3. John McClane - Die Hard
So iconic was John McClane that he birthed an entire cliche. After the mammoth success of Die Hard all movie cops had to foul-mouthed, beer guzzling, wise-cracking everymen that showed content towards authority, but none quite had the brilliance of the original. Cinema's most purely entertaining cop, McClane, despite the circumstances he finds himself in, becomes great company as a humourous anecdote or smart one-liner only ever seems to be a heartbeat away. What's most impressive about McClane however is his ability to take a beating. He's a man who will take punishment and still climb to his feet smiling, ready to take on whatever adversary is thrown at him next. He's the movie maverick we all think we are, but you can own all the white vests and crates of beer in the world and still not have a percentage of the charisma McClane has.