There are many definitions of the word "tough" especially when it comes to movie characters we grow to love. We have the emotionally tough characters, who deal with horrible life circumstances in order to become the best person they can be, and then there are the physically tough characters, who can lift school buses and defeat countless enemies with just a wave of their hands. Think about your favorite movie characters and why you like them—is it because they overcame horrific trials int their life or is it because they can fly around Malibu taking out bad guys?
Forrest Bondurant - Lawless
Somehow, this guy is totally invincible. Lawless is about a group of men who run a backwoods establishment in order to hide their true passion: bootlegging. Forrest Bondurant is the middle brother who is easily the brains of the operation. He survives multiple gunshots and a slit throat, so not much is able to stop him. Tom Hardy follows in the footsteps of Forrest Bondurant for sure, he and Shia LaBeouf got into a physical fight on set!
Frank Lucas - American Gangster
American Gangster follows real-life Harlem drug dealer Frank Lucas around New York City. This guy makes the Italian Mafia shake in their boots. He's unapologetically violent and intimidating, ready to step on anyone in his way to the top of the food chain. Frank Lucas was a real gangster living in Harlem back in the 60s and 70s. He was best known for famously cutting out the middleman in the drug trades, which was controversial back in the day.
Adonis Creed - Creed
Rocky Balboa knew just how to toughen up his protege. Learning from the best, made Adonis an even tougher competitor that is predecessor. Not only is he physically tough, but he's also mentally tough as well—you have to be to fight under those circumstances! Michael B. Jordan wore the famous American flag trunks that Apollo Creed wore in Rocky, Rocky III, and Rocky IV. You have to earn those shorts!
Vasquez - Aliens
Vasquez is a firecracker, that's for sure. She has a quick tongue and witty comebacks, but that's not what makes her tough. She goes headfirst into battling the aliens in order to keep her team safe... No questions asked. Needless to say, she goes out gun's blazing. During the 15 minute countdown at the end of the film, the actors actually pushed themselves to film it in 15 minutes. That's probably why it feels so crazy!
Tommy DeVito - Goodfellas
Tommy DeVito is the type of tough where he doesn't even have to lift a finger. He's got people to be tough for him! The Goodfellas life is all about getting people to do the tough stuff for you. He had to grind to get to that position, though. According to Henry Hill, whose real life was the inspiration for the film, Joe Pesci's portrayal of Tommy was 99% accurate... Tommy himself was just a bit more built.
James Bond
There have been tons of different James Bonds throughout the years, and each of them has been cunning and quick. James Bond doesn't take no for an answer and has tons of tricks up his sleeve. He's a sophisticated brute, that's for sure. Daniel Craig is going to retire from James Bond after the newest film, No Time to Die coming in 2020. It'll be his fifth and final appearance.
Alejandro Gillick - Sicario
Alejandro Gillick is a "fight first and ask questions later" kind of guy. Killing an assassin's wife and daughter already seems like a pretty bad idea, but killing Gillick's family is basically a death sentence. Of course, this is just his side story... He's really working alongside an FBI agent in the war against drugs. You don't want to come face to face with this guy. Gillick isn't a very talkative guy, which adds to the mystery. Benicio Del Toro actually took out lines from his script because he felt that it suited the character better... That was definitely a good move.
Marv - Sin City
When a guy this tough is left with a broken heart, there will be a lot of broken necks on the path behind him. In Robert Rodriguez's hyper-stylized film based on Frank Miller's novel, Marv's only goal is to get revenge on the cannibal priests who killed his girlfriend. Like a true boss, he immediately confesses to his crimes and gets the electric chair. It takes a few zaps, but he goes out eventually. The scene with Marv climbing out of the manhole was actually filmed in reverse. They wanted to give him a defining presence in the film and wanted it to be as creepy as possible.
Rooster Cogburn - True Grit
You can tell exactly what Rooster Cogburn is like from his appearance. Big gun, one eye, beer belly... Yeah, he's not one that you want to mess with. He's trigger-happy, to say the least, and isn't really keen on things not going his way. Luckily for him, most people know better than to displease him! Rooster's real name is actually Reuben J. Cogburn, but that doesn't hold the same effect as being called Rooster!
Chuck Noland - Cast Away
Being the sole survivor of a plane crash seems difficult and scary, and somehow Chuck Noland made it look (kind of) easy. He did everything that he could do to survive and even created a little friend out of a volleyball. It takes real courage and strength to survive that long totally deserted! For the role, Tom Hanks let his body naturally gain weight so he looked like an "average, out of shape man" for the role. Then, filming halted for a year so that he could lose fifty pounds and grow out his hair.
Colonel Miles Quaritch - Avatar
Every director loves the strong man with the big scars on his face. The casting director was spot on with getting Stephen Lang for this film. He really captures the essence of "wanting to destroy everything and everyone in the galaxy." The movie itself was tough to film. It took over four years of filming and post-production to get it out to the masses. Some of the CGI scenes took 47 hours to render.
Tyler Durden - Fight Club
Technically, everyone in Fight Club would be considered tough since they decided to hang out in a basement and punch each other for hours on end, but Tyler Durden takes the cake for toughest character in this film. There isn't anything that he won't do. Brad Pitt was definitely the person for this role. At one point, Edward Norton actually punched him in the face when it was supposed to be fake. The unplanned hit was left in the film, even though Norton could be seen laughing at Pitt's reaction.
Luke Hobbs - The Fast and the Furious
Anything The Rock does is considered tough, honestly, but Luke Hobbs literally runs into the face of danger. You can't even count the number of times this man runs away from explosions on your fingers. The ex-agent strayed from the legal path when he had to hunt down Dominic Toretto and Brian O'Conner... That takes some strength! The first Fast and the Furious movie was originally rated R due to some gory scenes. They had to be cut to make the film PG-13!
Mulan
Mulan goes to war for her ailing father, pretends to be a boy the entire time, gets found out and kicked out of the army, and then saves China. No offense to the other Disney princesses, but she really goes above and beyond just out of the goodness of her heart. Mulan is also the first animated Disney film to ever deal with the topic of warfare. Mulan was tough!
Katniss Everdeen - The Hunger Games
We all knew that Katniss Everdeen was a boss when she volunteered to head into the Games in place of her little sister. Then, she goes on to win the games and is the second person ever to win from District 12. As if that wasn't enough, she also does it a second time when the former winners are called back to the games once again. She's basically the mouthpiece for the movement against President Snow.
Mallory Kane - Haywire
You can tell that she's pretty rough around the edges, which makes sense since Gina Carano is a real-life MMA fighter. Plus, in Haywire, she straight up kills Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, and Michael Fassbender... Those are some pretty rough and tumble characters! Gina Carano, who played Mallory, had to undergo a six-week intensive tactical training course with an ex-Israeli special ops fighter.
Ethan Hunt - Mission: Impossible
You have to have some courage to do what Ethan Hunt does. Skydiving through lightning storms, scaling the sides of buildings, walking on wings of airplanes, and even free climbing a huge mountain takes some real guts. Sure, he has the tools and training to make this kind of stuff pretty easy for him, but it doesn't make it any less impressive. A lot of the stunts were actually real instead of using movie magic, which makes this film even crazier.
Alex Honnold - Free Solo
Okay, Alex Honnold is a real person, but we have to include him on this list. His documentary film Free Solo shows how he free climbs rocks without any equipment. He's the only person to free solo El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. El Capitan is about 3,000 feet from base to summit, which is an insane climb in itself. He practiced for years with gear, and one day just felt ready to scale El Capitan despite the fact that he could easily die. He accomplished the climb in a little over four hours.
Han Solo - Star Wars
Even though he's pretty goofy, Han Solo knows how to win a fight. After all, he always shoots first. Han Solo also had a helping hand in saving the galaxy by working alongside Luke Skywalker. You know, just normal stuff like that. There was some drama about the shoot-out between Han Solo and Greedo as fans thought that Greedo shot first... After years of review, they were able to tell that Solo shot first. Some fans still don't believe it!
Indiana Jones
You have to be tough if you've survived a non-surgical heart removal and a nuclear blast, right? Indiana Jones shows no mercy as he snaps his bullwhip all over the world. Harrison Ford himself was pretty tough, too. While filming, Harrison Ford tore a ligament in his left leg. Instead of heading to the doctor, he wrapped it up and kept filming.
Dr. Ryan Stone - Gravity
You have to be a pretty strong-willed individual to survive being stranded in space. Dr. Ryan Stone was able to power through the death of her partner, floating aimlessly in space, and the sporadic re-entry to Earth. Oh, and her oxygen is running out the entire time.
Hugh Glass - The Revenant
Even for the people who haven't seen this movie, this picture pretty much shows how rough and tumble Hugh Glass is. I mean, really, this guy fought a bear with his own two hands. He survived in the wilderness on his own for days on end. He even turned a horse carcass into a tent—Hugh Glass is the definition of tough.
Morpheus - The Matrix
Put tiny black glasses on anyone and they'll exude bad guy energy. If Morpheus says jump, you say how high. Yeah, Neo and Trinity may have done all of the crazy stunts, but who put them up to it? That's right, this gigantic man with tiny glasses. He's basically like a mob boss but in a dystopian universe.
Bryan Mills - Taken
Bryan Mills has a very particular set of skills that he isn't afraid to use to get his family back. He's your typical dad-gone-rogue character. The entire Taken franchise is just a series of, "you messed with the wrong guy" scenarios. It's not bad, though, and Liam Neeson plays the characters perfectly. Just don't let him find you...
Black Widow - The Avengers
Natalia Romanova takes no prisoners. She's a Russian spy turned American superhero, so it's safe to say that she's seen it all. Black Widow was first introduced to the Marvel film franchise in 2010. Finally, after 10 years of being a side character, the femme fatale is getting her own movie. Knowing her, it's going to be more action-packed than all of the Avengers films put together.
Nikolai Luzhin - Eastern Promises
Nikolai is a guy that's minding his business and doing what he's told. He'll dump a body when he has to and kill those who are out to get him if he must be bothered with the task. Honestly, the carefree tough guys are the scariest... They're usually the most unhinged, just like Nikolai.
Anton Chigurh - No Country for Old Men
At first glance, Anton Chigurh looks like a 14-year-old kid waiting at the tour bus after Van Halens arena show, just hoping to get an autograph, however, he's actually a professional hitman and the main antagonist in No Country for Old Men. Not just any hitman gets to make the "world's toughest" list... He makes the cut due to his peculiar weapon choice: a captive bolt stunner. If he hits someone in the head just right, it's lights out.
Jason Bourne
When you're classified as a deadly weapon, life is going to get a bit difficult. Jason Bourne is forced to overcome a lot of different and special challenges in order to stay alive. If you get into an altercation with Jason Bourne, you better hope that he's unarmed and has nothing nearby that could kill you... Seriously, he killed someone with a toaster once.
The Driver - Drive
This stuntman-turned-getaway-driver is so mysterious that he doesn't even get a name... He's just known as The Driver. It's not easy to be a getaway driver, especially with bullets flying through the windshield. He's not just a driver, though... He becomes an avenger, breaking the fingers of anyone who gives him the wrong answer. Eventually, a hitman even comes after him.
T-1000 - Terminator 2: Judgment Day
This dude is pretty much unkillable. Even though he's a liquid metal shapeshifter, that doesn't mean he's any less of a renegade. Just when you think you got this guy down, he gets back up in a matter of seconds... Don't mess with the T-1000.
T-800 - The Terminator Series
His famous catchphrase is, "I'll be back," and that's usually a promise. Even though he changes paths in the second movie, that doesn't mean he isn't still ready to take on as much damage as possible. I wouldn't want to mess with this robot whatsoever...
Lee - Enter the Dragon
Lee never backed down to a fight, even when he was already pretty beat up. Plus, when you're filled with fury, it's pretty easy to constantly get into battles. Unfortunately, this was Bruce Lee's final film. He died shortly after it wrapped. While they were shooting, Lee accidentally kicked Jackie Chan in the face. Lee promised that Chan would work on all of his future films, but he was never able to keep that promise.
Sarah Connor - Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Sarah Connor can decimate anyone in her path. Her character growth is enough to strike fear into anyone, but those shoulders really do the talking. She wasn't much to fear in the first movie, but there are no holds barred in the second one. After all, someone needed to stop the apocalypse.
Maximus Decimus Meridius - Gladiator
Russel Crowe really knows how to swing a sword. Maximus uses his anger and fury to slay the opposing team that's easily twice as large as he is. The film itself was exhausting to film. The entire crew was drained by the end of it. The wounds on Crowe's face after the opening battle scene are actually real. A horse backed him into a bunch of tree branches, which required stitches.
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is one of the strongest superheros of them all. The Amazonian woman singlehandedly brought an end to World War I and defeated the God of Death. Neither are easy feats! All she has is her sword, shield, and super tough wrist cuffs. Gal Gadot trained for nine months in order gain seventeen pounds of muscle for the role. Still, people commented on her weight and said that she was too skinny for Wonder Woman.
Imperator Furiosa - Mad Max: Fury Road
Charlize Theron is unrecognizable in her role as the invincible Imperator Furiosa. She will do anything to protect the women who are in her care. She's driven through blinding sandstorm and singlehandedly taken down men who tried to fight her. CGI was barely used in this film, which makes it even crazier. The most CGI thing in this film was Imperator's prosthetic arm.
John Wick
It didn't take much for John Wick to crack. Once his enemies messed with his puppy, it was game over. New York's mobsters had no idea how peaceful their lives were before John Wick came to light. He turns into a remorseless killing machine over his puppy, and no one will receive mercy from him.
John McClane - Die Hard
John McClane is his name, thwarting villains' plans is his game. He's best known as the reluctant hero who will do anything it takes to finish his job all by himself. He doesn't need the help, even if he kind of does. He definitely falls into that "one-man army" cliche. It's hard to keep a New York cop in check!
Beatrix Kiddo - Kill Bill
Swinging around a samurai sword is already crazy enough, but that iconic yellow suit makes her extremely memorable. She's got a list of people that she needs to kill, and then totally surpasses it in the second film. I'd trust her with my life.
Yu Shu Lien - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Yu Shu Lien is an independent woman who doesn't have a husband and refuses to listen to her father. Instead, she voluntarily runs her father's business for him while living her life for herself. Also, being able to duel with two swords in a kimono is extremely impressive.
Shuri - Black Panther
Shuri gives a new meaning to the word "princess." The princess of Wakanda is basically the brains behind the civilization. She created most of the technology seen in the film and knows how to hold her own in a fight.
Ellen Ripley - Alien
Honestly, all of the women in Alien are pretty crazy. Ellen Ripley was the only person from the fleet to come out alive. It only makes sense that she rocks the rest of the films, too. She's so important in the films that she is cloned 200 years after her death in Alien Resurrection. That's how you know she's a key player to xenomorph destruction!
Eowyn - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Eowyn was only thought to be a noblewoman, but then she proved everyone wrong. Throughout the entire series, she always wanted to be on the battlefield. Finally, she got her wish in the Battle of Pelennor Fields. She even slays the Witch-king. When people told her that no man could ever kill the king, she responds with, "I am no man."
Hermione Granger - Harry Potter
Hermione was framed as a snotty know-it-all at first, but she quickly proved her strength and continued to do so in every single movie. Without her help, Harry Potter would never have been able to stop Voldemort. She always knew what to do and how to go about situations as if it were a game of chess. She also never backed down from a fight!
Hit-Girl - Kick Ass
Tiny Chloe Grace Moretz packed a punch in Kick-Ass. She's smart, strong, and well-trained. Hit-Girl did most of the hitting, hence her name, and she was pretty imperative to the entire storyline. This girl was so impressive that she went from a supporting character to having her own self-titled comic book series.
Domino - Deadpool 2
Domino is a member of the X-Force, but she wasn't just lucky to land it. Most people can agree that she's got a better shot than most of her teammates. She doesn't think twice when skydiving and can easily take down a few enemies at the same time. Her hair never falters!
Leia Organa - Star Wars
Much like Carrie Fisher, Leia wanted to do things her own way. She was painted as a damsel in distress ("You're my only hope!") and turned into a gun-wielding, stealthy fighter. In the final episodes, she was promoted to a leader of the Rebel Alliance. Honestly, Princess Leia is one of the great female heroes of all time.
X-23 - Logan
Naturally, the daughter of Wolverine is going to be a tough little girl. She's got his adamantium claws as well as his intense temper. Don't worry, though, she can hold her own despite her tiny stature.
Lara Croft - Tomb Raider
Lara Croft was first famous in the video game world, and Angelina Jolie helped bring her into Hollywood. She's highly intelligent and extremely athletic. Not only is she an explorer, but she's a university-educated archaeologist. Her favorite past time is heading into dangerous tombs to extract their treasures.
Leeloo - The Fifth Element
It's hard being the most powerful weapon in the universe, but Leeloo makes it look easy. She's one of the Supreme Beings of the Universe and was sent to Earth to become the Fifth Element. Her main goal was to destroy the Great Evil. So yeah, she's pretty tough.
Lucy
Lucy is a science fiction film about a woman who gains psychokinetic abilities when a drug is absorbed into her bloodstream. All of a sudden, she gains tons of abilities that basically makes her the most dangerous weapon in the world. She can even go back in time!
Lisbeth Salander - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Lisbeth Salander is one of the most unique characters on this list. She's originally a hacker who turned into a crime fighter due to serious circumstances in her life. She went through a lot of pain and heartache to get to where she was in the film, but that doesn't make her weak. In fact, she proved a lot of people wrong with just how strong she was, emotionally and physically.
Alice - Resident Evil
In her mission to take down the Umbrella Corp, she quickly proves to everyone that she's one that can't be tamed. She basically needs to take down all of the zombies and will do anything to stop them. After all, she was originally just a security officer who decided to go undercover to expose her employer's secrets...
Selene - Underworld
There are vampires, there are werewolves, and then, there's Selene. Selene is basically in charge of slaying anyone who isn't a part of the Death Dealers. In fact, she was so deep in the fight that she forgot she was a human in all of this mess. She's icy, unemotional, and would work herself to death.
Storm - X-Men
Who knew that controlling the weather would hold such importance? Storm is one of the best members of X-men and has saved their butts more times than she could count. She's unofficially the team leader and an incredible mentor to the younger members. Everyone looks up to Storm!
Trinity - The Matrix
Trinity was first-mate to Morpheus, who is also pretty terrifying. She helped him work to free the people of the Matrix. Not only is she a super-skilled computer hacker, but she also knows how to fight and can take anyone down with her martial arts skills.
Aeon Flux
Charlize Theron once again is unrecognizable as this tough as nails character. Aeon Flux is a warrior in the post-apocalyptic war in the 25th Century. When the Earth's population dwindles to just under 5 million people, someone has to make a change! So, Aeon Flux vows to help them all out.
The Ladies in Hidden Figures
These Space Race Heroines are superheroes in their own right. Hidden Figures tells the story of three real-life mathematicians who played a crucial part in NASA's early space program. Even though they didn't have superpowers, they were basically heroes to all women in STEM programs!
Rey - Star Wars
Rey overcomes her struggles as a poor orphan who lives as a scavenger and plays a huge role in the Resistance. Good thing she has the Force on her side, or else she might struggle with that lightsaber! Rey accidentally finds herself fueling the Resistance while also helping out her close friends.
Ree - Winter's Bone
Ree is a no-nonsense teenager who trudges around the Ozark Mountains to find her father and protect her siblings. She's basically all on her own, but that doesn't stop her. Her own will to live and protect her siblings helps her battle her inner emotions as well as the outside forces.
John Rambo - Rambo
Rambo is always wet with sweat or rain, shirtless, and kind of bloody. He already checks off a lot of points on the tough meter. At this point, Rambo is just another word for mad or crazy. This dude is a one-man army, after all!