Top 20 Actors Who Did Advanced Weapons Training
#20: Sigourney Weaver
“Aliens” (1986) When Weaver started working on this sci-fi blockbuster, she struggled with the huge amount of weaponry involved. After all, the actress was a member of a gun control lobby. Why was she surprised that a movie with space marines fighting killer aliens had so many guns? Weaver confesses that she didn’t pay close enough attention to the script’s stage directions. She was misled by terms like “Pulse-gun” and “Smart-gun”. However, for the film she had to endure daily practice with guns and grenades. Although the actress professed to hate guns, she ultimately enjoyed the feeling of using high-powered weaponry for the film. She said this only confirmed her belief in the need for gun control.
#19: Ray Stevenson
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“Punisher: War Zone” (2008) The Punisher is a vigilante who fights crime and corruption in Marvel comics, films, and television series. Ray Stevenson stepped into this 2008 reboot as the third actor to take on the role in a film. In order to believably play former Force Recon Marine Frank Castle, Stevenson went through extensive training with actual Marines. They worked on weapons awareness, how to clear a room, and dealing with multiple opponents. The Northern Irish actor described it as the most vigorous training he’d ever been involved in. These skills directly translated into his work on the film and helped him create a fan-favorite version of the character.
#18: The Entire Cast
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“Fury” (2014) Set during World War 2, this film follows the crew assigned to an M4 Sherman tank nicknamed “Fury.” The team was a part of the final push into Nazi Germany and faced a series of difficult obstacles. The director, David Ayer, required the actors to undergo extensive training in order to portray a believable tank crew. They worked for over four months before filming, including a boot camp run by Navy SEALs. Logan Lerman, who played the rookie member of the team, described the experience as difficult and humbling. However, he believed that the extensive training really helped the cast bond together.
#17: Jennifer Garner
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“Peppermint” (2018) Jennifer Garner is no stranger to action sequences. She kicked and punched her way to fame playing the spy, Sydney Bristow, on the TV series, “Alias.” However, Garner took an 11-year break from action films after her role as an FBI agent in “The Kingdom.” What brought her back? She couldn’t resist the chance to play a strong mother fighting to avenge her family. To prepare for her role as a vigilante, Garner trained with Navy SEALs on the gun range. Although the actress had a lot of previous experience with weapons, she felt the training was vital. Only through extensive practice could she achieve an easy use of the weapons that would seem truly believable.
#16: Colin Farrell & Jamie Foxx
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“Miami Vice” (2006) To achieve convincing portrayals of undercover MDPD detectives, the “Miami Vice” actors needed to be completely confident in the use of each weapon. Lead actors Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx worked daily on the shooting range for months. Miami-Dade police also taught them how to work through realistic scenarios involving drug trafficking operations. Farrell was actually taken on a fake drug bust to help him get an idea of what it would be like to be a part of a real vice team. The Irish actor confessed in an interview that this was a very traumatic experience because he actually thought it was all real.
#15: Cary Elwes
“The Princess Bride” (1987) Would you feel intimidated if a script described your character as the greatest sword-fighter of all time? Cary Elwes admits that he was a little worried. However, director Rob Reiner assured him he was in good hands. He was going to be trained by the duo responsible for the lightsaber battles in the first three “Star Wars” films. Elwes trained every day, even while filming, and eventually performed the fight scene a little too well. Rob Reiner said they’d gotten so good the whole thing was too short and they’d need to add more. Ultimately, the final fight was so well done that fencing academies have used it to train their students.
#14: Chloë Grace Moretz
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“Kick-Ass” (2010) At 12 years old, Chloë Grace Moretz enthusiastically took to her role as ruthless vigilante Hit-Girl. At first, she started her own physical training at home. Then, when she arrived on set the real work began. She was taught how to use a knife and gun, as well as martial arts, tumbling, and tactical moves. Her mother summed it up as everything you would need to know to be a young assassin. Moretz impressed the adults on the set with her ability to learn quickly. Her expertise in film challenged them all to up their game. Clearly, the training stuck with her, as she was able to show off her knife skills years later during an interview with Conan O'Brien.
#13: Mark Wahlberg
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“Lone Survivor” (2013) This biographical war film was based on a book by former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell. It dramatizes his experiences as a member of a team sent to capture a Taliban leader during the war in Afghanistan. To achieve the truest portrayal possible, Peter Berg had the actors train with former Navy SEALS. They needed to learn the names of the weapons, do blind mag changes, and understand movement and tactics. They were trained to move, shoot, and communicate in a way that was tactically believable. Wahlberg, who played Luttrell in the film, was able to consult with the former SEAL on set, which helped him create a detailed performance.
#12: Will Smith
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“Suicide Squad” (2016) Although Will Smith has handled guns in many roles throughout his career, this character required expert marksmanship. In this DCEU superhero film, Deadshot kills with precision and can use a wide variety of weapons. These traits inspired Smith to train in such a way that his shooting looked effortless. He spent hours at the gun range with Navy SEALS and Army Rangers. They worked with him on both the Glock 9mm handgun and an AR-15 assault rifle. The fight choreographer knew that Smith had trained as a boxer for the film, “Ali.” To take advantage of that muscle memory, he incorporated punching movements into Deadshot’s weapons choreography. This resulted in Smith’s portrayal of a vigilante with a believable and unique style.
#11: Entire Cast
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“Black Hawk Down” (2001) In 1993, a U.S. military raid on Mogadishu resulted in a Black Hawk helicopter going down in enemy territory. This film was inspired by the band of Rangers and Delta Force operators who had to work together to complete their mission. The actors who played the film’s Rangers took a one-week course at Fort Benning. Those playing Delta Force had an intense two-week commando lesson at Fort Bragg. All of these actors were given first-hand weapons experience and tactical training. Some of the trainees even got up close and personal with live explosives. After this brief exposure to life as a soldier, the actors professed a deep respect for the true military personnel.
#10: Robert De Niro
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“Heat” (1995) There’s no question that Robert De Niro is one of the greats. Like our previous entry, he’s one of those actors that just brings everything he can to a role to make it as believable as possible. You would figure that his role as Neil McCauley, a professional thief, wouldn’t exactly require advanced weapons training. However, De Niro and the rest of the cast trained with a British ex-Special Air Service special forces sergeant by the name of Andy Mcnab, who personally designed a three-month weapons training program involving life ammunition. Andy also helped them train for the bank robbery scene.
#9: Chris Pratt
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“Zero Dark Thirty” (2012) Before he was flying around the universe blasting aliens and tossing out killer dance moves, Chris Pratt had to become a Navy SEAL for “Zero Dark Thirty.” The film, which centered around the hunt and eventually killing of Osama bin Laden, had the cast take part in military-like training. They had to live, eat, and put up with one another for six weeks while they prepared. They even had access to a replica of Bin Laden’s compound, which makes an appearance in the climax of the film, so they could put all their training to the test under the scrutiny of their instructors.
#8: Uma Thurman
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“Kill Bill” (2003-04) Training with a weapons expert to learn how to fire a rifle is one thing, but that certainly can’t compare to what Uma Thurman went through for her transformation into The Bride from Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” series. The character onscreen is supposed to be a master assassin who knows how to swing a sword around. To accurately portray that, Uma Thurman had to learn three styles of kung fu and two styles of sword combat, as well as throwing and fighting with knives. And if that wasn’t enough, she also had to learn Japanese, which is no easy task!
#7: Demi Moore
“G.I. Jane” (1997) When it comes to movies that are focused on the military, the characters are usually all gritty guys who form a strong brotherhood with each other. It’s rare that we get one where the main character is a woman, and specifically what they face when it they take part in the brutality that is boot camp. In this action flick, Demi Moore showed us that she’s no slacker when it comes to training as she was down in the mud doing push-ups with the rest of the cast during their two-week boot camp. Not only did she and the supporting cast have to pass physical tests, but the subsequent training obviously included weapons training. It definitely wasn’t easy, but she held in like a champ!
#6: Charlize Theron
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“Atomic Blonde” (2017) 2017’s “Atomic Blonde” took us into the world of Lorraine Broughton, a top-level MI6 spy played by a very fit Charlize Theron. She worked with several personal trainers who trained her as hard as they possibly could in everything from hand-to-hand combat to handguns, all while she got her body in tip-top shape. The training was so intense that she apparently bruised a rib and broke a few of her teeth while sparring. Interestingly enough, she actually sparred at the same facility that Keanu Reeves was getting into shape at every now and then, as training for both “Atomic Blonde” and “John Wick: Chapter 2” overlapped with each other!
#5: Tom Cruise
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“Collateral” (2004) There’s one thing that you can’t help but admire Tom Cruise for and that’s his dedication to his craft. He’s an actor that’s known for doing many of his own stunts and generally gives it his all. It’s no surprise then that when he took on the role of Vincent, the professional killer in “Collateral,” he brushed up on his weapons training as well. You can see his training pay off during the alley scene where Vincent takes on a couple of thugs using a signature technique that’s actually taught in tactical handgun training classes today.
#4: Michelle Rodriguez
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“The Fate of the Furious” (2017) Ah, “The Fast and Furious” series, known for its high-speed races, beautiful cars, and… guns? The franchise has changed much since its first release, and this is reflected in one of the main actresses, Michelle Rodriguez, who trained at a gun range with Taran Tactical Innovations, specifically for her role in the 8th film. This isn’t her first time with weapons, however. As you might recall, she had a role in 2003’s “S.W.A.T.,” which required the cast to work with an actual S.W.A.T. team as well as have tactics and live fire training. She is definitely not someone you want to mess with!
#3: Linda Hamilton
“Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991) The “Terminator” series hasn’t exactly been hitting it out of the park with its more recent films, but “Terminator 2” is still one of the best action movies ever made. Fans of the franchise will remember the dramatic change of Sarah Connor’s attitude from being a sweet little waitress in the first film to a total badass in the second. This is largely thanks to Linda Hamilton, who wanted to play a crazier role. How dedicated was she to this change? Well, she went into advanced weapons training with an ex-Israeli special forces soldier a mere two weeks after giving birth to her child!
#2: Bradley Cooper
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“American Sniper” (2015) “American Sniper” not only gave us an emotionally gripping story of the decorated Navy SEAL vet, Chris Kyle, but also a beast mode Bradley Cooper. You have to be at your very best when training to become a Navy SEAL and Cooper certainly didn’t slack for this role, as he put on about 40 pounds of muscle to try and match Kyle’s physique. Cooper also had to become a sniper despite never firing a rifle in his entire life. Thanks to his rigid training with one of Kyle’s close friends, Kevin Lacz, he was able to pull it off in the end.
#1: Keanu Reeves
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“The Matrix” franchise (1999-) & “John Wick” franchise (2014-) Keanu Reeves is one of the finest performers out there right now when it comes to the action genre. For starters, he and the rest of the crew had martial arts training in a warehouse for four months prior to the filming of the first “Matrix” movie, and that’s just the beginning. Even today, we can see just how dedicated he is to training. In preparation for the “John Wick” films, Keanu regularly pumped out rounds with Taran Tactical Innovations in the signature style that his character is known for. Videos of his intense training have since gone viral. He is without a doubt an amazing actor.
