movies based on a true story, or pop up to hang out with the Transformers. Wahlberg is popular enough Paramount+ made his movie “Infinite” their first proprietary release.

We probably don’t need to say anything more than “Mad Max: Fury Road,” right? However, that was a few years ago. Theron isn’t resting on her Furiosa laurels, though. “The Old Guard” was a hit for Netflix, and we are fans of her movie “Atomic Blonde” in particular.

Cruise is approaching 60, but he’s still one of the biggest action stars in the world? How is it possible? How is shooting the “Mission: Impossible” movies not killing him? We don’t know how Cruise does it, but we are always there to check out his hit-action movies when they hit the theaters.

If you are a fan of action films from Hong Kong and martial arts flicks, you probably know Yen’s name. He’s one of the biggest stars in that realm going. Yen has also popped up in American movies, the most prominent of which is “Rogue One.” On the action front, you can see him in “XXX: Return of Xander Cage” and “Mulan.” He also is appearing in the fourth “John Wick” movie.

Statham basically only makes action movies and crime movies. He’s also quite good at it. Statham is one of many actors from the “Fast and Furious” series we could include on this list. In addition to those movies, he’s been in films like “The Expendables” and “The Meg.”

Another former wrestler, another member of the “Fast and Furious” series, and another action star. Cena also does comedy quite well, but he’s definitely not a stranger to action. He’s still relatively new to his acting career outside the ring, but so far it’s looking good for Cena.

Egerton has only been in a handful of films, and he may be best known for playing Elton John in “Rocketman” these days. However, the bulk of his other movies are action films. He’s been in two of the “Kingsmen” movies, and on top of that, he played Robin Hood in one of the many attempts to revamp that character.

Johansson has primarily played Black Widow in the MCU for the last decade and some change, and honestly, her character is the closest to a traditional action movie character out of the Avengers. We don’t need the MCU for Johansson to make this list, though. She’s also been in “Ghost in the Shell” and Lucy,” and we expect more action movies from her soon.

The other Hollywood Chrises are all in the MCU, but Pine is not. Of course, he’s over in the DCEU, but that’s a story for another day. Pine has made several action movies, and you could include the “Star Trek” movies in there. On top of that, he played Jack Ryan once, he was in the runaway train thriller “Unstoppable,” and his next movie is literally called “Violence of Action.”

Jovovich and her husband Paul W.S. Anderson make over-the-top, slightly cheesy action with the best of them. Together they starred in and directed, respectively, six “Resident Evil” movies. They then moved on to another action film based on a video game franchise, “Monster Hunter.” Who knows what video game adaptation is next for Jovovich?

We had to include the man at the center of the “Fast and Furious” movies. Diesel became a superstar and a box office success thanks to these films. There are more action movies to Dominic Toretto’s name, though. Don’t forget his time as Riddick or his movie “Bloodshot.” Also, Diesel is purportedly in the upcoming “Avatar” sequels, assuming they actually come out.

Well into his career, Neeson remade himself as an action star. All he does it seems is make action movies and gritty crime thrillers. They don’t win Oscars, but they do get flipped over to when they are on cable some Saturday afternoon. Neeson has made a ton of action movies, and while the hit rate is not perfect, he’s one of the first names we think of when it comes to action.

Hey, wrestlers become action stars. It’s a thing we’ve seen many times over. Bautista goes into the realm of action-comedy more than some of these names, appearing in films like “Stuber” and “My Spy.” He stars in Zack Snyder’s Netflix zombie heist movie “Army of the Dead” as well. Yes, a zombie heist movie. What an age we live in.

This is a bit of speculation, but we’re calling Washington a future action star, and he might already be one. After all, he starred in “Tenet,” the biggest action movie of 2020. It would have been even bigger if not for the pandemic. Washington is great in “Tenet,” and it showed that he’s got the goods for stardom. His next movie, “Beckett,” is also an action film.

Are the “Jumanji” movies action films? We think so, and Gillan is one of the stars. Next to Dwayne Johnson, Gillan does the most action in those movies. She was also in “Stuber,” but not really a big part of the action. That is not the case with her new movie “Gunpowder Milkshake,” though. Gillan is getting her chance to lead an action film. We think she’s up to it.

Jolie has been doing action for a long time. It’s been 20 years since the days of her playing Lara Croft. Since then, there have been movies like “Salt” and “Wanted.” Her most recent action film is “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” which action fans really dug.

Holland is stepping more and more outside of the MCU and playing Spider-Man. "Cherry" and "Chaos Walking" weren't big hits, but now he's co-starred in "Uncharted" with Wahlberg, a true action star. It seems like Holland wants to stretch his legs outside of the MCU. Expect more action from him.