Which Movie Stars Have Played Cops the Most Times?
Robert De Niro
Mad Dog and Glory (1993) .... Wayne 'Mad Dog' Dobie
Cop Land (1997) .... Moe Tilden
15 Minutes (2001) .... Detective Eddie Flemming
Showtime (2002) .... Det. Mitch Preston
City by the Sea (2002) .... Vincent LaMarca
Righteous Kill (2008) .... Tom 'Turk' Cowan
Fun fact: De Niro spent the first half of his career playing hoodlums, and he'll spend the last half playing the men who bust them. What once seemed an against-type casting in Mad Dog and Glory now seems par for the course, as De Niro has played several cops over the last twenty years -- and we're not even counting his former CIA operative in Meet the Parents or his clear obsession with the agency as evidenced by The Good Shepherd, which he directed.
Will Smith
Bad Boys (1995) .... Mike Lowery
Men in Black (1997) .... N.Y.P.D Ofcr. James Darrel Edwards III
Bad Boys II (2003) .... Mike Lowery
I, Robot (2004) .... Del Spooner
Many of the older actors on this list started playing cops early in their career, but today's young actors rarely do -- and whether that says more about their role choices or about the type of actor who's now popular, I'll leave to you to decide. Still, Will Smith has some cop credits to boast about, though they often involve a futuristic twist.
Johnny Depp
21 Jump Street .... Officer Tom Hanson (71 episodes, 1987-1990)
Sleepy Hollow (1999) .... Ichabod Crane
From Hell (2001) .... Inspector Frederick Abberline
Willowy Johnny Depp may have become famous for playing an undercover cop on 21 Jump Street, but if you leave out his FBI agent in Donnie Brasco, he's only played a cop twice more -- and in Sleepy Hollow and From Hell, the compromised characters were hardly ideal archetypes.
Brad Pitt
No Way Out (1987) .... Airport Cop
Cool World (1992) .... Detective Frank Harris
Se7en (1995) .... Detective David Mills
Brad Pitt is one of the biggest actors working, but he's only played a cop three times, and one of those times was as an uncredited extra in No Way Out. Is he saving law enforcement for later in his career?
Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon
The Departed (2006)
If you can believe it, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon have only played cops once, and it was during the cat-and-mouse game that was The Departed. And no, DiCaprio's "fed-ah-rul mah-shull" from Shutter Island doesn't count.
Tom Cruise
Minority Report (2002) .... Chief John Anderton
I'm as surprised as you are. Tom! Did you never plays Cops and Robbers as a kid, or experience a career epiphany while watching some good Chris Noth Law & Order episodes on cable? Audiences may be wary of you these days, but the police department is always looking for a few good men.
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Comments
He is a PI in LBS. It's kind of integral to the story that he's a PI and not a Cop in the film too ...
He's not really even a former cop. He's a former Secret Service agent. And while SSA's are responsible for a few major crimes in America, especially anti-counterfeiting, they are basically a paramilitary force, not a police force.
Where are Clarles Bronson and Tommy Lee Jones in this list?
In my opinion, one of "three best" actors cops (Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson and Tommy Lee Jones).
Best Regards
Dennis Franz on the little screen and the big screen.
I would dispute that Mel Gibson plays a cop in Road Warrior or Beyond Thunderdome. Sure he was a cop in Mad Max but in the 2 sequels civilization has broken down and there is more or less no governing authority or law for the Gibson character to enforce. He should more correctly be considered an ex-cop for those 2 films. Oh and by the way since I have your attention: why is your list confined to only living actors?
What about Jackie Chan? He's always a cop. Off the top of my head he's played a cop in all the Police Stories, New Police Stories, Rush Hour etc. He must be top of the list.
Damon's character in the Departed very much was a cop. He was just a cop that was on the take even before he entered the Academy, something he did just so he could spy on the cops for the Mob.
dirty as hell, but he was a cop.
by the rules, the CIA doesn't count. No CIA, no NSA, no FBI etc.
okay lets change up/clarify the rules a little. just for fun
1. character has to be a cop during the course of the action. not a former cop
2. Police, any level (uniform, detective, etc) but no FBI, CIA, NSA, Navy Seals, Rangers, PI's, Bodyguards.
3. All TV shows, franchises etc. count as 1 character
Now who wins.
For fun, lets have one list for living actors and one for no longer living.
And let's not forget that Movie Stars doesn't mean only men, shall we
... And 'Witness'!
Steven Seagal, on closer inspection, tends to play black-ops Special Forces (often ex, surprise, surprise!) more often than not... but for completion's sake -
Born to Raise Hell (2010) .... Bobby
The Keeper (2009/I) .... Roland
Kill Switch (2008) (V) .... Det. Jacob King
Ticker (2001) .... Frank Glass
Exit Wounds (2001) .... Orin Boyd
The Glimmer Man (1996) .... Lt. Jack Cole
Out for Justice (1991) .... Det. Gino Felino
Hard to Kill (1990) .... Mason Storm
Above the Law (1988) .... Nico Toscani
Is 9 respectable?
... And 'Witness'!
You can't knock Johnny Nash Ross. Alas dad thinks he's that bloke in black that sang "Walk the Line".
Al Pacino has done some of cop movies.
Serpico (1973)
Sea of Love (1989)
Heat (1995)
Righteous Kill (2008)
Andy Garcia holds the record. How is it you guys don't know this?! Lazy research.
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