15-12. Ben Johnson, Warren Oates, William Holden, and Ernest Borgnine
The Wild Bunch, 1969

They’re four guys who enjoy the simple pleasures, such as tequila, whores, stealing everything that isn’t nailed down, facing certain death rather than abandoning a buddy, and firing off thousands of rounds in a brutal final showdown with the Mexican army. Ah, friendship.

Tough talk: "When you side with a man, you stay with him...You can’t do that, you’re like some animal."

11. Gene Hackman
The French Connection, 1971

Popeye Doyle will stop a heroin shipment no matter how many suspects he must slap around or pedestrians he nearly runs over or Feds he shoots accidentally. Be glad he’s on our side (kind of).

Tough talk: "You put a shiv in my partner. You know what that means?"

10. Choi Min-Sik
Oldboy, 2003

Inexplicably imprisoned for 15 years, self-absorbed drunk Dae-Su has five days to find out who did it and punish them. Fortunately, the Korean put that time away to good use, emerging wiser, more considerate, and way better at hammer fighting.

Tough talk: "Revenge is good for your health."

9. Tony Jaa
The Protector, 2005

Be you an anonymous henchman or a thug with biceps the size of Camryn Manheim or a whip-wielding transsexual, Kham will snap your limbs in the most savage manner possible and leave you for dead. Let’s hear it for equality.

Tough talk: "You killed my father and stole my elephants!"

8. Michael Caine
Get Carter, 1971

Before his "Good night, you Princes of Maine" phase, Caine was a London gangster who returns home to Newcastle to avenge his brother’s death by killing…well, pretty much everyone in Newcastle.

Tough talk: "You’re a big man, but you’re in bad shape…Now behave yourself."