Best 80s Action Star Knockoffs

Carl Weathers never broke completely through the cultural barrier to become an Arnold or Sly-level household name, though not for lack of trying. Not only was he Arnold's number two in Predator, but he was Apollo Creed, Rocky Balboa's first and second opponent. He even starred in one of the greatest-titled action films of all time, Action Jackson.

We remember Carl now more for his comedy turns in Happy Gilmore and Arrested Development. In other words, he was a comedian all along, itching to be unshackled from his lean, muscular physique. That doesn't make him any less awesome, though.

The only thing better than an Arnold Schwarzenegger knockoff is two identical Arnold Schwarzenegger knockoffs, neither of whom know how to wear shirts properly.

Not only did the Paul Brothers start with a Conan the Barbarian ripoff called The Barbarians, but they also did the Kindergarten Cop muscle-guy-with-kids thing in Twin Sitters. You know you've failed to take the movie world by storm when your largest exposure comes from a deleted scene in Natural Born Killers.

Jesse "The Body" Ventura's career mirrors Arnold Schwarzenegger's in that they were both actors, even occasionally in the same films, and the both went on to become Governors. The main difference between them is that Arnold was just a bodybuilder, while Ventura was an actual badass, like Navy SEAL badass.

Still, as an actor he stayed pretty low to the ground. People like their action heroes monosyllabic and quippy. Great as they are in supporting roles, abrasive, beefy loudmouths like Jesse Ventura just seem like they're bragging too much as leads.

Everyone who grew up with early versions of TNT or TBS knows who Marc Singer is, though they're probably more familiar with his other name, The Beastmaster.

For those who weren't so lucky, The Beastmaster is a movie that takes the 1980s barbarian craze and combines it with ferrets. The result is minor cult classic featuring Marc Singer as a muscular blond warrior with friendly control over all animals. It's a fun movie, though as 1980 action knockoffs go, Marc Singer comes a bit closer to Spinal Tap's Christopher Guest than Arnold.

Michael Dudikoff is the proud star of American Ninja parts one, two, and four. Despite the popularity of ninjas in 1980s action films, they were never the forte of guys like Schwarzenegger and Stallone. Instead, they were often regulated to Chuck Norris or plain-faced nobodies like Michael Dudikoff whenever Chuck Norris was too busy.

Having come to film from the modeling world, Dudikoff was simply too handsome to take seriously as an 1980's action icon. He actually studied Braziilian Jiu-Jitsu, but he looks too much like a Brazillian wax guy for it to matter.

Long before he only played sleazy businessmen, Eric Roberts had a brief run as an equally sleazy Chuck Norris knockoff in films like Best of the Best and Best of the Best 2. He was so supposedly badass that in the 1986 film, Runaway Train, he beats Danny Trejo in a prison boxing match. Somehow we'd buy Stallone pulling off such a feat, but Eric Roberts was never that convincing.

Despite failing as a 1980s badass action hero, he still appears in lots of films, though usually credited as Julia Roberts's Brother.

Lou Ferrigno and Arnold Swarzenegger both got an early career boost from the documentary Pumping Iron, in which the two go head to head for the Mr. Olympia title. Swarzenegger wins, thanks less to his bodybuilding than his prowess as an evil genius who verbally ruins Ferrigno's confidence before going on stage.

Ferrigno went on to be the much beloved Incredible Hulk, so it's not all bad. Still, we came close to living in a world where Swarzenegger was a Ferrigno knockoff instead of the other way around. Think about that.

Rutger Hauer's face alternates so easily between good and evil that he has no problem playing both villain and Chuck Norris knockoff. Hauer played lead in Wanted: Dead or Alive, where he stepped into the shoes of none other than Steve McQueen. And in the kind-of-awesome Blind Fury, he plays a blind samurai type in the Zatoichi vein. Sadly, neither of the two films managed to succeed in turning him into a leading man.

Even now, as our 1980s action heroes return to cinemas as elderly badasses, Hauer is still trying thanks to his turn in Hobo With a Shotgun. We'll know he finally made it as a 1980s action icon when Stallone casts him in The Expendables 3.

Anyone with the last name Z'Dar is destined for some sort of greatness. Z'Dars with massive exaggerated jaws find that greatness through film. There's only been one so far, but maybe someday a new Z'Dar prince will rise.

Z'Dar is most famous for playing the title role in all three Maniac Cop movies. He also played a minor but memorable role in Stallone's Tango & Cash. Like Ron Perlman or Courtney Stodden, he's one of those guys you just want to pause and stare at in endless wonder.