Real-Life Super Heroes!

Before all the CGI and wirework (at least in America), there existed a time where the actors/stars were in many ways, real-life super heroes! This was the 80s and 90s, the golden era of action and martial arts films. For example, Jean-Claude Van Damme was a real-life karate expert, which is what got him into films like Bloodsport.

A regular actor with months of training and preparation in the martial arts could never pull off what Van Damme was able to do in that film!

Ex-Bodybuilding champion Arnold Schwarzenegger was another prime example of a guy who played roles that no regular actor could ever pull off without first having spent years upon years in the gym creating the kind of body that the role needed. Case in point, Conan the Barbarian!

The fluidity and expertise of Steven Seagal’s aikido made you believe that the man in the movie was no different than the man in real life, and in many ways, he wasn’t!

Sylvester Stallone’s ripped physique and overall toughness made you not only believe, but know that he was the real deal, who outworked everyone else in the gym!

It was these guys and the type of training they did outside of the movies that inspired millions across the world to take up a life of fitness and/or martial arts. There was a level of realism and legitimacy, both onscreen and off, that spoke to many of us. Fans of the men from that era of films are what I call “The Brotherhood”, the real die-hard fans in what I call action hero fan religion.