If there’s one thing that I love just about as much as anything else in the world, it’s a Friday night VHS watching party with friends. Throw in some pizza and beers, and you’re pretty much set for an awesome time.
And while you can, of course, do this with new, modern movies viewed through streaming, Blu-rays, or DVDs, there is something to be said about the tactile feeling of starting up a VHS and hearing that VCR begin to purr.
What’s great about the VHS classics, too, is that they can be appreciated by both casual film fans and those who work in the industry. It’s a great way to get a blast from the past, but it's also always an interesting lens for looking back at what worked in the past and how—with the right passion and skill—it can work again.
To celebrate these classic VHS movies and nights, let’s take you down memory lane as we look at some of the forgotten action stars of the action VHS era.
Michael Dudikoff
'American Fighter II'
Credit: Cannon Releasing Corporation
I’d argue that, outside of more familiar names (to action fans at least) like Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Sylvester Stallone, Michael Dudikoff could be considered one of the most important action stars of the cheesy, ultimate action genre, which emerged in the 1980s and 1990s.
Best known for helming the American Ninja franchise alongside Steve James, Dudikoff helped introduce audiences worldwide to the machismo of this style of martial arts action cinema. One of the early projects produced by Cannon Films, and directed by iconic action director Sam Firstenberg, the American Ninja franchise gave us a look, style, and format for what American martial arts action movies could, and would, become.
Alongside his role as Private Joe Armstrong in the American Ninja franchise, Dudikoff helmed many other notable action projects including Avenging Force (1986), Platoon Leader (1988), River of Death (1989), Soldier Boyz (1996), Bounty Hunters (1996), Bounty Hunters 2: Hardball (1997), and many more and is an important, but often forgotten, action star of his era.
Cynthia Rothrock
'Martial Law'
Credit: Media Home Entertainment; CBS/FOX
Action fans who are familiar with Cynthia Rothrock’s work know the ball. Known as “the queen of martial arts” at the time, Rothrock, alongside Michelle Yeoh, was one of the most important leading female action stars in the industry, and arguably two of the biggest stars in the genre overall.
Rothrock was an accomplished fighter in her own right and brought those technical skills, power, and cinematic flair to her action movie roles, most notably in her debut Hong Kong action film Yes, Madam (1985), which she starred in alongside Yeoh.
Rothrock had a prolific run in the late 80s and early 90s, during which she helmed her own franchises and starred in many VHS classics, including The Inspector Wears Skirts, China O'Brien, China O'Brien II, Lady Dragon, Rage and Honor, and Rage and Honor II. She also starred in Martial Law and its sequel, Martial Law 2: Undercover, as well as Tiger Claws (1991), Irresistible Force, Undefeatable, and Fast Getaway II.
Billy Blanks
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0087593/mediaviewer/rm3394007296/?ref_=nm_ov_ph
Before he was known as the Tae Bo guy from his run of infomercials on television (during that era of broadcast TV), Billy Blanks was a nationally ranked martial arts competitor who had a run of action movie roles where he excelled both as a star and a star heel.
His action film career was relatively short-lived, though, all things considered, in part due to the success of his Tae Bo workouts, which he sold via VHS and with celebrity clients like Paula Abdul. Still, from his first roles in King of the Kickboxers and Bloodfist to the fun, cheesy TC 2000 and Back in Action films, Blanks was an action star often forgotten but fondly remembered by those who have seen his explosive action scenes on the VHS screen.
Sho Kosugi
'Revenge of the Ninja'
Credit: MGM/UA Entertainment Co.
Similar to Michael Dudikoff in many ways, Sho Kosugi was perhaps as important a name in action cinema as the crossover legends like Arnold, Stallone, and Van Damme. Kosugi, a Japanese actor and martial artist, trained extensively in many types of martial arts, including Shindō jinen-ryū Karate, Kendo, Judo, Iaido, Kobudo, Aikido, and Ninjutsu.
He most notably starred in a series of ninja films produced by Cannon Films, including some of the most iconic films of the era and classics of the ninja action genre, such as Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja III: The Domination.
His performances single-handedly helped to create the “ninja boom” of the early-to-mid 1980s and gave us decades worth of films, television shows, video games, and spin-offs of ninja culture into other mainstream and popular projects.
Rutger Hauer
'Blind Fury'
Credit: Tri-Star Pictures
Finally, perhaps the most recognizable name on this list of “forgotten” action stars, Rutger Hauer, is worth the inclusion simply because, to many non-action aficionados, he was best known as the perennial bad guy.
However, while likely most famous for his portrayal of the self-aware replicant Roy Batty in Blade Runner, Hauer had a run as the star of many successful action films in the 80s and 90s that gave us some of the best and most fun watches of the era.
Some of Hauer’s best roles include Ladyhawke (1985), The Hitcher (1986), Escape from Sobibor (1987), The Legend of the Holy Drinker (1988), and Blind Fury (1989), the latter of which he plays a blind, sword-wielding Vietnam vet who takes on a crime syndicate by himself.
And that concludes our list. If you have other forgotten action stars to reminisce about, add your favorites to the comments below!
