To celebrate his 76th Birthday, I thought it’s about time we paid tribute to the martial arts/action movie legend that is Chuck Norris.
These days Norris is pretty much retired from the action genre but his recent cameo in The Expendables 2 was one of the best moments of the series.
The 80’s really was his heyday with such genre classics as the Missing in Action Trilogy, An Eye for an Eye, Firewalker, The Octagon, Invasion USA, Code of Silence, Forced Vengeance, Lone Wolf McQuade and Delta Force 1 & 2 to name but a few.
One of his most notable on screen battles was the classic Way of the Dragon where he faced off against Bruce Lee and this was one of the rare occasions where Norris would play a villain.
I’ve always had a special place in my heart for Delta Force 2; I know it’s cheesy but the final half hour has some fantastic action and it’s one of my personal favourites alongside Invasion USA and Missing in Action.
The first Delta Force was initially going to star Charles Bronson and Norris but as I said recently, that would have been too much epic for one movie to handle.
No matter what’s going on in a movie Norris would always have a cool and calm demeanor so you never really saw him lose his temper. Apparently Reader’s Digest once noted a story of how Norris, true to his characters, prefers to find a non-violent way to solve a situation. Norris was in a bar once when a customer walked in and said to him, “You’re in my seat. Move.” Norris complied, and as the customer sat down, he recognized Norris. He then said, “Chuck, you could’ve kicked my butt if you wanted to. Instead of moving, why didn’t you just attack me?” Norris’ response: “What would that have accomplished?” Norris later said the experience resulted in him getting a new admirer and a new friend. A true legend indeed.
Happy 76th Birthday, Chuck!
Source: IMDB
