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
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.
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).
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.
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).
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.
I don't know that he was a "cop cop", but Willis was a cop in Mercury Rising.
He was an FBI agent. Finally, the fact that I watched that movie has paid off.
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"
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!
Ray Liotta much?
Like I said, I don't know that he was a "cop cop" but he was a cop. Let's not get cute.
Y'all aren't givin' Steve Guttenberg enough respect. Ain't it always the way?
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.
But he still had a badge, gun and knowledge of what police officers were doing.
who'd have thought:
Tom Hanks:
Green Mile
Dragnet
Turer & Hooch
Cars
Toy Story 1-10,000,000 (and counting)
I thought Bruce was a private eye in Last Boy Scout?
Yeah wtf no mention of Ray Liotta?
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.
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?
Hardly an actor, but...Eddie Murphy!
Beverly Hills Cop 1,2,3, (4 in production?)
Showtime
Metro
What about Danny Glover Lethal weapon 1-4 predator 2
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.
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
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.
what about...oh i dont know? steven segal? isnt he a cop or FBI agent in almost every movie he has made?
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