The Greatest Action Movie Director of All Time
by The-Social-Introvert | created - 10 Apr 2015 | updated - 21 Jul 2015 | PublicCrash! Bang! Wallop! Who, in your opinion, is the greatest action movie director of all time?
Special Mentions
The following people are considered fine action movie directors but didn't quite make the list:
Buster Keaton, William Wyler, Martin Campbell, Joe Carnahan, Louis Leterrier, George Miller, Guy Ritchie
Discuss the list here
1. James Cameron
Writer | Avatar: The Way of Water
James Francis Cameron was born on August 16, 1954 in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada. He moved to the United States in 1971. The son of an engineer, he majored in physics at California State University before switching to English, and eventually dropping out. He then drove a truck to support his ...
Known for:
The Terminator
Aliens
The Abyss
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
True Lies
Titanic
Avatar
2. John McTiernan
Director | Die Hard
John McTiernan was born on January 8, 1951 in Albany, New York, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Die Hard (1988), Rollerball (2002) and Last Action Hero (1993). He has been married to Gail Sistrunk since 2012. He was previously married to Kate Harrington, Donna Dubrow and Carol Land.
Known for:
Predator
Die Hard
The Hunt for Red October
Last Action Hero
Die Hard: With a Vengeance
The 13th Warrior
Basic
3. Tony Scott
Producer | Domino
Tony Scott was a British-born film director and producer. He was the youngest of three brothers, one of whom is fellow film director Ridley Scott. He was born in North Shields, Northumberland, England to parents Jean and Colonel Francis Percy Scott. As a result of his father's career in the British...
Known for:
Top Gun
Beverly Hills Cop II
Days of Thunder
The Last Boy Scout
Crimson Tide
Enemy of the State
Spy Game
Man on Fire
Deja Vu
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
4. Ridley Scott
Producer | The Martian
Described by film producer Michael Deeley as "the very best eye in the business", director Ridley Scott was born on November 30, 1937 in South Shields, Tyne and Wear. His father was an officer in the Royal Engineers and the family followed him as his career posted him throughout the United Kingdom ...
Known for:
Blade Runner
Black Rain
Gladiator
Black Hawk Down
Kingdom of Heaven
Body of Lies
Exodus
5. John Woo
Director | Ying hung boon sik
Born in southern China, John Woo grew up in Hong Kong, where he began his film career as an assistant director in 1969, working for Shaw Brothers Studios. He directed his first feature in 1973 and has been a prolific director ever since, working in a wide variety of genres before A Better Tomorrow ...
Known for:
The Young Dragons
A Better Tomorrow
A Better Tomorrow II
The Killer
Just Heroes
Bullet in the Head
Hard Boiled
Hard Target
Broken Arrow
Face/Off
Mission: Impossible II
Windtalkers
Paycheck
Red Cliff
Red Cliff II
6. Michael Bay
Producer | Armageddon
A graduate of Wesleyan University, Michael Bay spent his 20s working on advertisements and music videos. His first projects after film school were in the music video business. He created music videos for Tina Turner, Meat Loaf, Lionel Richie, Wilson Phillips, Donny Osmond and Divinyls. His work won...
Known for:
Bad Boys
The Rock
Bad Boys II
Armageddon
Pearl Harbor
The Island
Transformers
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Pain and Gain
Transformers: Age of Extinction
7. Woo-Ping Yuen
Stunts | Wo hu cang long
Woo-Ping Yuen was born on January 1, 1945 in Guangzhou, China. He is a director and actor, known for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Fearless (2006) and The Grandmaster (2013).
Known for:
Snake in the Eagle's Shadow
Drunken Master
Dance of the Drunken Mantis
The Miracle Fighters
Last Hero in China
Drunken Tai Chi
Iron Monkey
True Legend
8. Hark Tsui
Producer | Di Renjie zhi Tongtian diguo
Tsui Hark recently became the fourth Chinese film director to join the board of judges for the 57th Cannes Film Festival in the feature films category this year.
An internationally acclaimed visionary director, Tsui started making experimental movies with 8mm film when he was only 13. After ...
Known for:
Once Upon a Time in China
Once Upon a Time in China II
Once Upon a Time in China III
Once Upon a Time in China V
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate
9. Paul Greengrass
Director | United 93
Paul Greengrass started his filmmaking career with a super 8 camera he found in his art room in secondary school. Those short movies were animation horror films he made using old dolls, artist dummies, and the general art room clutter.
After studying in Cambridge University he got into Granada ...
Known for:
The Bourne Supremacy
The Bourne Ultimatum
Green Zone
10. Sam Peckinpah
Writer | The Wild Bunch
"If they move", commands stern-eyed William Holden, "kill 'em". So begins The Wild Bunch (1969), Sam Peckinpah's bloody, high-body-count eulogy to the mythologized Old West. "Pouring new wine into the bottle of the Western, Peckinpah explodes the bottle", observed critic Pauline Kael. That ...
Known for:
The Wild Bunch
The Getaway
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
The Killer Elite
11. Wolfgang Petersen
Director | Das Boot
A controversial film maker, Wolfgang Petersen has at once been lauded for his professionalism and attention to detail and decried for turning out a string of standard commercial Hollywood blockbusters. The son of a naval officer, Petersen held a lifelong fascination with the sea and naval subjects....
Known for:
Das Boot
Enemy Mine
Outbreak
In the Line of Fire
Air Force One
Troy
12. Walter Hill
Writer | 48 Hrs.
Hill was born in Long Beach, California and educated at Mexico City College and Michigan State University. He worked in oil drilling and construction in the 60s before becoming a 2nd assistant director in 1967. He has written and co-written screenplays, including several uncredited works. He has ...
Known for:
The Driver
The Warriors
48 Hrs.
Red Heat
Last Man Standing
Bullet to the Head
13. Michael Mann
Producer | The Insider
As a director, screenwriter, and producer, four-time Academy Award nominee Michael Mann has established himself as one of the most innovative and influential filmmakers in American cinema. After writing and directing the Primetime Emmy Award-winning television movie The Jericho Mile (1979), Mann ...
Known for:
Thief
The Last of the Mohicans
Heat
Collateral
Miami Vice
Blackhat
14. Richard Donner
Director | Superman
Richard Donner was born on April 24, 1930 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was a director and producer, known for Superman (1978), Ladyhawke (1985) and Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (1980). He was married to Lauren Shuler Donner. He died on July 5, 2021 in Los Angeles, ...
Known for:
Superman
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon 2
Lethal Weapon 3
Lethal Weapon 4
16 Blocks
15. Paul Verhoeven
Director | RoboCop
Paul Verhoeven graduated from the University of Leiden, with a degree in math and physics. He entered the Royal Netherlands Navy, where he began his film career by making documentaries for the Navy and later for TV. In 1969, he directed the popular Dutch TV series, Floris (1969), about a medieval ...
Known for:
Robocop
Total Recall
Starship Troopers
16. Gareth Evans
Writer | Serbuan maut
Welsh born writer/director, in 2003 directed a short film "Samurai Monogatari" telling the tale of a Samurai waiting to be executed. The short was in Japanese language and starred students from Tokyo who were studying at Cardiff University at the time.
In 2003 he also graduated with an MA in ...
Known for:
The Raid: Redemption
The Raid 2
Merantau
17. David Ayer
Producer | End of Watch
David Ayer is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. David Ayer was born in Champaign, Illinois and grew up in Bloomington, Minnesota, and Bethesda, Maryland, where he was kicked out of his house by his parents as a teenager. Ayer then lived with his cousin in Los Angeles, ...
Known for:
Harsh Times
Street Kings
End of Watch
Sabotage
Fury
18. Sylvester Stallone
Actor | Rocky
Sylvester Stallone is an athletically built, dark-haired American actor/screenwriter/director/producer, the movie fans worldwide have been flocking to see Stallone's films for over 40 years, making "Sly" one of Hollywood's biggest-ever box office draws.
Sylvester Stallone was born on July 6, 1946, ...
Known for:
Rocky II
Rocky III
Rocky Balboa
Rambo
The Expendables
19. Doug Liman
Producer | Edge of Tomorrow
Douglas Eric Liman is a Jewish-American filmmaker and producer who directed Swingers, The Bourne Identity, Chaos Walking, Jumper, Go, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Fair Game, Locked Down, Edge of Tomorrow, The Wall and American Made. He executive produced the Bourne sequels except The Bourne Legacy, The ...
Known for:
The Bourne Identity
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Edge of Tomorrow
20. Justin Lin
Producer | Better Luck Tomorrow
Justin Lin is a Taiwanese-American film director whose films have grossed $2 billion worldwide. He is best known for his work on Better Luck Tomorrow, The Fast and the Furious 3-6 and Star Trek Beyond. He is also known for his work on television shows like Community and the second season of True ...
Known for:
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
Fast & Furious
Fast Five
Fast & Furious 6
21. Christopher Nolan
Writer | Tenet
Best known for his cerebral, often nonlinear, storytelling, acclaimed Academy Award winner writer/director/producer Sir Christopher Nolan CBE was born in London, England. Over the course of more than 25 years of filmmaking, Nolan has gone from low-budget independent films to working on some of the ...
Known for:
Batman Begins
The Dark Knight
Inception
The Dark Knight Rises
22. Steven Spielberg
Producer | Schindler's List
One of the most influential personalities in the history of cinema, Steven Spielberg is Hollywood's best known director and one of the wealthiest filmmakers in the world. He has an extraordinary number of commercially successful and critically acclaimed credits to his name, either as a director, ...
Known for:
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Saving Private Ryan
War of the Worlds
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Adventures of Tintin
23. Antoine Fuqua
Producer | The Magnificent Seven
Antoine Fuqua is an American film director, known for his work in the film Training Day as well as The Replacement Killers, Tears of the Sun, King Arthur, Shooter, Brooklyn's Finest, Olympus Has Fallen and The Equalizer.
He has directed music videos for such artists as Arrested Development, Prince, ...
Known for:
Training Day
The Equalizer
Olympus Has Fallen
Shooter
24. Matthew Vaughn
Producer | Kick-Ass
Matthew Vaughn is an English film producer and director. He is known for producing such films as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000) and for directing the crime thriller, Layer Cake (2004), the fantasy epic, Stardust (2007), the superhero comedy, Kick-Ass (2010), and the ...
Known for:
X-Men: First Class
Kick-Ass
Kingsman: The Secret Service
25. Stephen Chow
Actor | Kung fu
Stephen Chow was the only boy of his family, and has grown up as a Bruce Lee fan and a martial arts addict. His career started on TV, where he presented a children show ( "430 Space Shuttle" (1983)) and started becoming popular. He got some supporting roles, after that, and won the Taiwanese Golden...
Known for:
Kung Fu Hustle
Shaolin Soccer
From Beijing with Love
26. Jaume Collet-Serra
Producer | The Shallows
Jaume Collet-Serra was born on March 23, 1974 in Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. At the age of 18, he moved to Los Angeles and attended Columbia College Hollywood, working as an editor on the side. Upon graduation, he began shooting music videos and caught the eye of several production ...
Known for:
Unknown
Non-Stop
Run All Night
27. Simon West
Director | Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Simon West is a British born and Hollywood based film director and producer. His films include CON AIR starring Nicholas Cage, "THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER" starring John Travolta and "LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER" starring Angelina Jolie. West is the only live action director ever whose first three 3 films ...
Known for:
Con Air
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
The Mechanic
The Expendables 2
Stolen
Wild Card
28. Roland Emmerich
Writer | Independence Day
Roland Emmerich is a German film director and producer of blockbuster films like The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Godzilla (1998), Independence Day (1996) and The Patriot (2000). Before fame, he originally wanted to be a production designer, but decided to be a director, after watching the original ...
Known for:
Universal Soldier
Stargate
Independence Day
The Day After Tomorrow
White House Down
29. Guillermo del Toro
Writer | El laberinto del fauno
Guillermo del Toro was born October 9, 1964 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Raised by his Catholic grandmother, del Toro developed an interest in filmmaking in his early teens. Later, he learned about makeup and effects from the legendary Dick Smith (The Exorcist (1973)) and worked on making his ...
Known for:
Hellboy
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Pacific Rim
30. Kathryn Bigelow
Director | The Hurt Locker
A very talented painter, Kathryn spent two years at the San Francisco Art Institute. At 20, she won a scholarship to the Whitney Museum's Independent Study Program. She was given a studio in a former Offtrack Betting building, literally in an old bank vault, where she made art and waited to be ...
Known for:
Point Break
Blue Steel
Strange Days
31. Akira Kurosawa
Writer | Kakushi-toride no san-akunin
After training as a painter (he storyboards his films as full-scale paintings), Kurosawa entered the film industry in 1936 as an assistant director, eventually making his directorial debut with Sanshiro Sugata (1943). Within a few years, Kurosawa had achieved sufficient stature to allow him greater...
Known for:
Seven Samurai
Throne of Blood
Yojimbo
32. Sam Raimi
Director | Spider-Man
Highly inventive U.S. film director/producer/writer/actor Sam Raimi first came to the attention of film fans with the savage, yet darkly humorous, low-budget horror film, The Evil Dead (1981). From his childhood, Raimi was a fan of the cinema and, before he was ten-years-old, he was out making ...
Known for:
Darkman
The Quick and the Dead
Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 3
33. Bryan Singer
Director | X-Men
Bryan Singer is an American film director and producer who got his start writing and co-directing the short film Lions Den with his classmates while he attended USC. He was hired by 20th Century Fox to direct X-Men, which helped kick-start the superhero renaissance. He later directed three sequels....
Known for:
X-Men
X-Men 2
Superman Returns
X-Men: Days of Future Past
34. John Sturges
Director | The Great Escape
John Sturges was an American film director, mostly remembered for his outstanding Western films. In 1992, Sturges was awarded a Golden Boot Award for his lifelong contribution to the Western genre.
Sturges was born in the village of Oak Park, Illinois, within the Chicago metropolitan area. By 1930, ...
Known for:
The Great Escape
The Magnificent Seven
The Eagle Has Landed
Joe Kidd
Marooned
Gunfight at the O.K. Corrall
Escape from Fort Bravo
35. Robert Aldrich
Director | Emperor of the North Pole
Robert Aldrich entered the film industry in 1941 when he got a job as a production clerk at RKO Radio Pictures. He soon worked his way up to script clerk, then became an assistant director, a production manager and an associate producer. He began writing and directing for TV series in the early ...
Known for:
The Dirty Dozen
The Longest Yard
The Flight of the Phoenix
Ten Seconds to Hell
...All the Marbles
The Choirboys
Tell Your Friends