10 Toughest Movie Heroes Ever

Yes, before you scream at the top of your lungs the names of many other Arnold Schwarzenegger characters, the spotlight on The Running Man's Ben Richards comes at the behest of a character who faced more impossible odds than say John Matrix, Dutch or Harry Tasker.

Ben Richards is a man thrown into a gladiatorial death arena with nothing to protect him but a glorious gold jumpsuit that would be too bold for the Thunderbirds. Up against dangerous and bloodthirsty Stalkers, Ben becomes the first contestant to ever successfully survive The Running Man game, and as a result teams up with Mick Fleetwood to lead an uprising against the totalitarian overlords.

Hey, he even takes out a couple of those mean Stalkers in the process.

Richards' efficiency as a fighter is what puts him on this list. It would be one thing if he entered the kill zones with a machine gun or a hunting knife and skulked around looking for the Stalkers himself. But torn between his own survival and protecting his friends, Richards takes out his tormentors with a hungered survival that begins to earn him the praise of The Running Man's audience.

While he might be a tough cookie, he hasn't mastered showmanship though - and maybe his one single weakness is his lack of killer puns and quips. Thank goodness none of the Stalkers were stand-up comedians, Richards wouldn't last two minutes.