It start out in The Bronze Age , with blacksmiths who were the first to fake swords from part of bull . Today we bonk the pure flatware they grafted to their hilt were made for swordsman who endeavour to look stylish as underworld as they motor their brand into an foe . stay on animated was everything , but appearances count too .

Hollywood ’s known this since the dawn of swashbuckling . Everybody still loves a sword - swing dynamo – especially one who sports well - groom facial hairsbreadth .   To inform the next contemporaries of steel fighter , and to give us an apology to view our best-loved Italian sandwich in action , we ’re humbly grade the great display of mustached swordsmanship in pop - culture chronicle .

But first , permit ’s campaign through the dominion that guided us on our quest . We limited ourselves to only one great swordsman for any given picture , show , or franchise , and to just one qualifying function per actor . We also ruled out liven up fare ( sorry , Puss in Boots ) . And we take off serious points for half - baked mustache – you will not find chin strap on this list , we assure . En garde !

movie swordsmen

Cole Ott/Thrillist

50. Gallain (aka The White Ghost),Outcast

Outcastflopped spectacularly ; the 2015 picture go to make back even a twenty percent of its budget worldwide and never even receive a theatrical release in North America . But do n’t charge Nicolas Cage for that ! The man gave it his all , and whoever OK’ed him shouting the line , " I am the White Ghost ! " deserves a Nobel Prize .

49. Scott James,The Octagon

Yes , Chuck Norris make the list . Here , his solitary moustache – not the full - bearded bloom Norris is intimately eff for – takes center level . So does his ass - kick . A sequence where he single - handedly take down a gang of ninjas culminates a face-off where he , sword in hand , face a ninja armed with two daggers .

48. Neville Longbottom,Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2

In the final chapter of blockbuster series , a battle - weary , stubbled nerd rips the legendary Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat and slices through the Dark Lord Voldemort ’s preferent snake , annihilating a ball of his soul . Neville ’s untrained , he ’s unsure , and he only has a tiny trace of a five - o’clock shadow . essentially , he stand for every aim mustachioed swordsman .

47. John Carter,John Carter

There is nothing sadder than Sad Tim Riggins except possibly Sad Tim Riggins Who Left Texas for Mars . John Carter gets points for make a sword , growing haircloth above his lip , and definitive pulp strut .

46. Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez,Highlander

Thirty years ago , Sean Connery spent a spring dally an immortal fencer with a Scottish accent mark and the hands - down most Spanish name ever wielded by someone so plainly not a Spaniard .

45. King Leonidas,300

300 ’s influence can not be disregard . Leonidas was Zack Snyder in diamond variant , a chaotic , violent argument for ( against ? ) humanity . Whether that line is nuanced or not is up for debate , but Leonidas ’s skill and facial hair are up to snuff .

44. John Peter McAllister,The Master

The Good , the Bad and the Uglystar Lee Van Cleef had no business whatsoever playing a whitened - washed ninja passe-partout in this unearthly , unmarried - time of year telly series , but the ' 80s give it to us anyway . The fight scenes still a blast even if Van Cleef ’s stunt doubly did all the work .

43. Kai,47 Ronin

What , you do n’t want Ted , John Wick , andNeo on your team ? The moving picture might be a slog , but as long as Keanu does n’t plane , his steel - manage skill deserve a place here .

42. Maseo Yamashiro,Arrow

For most of his time onArrow , Maseo baffle his teammates more than he help , waver back and onward between good bozo and bad guy and often committing the more - egregious wickedness of doing so in a wearisome room . Buthis final , cinematically shot duel with Akio , his wife , made up for all of that , riffing on the best of samurai film history .

41. Crixus,Spartacus

Sitting through a single minute ofSpartacusmight earn you a double B.A. in Pornographic Studies . That does n’t interchange the fact that Manu Bennett is addictive to watch out . His use here – raise with sureness and a full - blooming beard bySpartacus ’s concluding season – made this Australian ’s finger cymbals in North America .

40. Cole, The White Ninja,Enter the Ninja

In 1981,Djangostar Franco Nero play a newly minted , in-between - cured , mustached ninja with a knack for destruction . No marvel Quentin Tarantino ’s obsessed .

39. Sgt. Frank Troy,Far From the Madding Crowd

Terence Stamp ’s character ’s dangerous and iconic sword demonstration in the earthwork in Maiden Castle , Dorset in reality get from pure messing around after - hours with photographer ( and soon to beDon’t Look Nowdirector ) Nicolas Roeg . Sgt . Troy is pretty abominable throughout , but his arrogant showmanship continue an important fade of movie history .

38. The Cairo Swordsman,Raiders of the Lost Ark

The Cairo Swordsman is risible than he is dangerous , but that does n’t shut out actor Terry Richards from the list . " When two stunt human go at it , they make it look real , " he toldRed Carpet Newsin 2012 . ForRaiders , he trace practicing with that massive brand for week to ready for an epical whip - and - scimitar face-off . When Harrison Ford get dysentery , Steven Spielberg issue down the panorama . What remains is still awe - inspiring .

37. Neville Sinclair,The Rocketeer

Timothy Dalton ’s Neville Sinclair is the handsy Nazi hell - bent on earth mastery masquerading as debonair English actor . A weirdly meta role based on Old Hollywood ’s legendary"Errol Flynn was a secret Nazi"rumors , Sinclair gave Dalton squirm room to swashbuckle while chewing scene , to prominent results .

36. Edward Lionheart,Theater of Blood

Vincent Price care for Shakespeare , and in this 1973 cult - classic horror version , he plays a Bard - obsessed actor who hunt down critic who yield him crap reviews . It ’s theBirdmanof its meter , but wittier and maybe even more characterized . A affaire d’honneur scene include a high - octane romp in a gymnasium that makes use of jumps , trampoline back - flip , and climbing rophy . specially unbelievable if you imagine Price doing the stunt .

35. Capt. James Flint,Black Sails

Starz’sBlack Sailsis high-pitched - impact drama you ’re not watching , and at its pith is the ruckus beneath Captain Flint ’s bald skull . " It seems like he does n’t give care , but in reality deep inside he is a strategian , " actor Toby Stephens toldTV Guideof his lineament this season . " He has a greater aim , which is his macro - retaliation on England . " Wait until you see him with a sword .

34. Hector,Troy

Troyis a Greek catastrophe , so you acknowledge everyone ’s designate , but the one death that really hurt is Eric Bana ’s . Hector wreak passion – and knife skill – to an otherwise pompous epic .

33. Lord Wolfingham,The Sea Hawk

The other Golden Age harum-scarum may have been better fencers than Henry Daniell , but that did n’t stop him from bring it inThe Sea Hawk , specifically in this finely blocked and framed duel with Errol Flynn . Their shadow carry as much weight as their swords .

32. Curtis Jackson,American Ninja 3

' LXXX B - movie staple Steve James cash in one’s chips away in 1993 , but his charisma and his sweet facial hair be on in the incessantly entertaining movie he made . In theAmerican Ninja , he played Curtis Jackson , a potent black martial artist with attitude .

31. Hundred Eyes,Marco Polo

Hundred Eyes , a unsighted fencer and soldierlike humanistic discipline master , is easily the safe part ofMarco Polo , so much so that one wise YouTube commenterwrote , " Fuck marco [ sic ] , make a series about 100 eyes. " Netflix obligate them by releasing a exceptional about Hundred Eyes which is more exciting than any episode inMarco Polo ’s first season .

30. Saladin,Kingdom of Heaven

Ghassan Massoud , the actor Ridley Scott cast to wreak historical Syrian military commandant Saladin , is one of this flawed drive epic ’s shine lights . His complex , merciful personation of a Moslem loss leader post a content in a genre usually dominated by white Christians .

29. Nomad,Steel Dawn

Patrick Swayze made two movies in 1987 : unclean Dancingand this mad , post - revelatory take onShane . Steel Dawnopens with Swayze doing headstand , flipping , and lunging across sand sand dune . He by and by swings a star - shaped steel all the fashion to victory . Decide for yourself which one you ’d rather see decent now .

28. Temüjin/Genghis Khan,Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan

While we ’d lie with to make room for Tadanobu Asano’ssteely - eyed performancein 2003’sZatoichiremake , we have to praise his turn as the greatest tribal warlord the earth ’s ever known . An epical massacre through history , Mongolis filled with the sort of blood , guts , political drama , and sweeping landscape that record likeGame of Thronesaspire to every week . Much of the motion-picture show revolves around Asano ’s Temüjin finding his code of pureness , by end of the celluloid bear witness he is capable of both dandy massacre as well as a commitment to his promises .

27. Jack Sparrow, thePirates of the Caribbeanseries

Johnny Depp is the innovative Hollywood pirate : rakish , unpitying , as if by magic fortunate , skilled with a blade , transfix in the sight of treasure , and a consummate goof . That last element of his personality is his most indispensable , if only because the serial would fall off the edge of the human race without him .

26. Maximus Decimus Meridius,Gladiator

In an audience replete with no less than38 F - bomb calorimeter , Russell Crowe explained his acting approach toGQ ’s Chris Heath in 2005 : " I want [ the audience ] to dead know that if I ’ve done it , there ’s some really good fucking understanding ; there ’s something particular about it . " That something special life inGladiator , even if the the steel - and - sandal genre revivification it try has since fizzle out .

25. Jiang Ah-sheng/Renfeng,Reign of Assassins

Michelle Yeoh may be the hoagy of this John Woowuxiafilm , but her on - concealment husband , played by South Korean doer Jung Woo - sung , is its wild bill . Woo - sung plays a tormented swordmaster in disguise , and the scene where he reveals his chops is the only one on this list where a fighter sharpens his blade in front of his would - be killers before completely owning them .

24. Zorro,The Mark of Zorro

Tyrone Power – and stunt double Albert Cavens , son of the film ’s expert sword master Fred Cavens – created the ultimate Zorro , and the speedy clanging of rapiers in the film ’s climactic duel between Power and Basil Rathbone essay it . Power ’s pencil mustache is also the trim and most elegant of the Zorro gang . Antonio Banderas discase his off in 1998’sThe Mask of Zorrowas one of the most sacrilegious moments in innovative cinema .

23. Sandokan,Sandokan

monolithic scimitar + massive beard + kickass ' LXX root word song = folk hero who needs an official streaming expiration , stat . Native American actor Kabir Bedi limn Sandokan , a Bornean prince - turned - pirate ship nickname " Tiger of Malaysia , " in an enduring TV miniseries – which is also out of the question to find de jure . Know anyone at Netflix who wants to see Sandokan blade fight a Panthera tigris ?

22. Sir Robin of Locksley,The Adventures of Robin Hood

The vivacious and prevailingRobin Hoodmovie highlights the sparkle of both scoot steel and Errol Flynn ’s eye . As Roger Ebertput it , " What made [ Flynn ] a star was his light - hearted exuberance , the good cheer with which he embodies a role like Robin Hood . "

21. King Arthur,Monty Python and the Holy Grail

express joy all you need : the Black Knight fight scene makes Monty Python ’s the only King Arthur we ’re concerned in talking about – no matter how manyoddly dreamy exposure shoots star Charlie Hunnamcome out . " Victory is mine ! "

20. Machete,Machete

Machete ’s first line of English dialogue inMacheteis , " This is the boss , " as he present his collaborator his machete . What follows is two hours of Danny Trejo - led , B - movie mayhem ahead that must be seen .

19. Blade, theBladeSeries

" Has the comic - Christian Bible movie reached the end of the line ? " is the now - laughable sentence theNew York Daily Newsused to conduct its 1998reviewof the first , stemma - soakedBladefilm . Ha . pave the direction for a new geological era of heroes , Blade end with a batshit scrap scene in which our mustachioed black swordsman furiously filets the regenerating baddie and stop him by roundhouse - kick an exploding anti - vampire blood serum into his skull .

18. Fang Kang,The One-Armed Swordsman

Fang Kang is a young humanity who loses an arm and gains a cut goatee . Being limbless taught him longanimity ; in one scene of this 1967 Shaw Bros. movies , Fang After receive a work party of goons , removes a lock of a henchmen ’s whisker , sits down at a restaurant board , orders wine , taunts their reverence by tapping his massive sword on the table , becharm a jug of wine when they toss it to him , claim a swallow , and stops a obelisk in midair with the loving cup before he then begins to shell the crap out of them . waitress until you see him with a steel .

17. Syrio Forel,Game of Thrones

Ifthe theoriesare to be believe ( and , really , when have they ever been wrong ? ) , hold out hype for Syrio Forel to return toThrones . Arya Stark ’s " water system saltation " overlord taught the young lady everything he have a go at it – which was a net ton . We last check him facing off against the nefarious Meryn Trant , which bear witness Forel had style even in unwinnable situations .

16. Hattori Hanzō,Kill Bill

Sonny Chiba requires no introduction , and Quentin Tarantino does n’t give him one in Kill Bill . Americans unfamiliar with Chiba classics likeG.I. Samurai , Legend of the Eight Samurai , Shadow Warriors , and of course the incomparableStreet Fightersee Hattori Hanzō as an oddly boisterous sushi shop owner . veteran blade see Tarantino ’s play ; Hattori Hanzō is a " descent " of Chiba ’s character inShadow warrior , and a mustached sea captain who will authorize the Bride with a weapon and a visualsword ' stache of her ownto kill Bill . His brief blade fun in the movie wields a life-time of skill .

15. Hanshirō Tsugumo,Harakiri

The deviation between Tatsuya Nakadai case and all other moving picture samurai ? Real swords . " I used real swords a number of times , but most extensively in Harakiri , " hesaidin a late consultation . " We had what ’s called a tateshi [ swordplay choreographer ] who taught us how to apply the blade and duel . With Harakiri , our tateshi was the top kendo fighter in Japan . I get under one’s skin a exhaustive education in how to use a actual brand . " It shows .

14. Aragorn,The Lord of the Ringsseries

Come for the hobbits , stay for the scruffy , reluctant hero , Aragorn . Viggo Mortensen lose multiple teeth and more while mold his ass off with the swordmaster who direct Darth Vader , to the point where film director Peter Jackson began cite to him and the work party as the " walk wounded . " There are some impressive mustaches and duels in Mortensen ’s 2006 Spanish larger-than-life Alatriste , butRingsis the leaf blade - wielding public presentation we ’ll think back him for . Where is the Oscar for Best Mustachioed Swordsman ?

13. Obi-Wan Kenobi, theStar Warsprequels

Skill , wisdom , patience – despite being a unseasoned and ( relatively ) inexperienced Jedi in the prequel series , Obi - Wan Kenobi possessed all three skills , and stood out as the most capable character in the lightsaber - heavy series . He also trained the whiniest padawan of all meter into the vicious , hardest baddie in the galaxy , then later on , trained the whiny boy who would by and by defeat the cruelest , hard villain in the galaxy .

12. Kambei,Seven Samurai

Of all seven of Akira Kurosawa ' samurai , Kambei held the most conviction . He ’s like the Ned Stark of his time , spirt off line like " The intemperate times have only just begun " with all the realism of a adult male experienced in difference . His sword is less weapon than instrument or peter , serve the populace rather than an individual . Deep ? Deep .

11. Zatoichi, The originalZatoichiseries

All blind swordsmen live in the shadow of Zatoichi , the eyeless masseur with a talent for ending those who harm the downtrodden . Deadlier ( and more prolific ) than James Bond , Zatoichi hides a steel in his cane and swings it with a fast , reverse - clench mode that has since beennicknamed after him . His villain never penetrate that a blind guy ’s about to kick their shag , even after 26 films where he does just that . you may see them all onHulu , and they ’re the pure introduction to thejidaigekigenre .

10. The Duke of Arnoldo,The Black Pirate

Douglas Fairbanks , Sr . showed the whole globe what was possible for a lunatic , i.e. , actual athleticism . HisBlack Pirateis an early classic of the writing style , a saltation , slashing , bouncy - conducting wire hero . Fairbanks never fancy the same success in the talkies , but the hurt his films did on the American box office show in 10 of swashbucklers to come .

9. Ghost Dog,Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

It may be a modern criminal offence movie , but the primary character is a blade - swinging samurai in heart and mind . Jim Jarmusch , who pen the film for Forest Whitaker , once remarked , " The scene when [ Forest ] works out with blade on the cap , that was something I wanted him to do , but I recollect that he ’d have to groom to do that . But he already know that stuff , and his style of using the guns as an annexe of his body , in a manner you ’d utilise a brand in martial arts , came from him … He brought a lot of beautiful things to the film . " When you finishGhost Dog ’s final scene , you ’ll believe it .

8. Gabriel Feraud,The Duellists

The home : Napoleonic Wars . The set - up : two French competition human face - off in a series of sword fights . The moustache : Harvey Keitel’s . The Duellistsis full of bright choreographed duel scenes and naturalistic motion-picture photography . But we really ca n’t accent Keitel ’s pilus enough . All film should endeavor for such poetry .

7. Rob Roy MacGregor,Rob Roy

Liam Neeson ’s Rob Roy MacGregor is the dashing , kilt - wear , broadsword - swinging Scot you want in your corner . oversee by master sword - fighting choreographer Bill Hobbs , the final climactic fight between Neeson and Tim Roth ’s English baddie is a masterpiece . Neeson went on to play several other hairy swordsman in his epic life history , but talk about a particular set of skills –Rob Royis where his highland heroism shine brightest .

6. Dolmuchi/Dolchi,Kundo: Age of the Rampant

If you want to know whatDjango Unchainedwould look like if it took place in 19th - 100 Korea , Kundois the flaming revenge slasher for you . Through five human activity we follow the tale of Robin Hood - similar outlaws as they engage bloody warfare against oppressive Lord and tainted pol . When the hardheaded butcher Dolmuchi crossbreeding paths with them , he transform into the revengeful , hacking , slashing , scum - talking knife - wielder known as Dolchi , and it is magnificent .

5. Ogami Ittō, theLone Wolf and Cubseries

I know . It ’s barely a stubble . Barely . My solution to that is a single number : 150 . That ’s how many lives Tomisaburo Wakayama ’s Ogami Ittō personally stop in the the 6th first appearance of this classical samurai film series alone –still holding the record for most motion picture slayings by a single character . For context , Lone Wolf and Cub : White Heaven in Hellruns at just 83 moment , which contribute his rate to 1.8 bodies / minute , and the next - highest case on the listing is Clive Owen ’s Bugs Bunny – based agonist fromShoot ' Em Up– a film solely made to make fun of stupidly high body - numeration action moving picture . We can forgive Ittō ’s whiskers .

4. Capt. Levasseur,Captain Blood

Basil Rathbone playact the yin to Errol Flynn ’s yang on two occasion , and with Flynn takingThe Adventures of Robin Hood , Rathbone ’s turning in Captain Blood puts him on the list ( and – controversy – above his opponent ! ) . Where Flynn act the sanguine , amiable roue inCaptain Blood , Rathbone the unfounded - eyed lothario – and the two go at it . Rathbone was a true fencer , whereas Flynn could really make a staged swordfight more unsafe due to his inexperience . Acting shmacting . Captain Bloodis pure ( pirate ) gold .

3. Rochefort,The Three Musketeers

The movie ’s eponymous mustached swordsmen earn heroic renown , but the best blade of the clump was always the nefarious Rochefort , played by the recent , incomparably nifty , Christopher Lee . A veteran of more brand battle in the movie than probably any actor of his clock time , he would prepare the other actors and was never shy about exercising his sureness in the name of great cinema . For bud mustached swordsmen , here ’s a television of Christopher Leeteaching you how to sword fight .

2. Inigo Montoya,The Princess Bride

Six - finger hands down , the greatest American mustachioed swordsman to ever seek revenge . Mandy Patinkin ’s unforgettable delivery and repetition of an unforgettable line – " You kill my Father-God . Prepare to die . " – has everything to do with it , but so does the actor ’s relentlessness . Cary Elwes recently revealed in his memoirAs You Wishthat Patinkin spent two month training with Yale fencing bus Henry Harutunian just to have the upperhand on the stamp . The science gave him grace ; Montoya ( and his peers on this list ) processes ferocity with ferocity . His steel and the swordsman contain system of weights .

1. Sanjuro,Yojimbo and Sanjuro

There is no other . Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune were the Scorsese and De Niro of their sentence and country . Yojimbo , and its sequelSanjuro , showcase the duo ’s work utterly , alternating between expansive full shots that frame the anti - hero Sanjuro as a terrifying god of last , and more contemplative view that show him scratching his byssus as he communes with the town . For the samurai action , the clip above say everything you need to know . Moments after this scrap , Sanjuro tells a punk , " Go hang yourself . " Then he walk by . It ’s perfect .

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