Gone are the days of the bad-ass leading man. Yes, our days now are graced by the Brad Pitts and Channing Tatums and James Francos of the world, but today we pay tribute to men that revolutionized the silver screen over the past three decades as iconic action heroes and quirky indie films. Stallone, Hackman, Nicholson, Pacino, DeNiro, Ford, Russell; all were preceded by the 13 men featured below. In this age of ubiquitous tween marketing and pre-packaged fame, we would be remiss to not mention the old school actors who have fallen below the radar of millenial film fans. The following is a list of 13 badass actors that you damn kids have never heard of. And yes, some of them are still alive.

1. Charles Bronson

Why He’s a Badass

Whether he’s taking out Nazis in The Dirty Dozen, gunslinging as a Mexican bandit in The Magnificent Seven, or cleaning up the city streets as the iconic Paul Kersey in Death Wish, Charles Bronson was synonymous with general bad-assery in films and television from 1949 to 1999, before his death in 2003.

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

The Great Escape (1962)

The Dirty Dozen (1967)

The Mechanic (1972)

Death Wish (1974)

2. Lee Marvin

Why He’s a Badass

Like Bronson, Lee Marvin was right at home as a cowboy, a soldier, or a cop. He fit seamlessly into any role, hero or villain. If you follow Tarantino, who himself is a self-professed Lee Marvin fan, you know that Marvin’s films and characters helped shape the likes of Reservoir Dogs and Inglorious Basterds. Long before CSI, he was solving crimes as detective Frank Ballinger in the hard-boiled TV series M Squad.

The Man Who Shot Death Hunt (1981)

Liberty Valance (1962) 

The Big Red One (1980)

The Dirty Dozen (1967)

Delta Force (1986)

3. Roger Moore

Why He’s a Badass

He was James-fucking-Bond. ‘Nuff said. When you're out there, thwarting yet another mad despot’s crazy plans for world domination as you score with sexy exotic women, all while managing enough wit and charm to carry the international super-spy’s legacy throughout the hedonistic 1970s and 80s, you know you're a bad-ass. And he’s The Saint (sorry, Val Kilmer). Oh, and he’s been in films since 1945. He has a new one due out next year. 2015. Think about it.

The Third Man (1959)            

James Bond (1973-1985)      

Ffolkes (1979)                        

Cannonball Run (1981)

Spice World (1997)

Alias (2002)

4. Errol Flynn

Why He’s a Badass

Now, you may be thinking "who is this candy-ass mother-&@$%er?" but in his day, Errol Flynn was the swashbuckling hero that was as fast with a sword as he was with the ladies (onscreen and off). He was kind of a Wilt Chamberlain-meets-Leonardo DiCaprio hybrid. Ever heard of “in like Flynn”? Exactly.

Captain Blood (1935)

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

The Sea Hawk (1940)

The Sun Also Rises (1957)

5. Lee Van Cleef

Why He’s a Badass

As the the titular ‘bad’ guy in The Good, the Bad & the Ugly, Lee Van Cleef gave Clint Eastwood’s man-with-no-name a run for his money, literally. His storied career playing cowboys and outlaws started in 1952. He stared down Snake Plissken, man. He was also the Master Ninja, so y’know…

Must Watch

High Noon (1952)

Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) 

Good, Bad & the Ugly (1966)

Death Rides a Horse (1967)

The Octagon (1980)

Escape from New York (1981)

6. Richard Roundtree

Why He’s a Badass

SHAFT! Shut yo’ mouth...just talkin’ about Richard Roundtree. As John Shaft, the man with a plan who held it together for the brotherman, Roundtree’s silky-smooth exterior and takin’-it-to-the-streets attitude made Black American cinema explode onto the screen back in the 70s. He’s still kickin’ it these days, now on the set of his latest TV series, Being Mary Jane.

Must Watch

Shaft (1971)

Earthquake (1974)

Roots (1977)

Maniac Cop (1988)

Se7en (1995)

Brick (2005)

7. Sidney Poitier

Why He’s a Badass

They call him...Mister Tibbs!!! Sidney Poitier was the Will Smith of his day; playing complex characters and telling provocative stories, and tackling the pressing civil rights issues of the 1960s, from interracial marriage in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? to investigating a racially-charged murder as detective Virgil Tibbs.

Must Watch

Blackboard Jungle (1955)

The Defiant Ones (1958)

Porgy and Bess (1959)

A Raisin in the Sun (1961)

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? (1967)

In the Heat of the Night (1967)

To Sir, With Love (1967)

The Organization (1971)

Uptown Saturday Night (1974)

8. Steve McQueen

Why He’s a Badass

"Live fast. Die young. Leave a good-looking corpse." This sums up Steve McQueen, the Bullitt star who's been a sex symbol ever since his star-turn in the sci-fi classic The Blob. He raced fast cars. He had beautiful women. He drank, smoked and swore, and he made it all look effortlessly cool. He died in 1980.

Must Watch

The Blob (1958)

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Bullitt (1968)

Le Mans (1971)

The Getaway (1972)

The Towering Inferno (1974)

9. Peter Fonda

Why He’s a Badass

Peter Fonda helped define the counterculture of the 1970s with Easy Rider, which he wrote and starred in. He was Crazy Larry. He had a few career bumps in the 90s (Escape from L.A.) but also won a Golden Globe and an Oscar nod for his role in Ulee’s Gold in 1997. He’s still the quintessential California cool guy, and continues to star in film & TV projects.

What to Watch

Easy Rider (1969)

Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974)

Futureworld (1976)

Ulee’s Gold (1997)

The Limey (1999)

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

10. Eli Wallach

Why He’s a Badass

Eli Wallach was the consummate character actor. He was known as a chameleon that could slip into any role, from a meek lovelorn everyman to a charismatic tough-guy scoundrel, not unlike his iconic role as Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. He was Mr. Freeze in the original Batman TV series. He was married to (and worked with) actress Anne Jackson for 66 years. He died in 2014 at age 98.

What to Watch

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (1966)

The Misfits (1961)

Mystic River (2003)

11. Lee Majors

Why He’s a Badass

Yet another badass actor named Lee, Mr. Majors was the Six Million Dollar Man Steve Austin. He was The Fall Guy. He’s been lighting up TV screens for 50 years with charismatic machismo playing cowboys, cops, and heroes. It goes without saying that the ladies have always been keen on Lee. He was once married to such 70s bombshells as Farrah Fawcett and Playboy model Karen Velez. Not too shabby for an unknown stuntman.

What to Watch

The Six Million Dollar Man (1974)

Killer Fish (1979)

Legend of Darkhorse County (2014)

GTA: Vice City (2002)

The Fall Guy (1981)

Weeds (2008)

12. Kirk Douglas

Why He’s a Badass

He's Spartacus. Kirk Douglas was the ultimate badass of the 1950s and 60s. From the gladiatorial games of ancient Rome in Spartacus, to grappling with a giant squid aboard the Nostromo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, to the trenches of World War I in Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory, Douglas embodied what it meant to be a man onscreen. He once said he “made a career playing sonsabitches.” Nowadays he’s almost a century old, despite what the tabloids say.

What to Watch

Ulysses (1954)

Paths of Glory (1957)

Spartacus (1960)

The Arrangement (1969)

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)

The Fury (1974)

Saturn 3 (1980)

Greedy (1994)

13. Peter Sellers

Why He’s a Badass

Always a brilliant satirist and one of the great comedic minds of the 20th century, Peter Sellers was one of the premier character actors of his day. He played three different roles in Kubrick’s beloved masterpiece Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb. He was Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther films. He died in 1980, leaving behind a film legacy that spanned three decades. 

What to Watch

Lolita (1962)

The Pink Panther (1963)

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

A Shot in the Dark (1964)

What’s New, Pussycat? (1965)

Being There (1979)