Line #5 Creator/CharlesBronson


1	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/charles_bronson_1973.jpeg]]
2
3	->''"He doesn't say much... he doesn't have to."''
4	-->-- '''Scorethefilm's Movie Blog'''
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6	Charles Dennis Buchinsky,[[note]]Lithuanian: Karolis Dionyzas Bučinskis[[/note]] better known as [[StageNames Charles Bronson]] (November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003), was an American actor of Lipka Tatar and Lithuanian descent, and one of the biggest action stars of the [[TheSixties 1960s]], [[TheSeventies '70s]], and [[TheEighties '80s]]. Bronson's films typically cast him as a cop or a gunfighter, with storylines primarily focused on {{revenge}}. In these roles he was not so much an actor as a force of nature.
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8	Bronson worked in a Pennsylvania coal mine from the time he was ten years old, until he entered military service in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII in 1943, enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Forces and serving as an aerial gunner in the 760th Flexible Gunnery Training Squadron, and in 1945 as a B-29 Superfortress crewman with the 39th Bombardment Group based on Guam. He was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds received during his service.
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10	Bronson's acting career began in 1950, though he wouldn't be known by that name until 1954 when he changed it on the suggestion of his agent, who feared that an Eastern European last name would damage his career due to UsefulNotes/TheHollywoodBlacklist which was going down around that time. He also appeared on television during the 1950s and 1960s, including the lead role of the "Apache Kid" in the TV series ''Sheriff of Cochise'', though his big-screen career wouldn't really take off until his role as one of ''[[Film/TheMagnificentSeven1960 The Magnificent Seven]]'' in 1960.
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12	Bronson would later go on to play in many more movies, including ''Film/BattleOfTheBulge,'' ''Film/TheGreatEscape,'' and ''Film/TheDirtyDozen,'' but his first big lead role was that of Harmonica in Creator/SergioLeone's masterpiece ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest'' in 1968. He was originally considered for the role of the Man with No Name in ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars,'' but Bronson turned down the role, which instead launched Creator/ClintEastwood into stardom himself. He would go on to star in many action movies, including ''Film/RedSun,'' ''Film/TheValachiPapers,'' and ''Film/TheMechanic1972,'' but perhaps the most memorable of his roles was that of VigilanteMan Paul Kersey in the ''Film/DeathWish'' series.
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14	In addition to the ''Film/DeathWish'' series, Bronson's later work was done with Cannon Films with director J. Lee Thompson, who made ultra-violent films such as ''10 To Midnight'' and ''Film/TheEvilThatMenDo.'' An unusual role for him during this period was as the real-world murdered American coal trade unionist Jock Yablonsky in the MadeForTVMovie ''Act of Vengeance,'' which despite its typical title was a serious and relatively non-violent political drama. His last big-screen role was the final installment of the ''Film/DeathWish'' series, ''Film/DeathWishVTheFaceOfDeath,'' in 1994.
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16	Bronson died of pneumonia in 2003, leaving quite a legacy behind him.
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18	Britain's most [[{{Film/Bronson}} infamous prisoner]] adopted his name.
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20	There is a BelgianComics series named ''ComicBook/ArchieCash'', where the titular character is a [[ComicBookFantasyCasting Charles Bronson lookalike]]. Hogun of [[Characters/MarvelComicsAsgardians the Warriors Three]] was also initially drawn to resemble Bronson.
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23	!! Notable Roles
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25	* Igor in ''Film/{{House of Wax\|1953}}'' (1953)
26	* Hondo in ''Film/{{Apache}}'' (1954)
27	* Pittsburgh in ''Film/VeraCruz'' (1954)
28	* Captain Jack in ''Film/DrumBeat'' (1954)[[note]]His first screen billing as "Charles Bronson"[[/note]]
29	* Michael Kovac in ''Man With a Camera'' (2 seasons, 1958-1960)[[note]]Only TV lead role in his career[[/note]]
30	* Sgt. Danforth in ''Film/NeverSoFew'' (1959)
31	* Bernardo O'Reilly in ''[[Film/TheMagnificentSeven1960 The Magnificent Seven]]'' (1960)
32	* The Man in ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S3E1Two Two]]" (1961)
33	* Chief Inspector John Strock in ''Film/MasterOfTheWorld'' (1961)
34	* Danny Velinski (the "Tunnel King") in ''Film/TheGreatEscape'' (1963)
35	* Harry Starr in ''Series/{{Bonanza}}'' (1964)
36	* Wolenski in ''Film/BattleOfTheBulge'' (1965)
37	* J.J. in ''Film/ThisPropertyIsCondemned'' (1966)
38	* Joseph Wladislaw in ''Film/TheDirtyDozen'' (1967)
39	* Harmonica in ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest'' (1968)
40	* Joe Martin in ''Film/ColdSweat'' (1970)
41	* Link Stuart in ''Film/RedSun'' (1971)
42	* Joseph Valachi in ''Film/TheValachiPapers'' (1972)
43	* Arthur Bishop in ''Film/{{The Mechanic\|1972}}'' (1972)
44	* Ben Justin in ''Film/TheBullOfTheWest'' (1972)
45	* Det. Lou Torrey in ''Film/TheStoneKiller'' (1973)
46	* Paul Kersey in ''Film/DeathWish'' (1974)
47	* Vince Majestyk in ''Film/MrMajestyk'' (1974)
48	* John Deakin in ''Film/BreakheartPass'' (1975)
49	* Raymond St. Ives in ''Film/StIves'' (1976)
50	* James Otis in ''Film/TheWhiteBuffalo'' (1977)
51	* Major Grigori Bortsov in ''Film/{{Telefon}}'' (1977)
52	* Albert Johnson in ''Film/DeathHunt'' (1981)
53	* Paul Kersey in ''Film/DeathWishII'' (1982)
54	* Leo Kessler in ''Film/TenToMidnight'' (1983)
55	* Holland in ''Film/TheEvilThatMenDo'' (1984)
56	* Paul Kersey in ''Film/DeathWish3'' (1985)
57	* Joseph "Jock" Yablonsky in ''Film/ActOfVengeance'' (1986)
58	* Jay Killion in ''Film/{{Assassination\|1987}}'' (1987)
59	* Paul Kersey in ''Film/DeathWish4TheCrackdown'' (1987)
60	* Lt. Crowe in ''Film/KinjiteForbiddenSubjects'' (1989)
61	* Francis Church in ''Film/YesVirginiaThereIsASantaClaus'' (1991)
62	* Mr. Roberts in ''Film/TheIndianRunner'' (1991)
63	* Paul Kersey in ''Film/DeathWishVTheFaceOfDeath'' (1994)
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66	!! Tropes associated with Bronson
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68	* CoolOldGuy: He was already middle-aged when he played some of his most famous roles and was in his fifties when he stared in ''Death Wish'' and ended it in his seventies.
69	* FakeNationality: You can count on one hand the number of characters he's played of his actual background (Russian-Lithuanian).
70	* MrFanservice: He had an impressive, ripped physique well into his later years and wasn't afraid to show it off, even appearing in a famous commercial [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmQTmFizuFY without a shirt on]].
71	* TheStoic: All his characters and the man himself were this. Few actors were as skilled at holding the screen with just their sheer presence rather than dialogue or showy displays of emotion.
72	* {{Typecasting}}: After ''Death Wish'', as a relentless vigilante.

Context Creator / CharlesBronson