10 Unsung Movie Heroes Of The Video Rental Era

10. Michael Dudikoff

During an era of cartoonishly muscled heroes such as Arnie, Stallone and Van Damme, Dudikoff stood out as a more realistic and grounded action star. He was an alternative to the jacked hero that was in vogue, but he was also younger than traditional heroes like Clint Eastwood. His face graced the covers and posters of a handful of essential action movies.

Before making his mark in the 1985 crowd-pleasing American Ninja, the highlight of Dudikoff’s career had been a small part in the mediocre Bachelor Party with Tom Hanks.

Outside of the American Ninja franchise, Avenging Force was the movie that really showed his capability to carry a film. Set in Louisiana, Captain Matt Hunter plots to bring down an elitist gang of white supremacists who hunt humans for fun. Avenging Force comes between American Ninja and precedes Platoon Leader, all staples of the video libraries between the mid-1980s and early 1990s.

Despite been trained in Karate, Aikido and Jiu-Jitsu, he had no previous experience in martial arts before starring in action films. This is impressive given how natural he looked kicking and punching baddies.

Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last and each film he released was less popular than the last. He’s now almost exclusively known for American Ninja and its sequels and although that was a great role, many smarter and bigger ones appear to have been forgotten, despite making so much money for video shops.