Which Movie Stars Have Played Cops the Most Times?
According to Kevin Smith, it wasn't easy to direct Bruce Willis while making Cop Out, since Willis had played the smirking cop so often in his career that he felt he knew the character (and his own movie star persona) better than Smith did. Certainly, Willis has worked in cinematic law enforcement a number of times, but has he played more cop roles than all his peers? Movieline decided to find out by doing a little bit of resume-skimming for some of today's top actors.
The rules? The star has to be alive, sequels count (since they contribute to the perception that the actor often plays a cop), and we're focusing on regular cop cops, not military men or federal employees like ATF or CIA agents. Here's what we found:
Bruce Willis
Die Hard (1988) .... John McClane
Die Hard 2 (1990) .... John McClane
The Last Boy Scout (1991) .... Joe Hallenbeck
Striking Distance (1993) .... Det. Tom Hardy
Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995) .... John McClane
Sin City (2005) .... Hartigan
Hostage (2005) .... Jeff Talley
16 Blocks (2006) .... Det. Jack Mosley
Live Free or Die Hard (2007) .... John McClane
Surrogates (2009) .... Tom Greer
Cop Out (2010) .... Jimmy Monroe
It's hard to argue that Willis has a lock on the top spot here, having played a police officer 11 times, although four of his cop claims to fame are from the Die Hard franchise. Take those out, though, and Willis still has a fairly impressive resume.
Clint Eastwood
Coogan's Bluff (1968) .... Coogan
Dirty Harry (1971) .... Harry Callahan
Magnum Force (1973) .... Harry Callahan
The Enforcer (1976/I) .... Harry Callahan
The Gauntlet (1977) .... Ben Shockley
Sudden Impact (1983) .... Harry Callahan
City Heat (1984) .... Lieutenant Speer
Tightrope (1984) .... Capt. Wes Block
The Dead Pool (1988) .... Harry Callahan
The Rookie (1990) .... Nick Pulovski
Like Willis, Eastwood's cop career is somewhat inflated by five Dirty Harry movies. Of course, if we're talking about who's played the most gunslinging roles, Eastwood would have this locked up.
Mel Gibson
Mad Max (1979) .... Max
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) .... Max
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) .... Max
Lethal Weapon (1987) .... Sergeant Martin Riggs
Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) .... Martin Riggs
Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) .... Martin Riggs
Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) .... Martin Riggs
The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) .... Detective Skinner
Complete Savages (2004) .... Officer Cox
Edge of Darkness (2010) .... Thomas Craven
Mel Gibson's recent role in Edge of Darkness was actually an exception for him, since he's actually played very few cop roles outside of the Lethal Weapon and Mad Max franchises. If you haven't seen The Million Dollar Hotel, or happened to catch a few stray episodes of the Gibson-produced sitcom Complete Savages, you've missed most of them.
Sylvester Stallone
Nighthawks (1981) .... Det. Sgt. Deke DaSilva
Cobra (1986) .... Lieutenant Marion 'Cobra' Cobretti
Tango & Cash (1989) .... Lt. Raymond Tango
Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992) .... Sgt. Joe Bomowski
Demolition Man (1993) .... John Spartan
Judge Dredd (1995) .... Judge Dredd
Cop Land (1997) .... Freddy Heflin
D-Tox (2002) .... Jake Malloy
Tough guy Stallone has played an onscreen cop eight times, and none of those were sequels. If you're looking for the actor who's played the most cops, he's your man.
Harrison Ford
The Mod Squad (1968) .... Beach Patrol Cop
More American Graffiti (1979) .... Officer Bob Falfa
Blade Runner (1982) .... Rick Deckard
Witness (1985) .... Det. Capt. John Book
The Devil's Own (1997) .... Tom O'Meara
Random Hearts (1999) .... Dutch Van Den Broeck
Hollywood Homicide (2003) .... Sgt. Joe Gavilan
Ford's two earliest credit on the list were minor ones: an episode of The Mod Squad and an uncredited role in More American Graffiti. Still, the actor's gruff demeanor makes him an ideal onscreen law enforcer.
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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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