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

  • HwoodHills says:

    You forgot DeNiro's Jack Walsh from Midnight Run (1988).
    True, he plays a bounty hunter, former cop but he's only been forced out due to a plot point.
    So technically, that's still a cop to me.

  • Kyle Buchanan says:

    I was a little iffy on counting former cops -- that's why Will Smith has MIB 1 (where he's still a cop for some of the movie) but not MIB 2 (where he's...whatever he is).

  • Gary says:

    Matt Damon didn't play a cop in The Departed. He played a mobster who was pretending to be a cop. There's a difference, because it's clear from the very start that he is not a true police officer.

  • Vince says:

    No Denzel Washington? He's certainly up there with what looks like six roles as a cop (The Mighty Quinn, Fallen, The Bone Collector, Training Day, Out of Time, Inside Man) and two more that are close enough (Ricochet, Virtuosity).

  • Matt says:

    You forgot Al Pacino. He's played a cop six times...
    Serpico (1973)
    Cruising (1980)
    Sea Of Love (1989)
    Heat (1995)
    Insomnia (2002)
    Righteous Kill (2008)
    Not to mention his CIA role in the Recruit. Plus his upcoming Son Of No One (2011) will be his seventh cop movie.

  • Vic says:

    I don't know that he was a "cop cop", but Willis was a cop in Mercury Rising.

  • Kyle Buchanan says:

    He was an FBI agent. Finally, the fact that I watched that movie has paid off.

  • Mags says:

    May I submit for your consideration Mr. Reginald vel Johnson...
    Jail Guard in "Ghostbusters"
    Policeman in Courtroom on an episode of "Kojak"
    Captain Graff in "Plain Clothes"
    Sgt. Al Powell in "Die Hard"
    Carl Winslow on "Perfect Strangers"
    Carl Winslow on "Family Matters"
    Det. David Sutton in "Turner & Hooch"
    Sgt. Al Powell in "Die Hard 2"
    Det. Bob Hymes in "One of Her Own"
    Sgt. Al Powell on an episode of "Chuck"

  • Peah says:

    What about Keanu reeves?
    Who could forget Speed? Officer Jack Travern and the run away bus!
    Speed
    Point Break -rock n roll Johnny Freaking Utah!
    Street King- Giving the Game, Forrest Whittaker and Common a run for the money!
    These are memorable characters for everyone!

  • jayjay says:

    Ray Liotta much?

  • Vic says:

    Like I said, I don't know that he was a "cop cop" but he was a cop. Let's not get cute.

  • The Cantankerist says:

    Y'all aren't givin' Steve Guttenberg enough respect. Ain't it always the way?

  • HwoodHills says:

    I hear ya on the Will Smith MIB 2 deal (especially with your remark about them being actual "Cops.")
    So I guess I'm wrong regarding Midnight Run.
    Point: Buchanan.

  • Randomness says:

    But he still had a badge, gun and knowledge of what police officers were doing.

  • stolidog says:

    who'd have thought:
    Tom Hanks:
    Green Mile
    Dragnet
    Turer & Hooch
    Cars
    Toy Story 1-10,000,000 (and counting)

  • robotbutler says:

    I thought Bruce was a private eye in Last Boy Scout?

  • KE says:

    Yeah wtf no mention of Ray Liotta?

  • mcbeachy says:

    Hasn't Ethan Hawke been playing lots of cops lately?
    And Samuel L. Jackson... surely there have been more than a few cops in his lengthy list of movies.

  • Flamoby says:

    Johnny Depp played a "constible" in Sleepy Hollow but he also played an FBI agent in Donnie Brasco. If we are going to stretch to include Sleepy Hollow then can't we include FBI agents?

  • cschulz says:

    Hardly an actor, but...Eddie Murphy!
    Beverly Hills Cop 1,2,3, (4 in production?)
    Showtime
    Metro

  • Leperchaun says:

    What about Danny Glover Lethal weapon 1-4 predator 2

  • Cmon Son says:

    How in the hall can you have this conversation and not ONCE mention DENZEL WASHINGTON? I read this article just to make sure his name was #1. Thats all he ever plays...and there are people on here with one credit to their name...FOR SHAME! MovieLine doesn't have my respect.

  • Lance says:

    If you want to get into TV series, there are a lot of actors that have played cops. Lets agree that 1 year of the series is equal to 1 movie since it is easier to count. The actors that I can recall are:
    William Shatner: TJ Hooker, Police Squad
    Don Johnson: Miami Vice, Nash Bridges

  • mardigan says:

    Arnold Schwarzenegger is quite the omission as well. Kindergarten Cop, Red Heat, End Of Days, Eraser, Last Action Hero, Raw Deal and Running Man are all films with Arnold playing some sort of cop.

  • Drew says:

    what about...oh i dont know? steven segal? isnt he a cop or FBI agent in almost every movie he has made?