Rebecca Ferguson. The Swedish-born actress stood up to Tom Cruise and then some in “Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation” and returns in “MI 6.” She costarred with Emily Blunt in a dramatic role in “The Girl on the Train,” fights a space alien in “Life,” and costars with Michael Fassbender in “The Snowman.” In short, she can do anything. Superman,” returns in “Justice League,” and wowed CinemaCon with footage from “Wonder Woman,” which she carries with support from “Star Trek” star Chris Pine. picked this Israeli military vet and Miss Israel winner to play DC Comics’ Wonder Woman after she scored in “Fast & Furious,” “Fast Five,” and “Fast & Furious 6.” She stole the show from the big boys in “Batman v. Next up: the villain in “The Fate of the Furious.” Gal Gadot in “Wonder Woman”Ĥ. She’s come a long way from “Aeon Flux,” steadily building her action cred until she dominated Tom Hardy as one-handed Imperator Furiosa in “Mad Max: Fury Road.” Stunt wrangler and “John Wick” director David Leitch pushed her to master martial arts kickfighting and gun stunts for “Atomic Blonde,” in which she performs unbelievable hand-to-hand combat (in long takes) that would give Chow Yun Fat pause. That’s why she was cast in “Ghost in the Shell,” based on the manga comic and animated feature - a flop that proved once again that if imitators have already sucked a property dry, it may be too familiar to be commercial no matter who stars in it. She has delivered as Avenger Black Widow in five entries in the Marvel universe (and still deserves a standalone) but Luc Besson put her front and center in “Lucy,” which she carried with no male support, to a $457 million worldwide gross. ![]() Smith,” and kicked global box office as “Maleficent.” She can do whatever she chooses in the action arena, but often prefers to write, direct and act in more meaningful fare.Ģ. She carried two “Tomb Raider” movies as Lara Croft, could have had a franchise with “Wanted” but passed, scored in international spy thriller “Salt,” held her own with future partner Brad Pitt in “Mr. ![]() READ MORE: Why Hollywood is Reluctant to Anoint Multicultural Movie Stars Angelina Jolie in “Wanted”ġ. But there’s no reason that they couldn’t do it, too.įrom where we sit, the studios could come up with a lot more projects for these women as solo leads. These include Jennifer Lawrence, Margot Robbie, Natalie Portman, Chloe Grace Moretz, Emily Blunt, Felicity Jones, Halle Berry, Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Garner, Keira Knightley, Rooney Mara, Noomi Rapace, and Shailene Woodley. Of note: We did not not include stars who have some action cred, but who haven’t been identified primarily as an action star. Can their name get a movie made, now or in the future? With that, here’s a ranked list of the top female action stars working today. We measured star power by each actress’ credibility across acting, action chops, box office domestic and global, ongoing franchises, and overseas bankability. ![]() While protests surround Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander’s ascension to the “Tomb Raider” reboot, the Swedish actress is just playing the game. Even Helen Mirren played a lethal hit woman in “Red 2,” not that she’s planning an action career. Jessica Chastain starred in the execrable “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” to earn action bonafides. Smith’ Movie’s Appeal Ahead of Series: It’s Just ‘Gorgeous People’ These roles may strike a blow for equality and diversity, but what these women - and their agents - realize most of all is that carrying an action movie brings global marquee value and a much higher asking price. It’s a strategy that’s served men for decades.ĭonald Glover Didn’t Get ‘Mr. This weekend, we watched Scarlett Johansson lay waste to her enemies (although not the box office) in “Ghost in the Shell,” following a path blazed by the likes of Linda Hamilton (“Terminator 2: Judgment Day”), Uma Thurman (“Kill Bill”), and Michelle Yeoh (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”). Today, ass-kicking women are no longer an anomaly or subject to automatic retribution. Despite the three sequels that followed, Ripley proved to be something of an outlier. Until fairly recently, a woman could kill someone in a movie only if she faced brutal punishment afterward, as in Scott’s “Thelma and Louise,” or in the inevitable fates of Bond girls: They could dole out lethal action, but rarely survived. Way back in 1979, Ridley Scott’s “Alien” brought us our first genuine female action hero in Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley.
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