Famous 80s Actors: 18 Stars Who Defined the Decade

The 1980s created a new kind of movie star: action heroes, teen idols and comedians who crossed over from TV to the big screen. Here are 18 famous 80s actors and the roles that made them household names.

Leading men

• Harrison Ford: Han Solo and Indiana Jones, starting with Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).
• Tom Cruise: Risky Business (1983), Top Gun (1986) and Rain Man (1988).
• Michael J. Fox: Alex P. Keaton on TV's Family Ties and Marty McFly in Back to the Future (1985).
• Tom Hanks: Splash (1984) and Big (1988), on his way to becoming one of the most beloved actors of all time.
• Bruce Willis: TV's Moonlighting and Die Hard (1988).
• Patrick Swayze: The Outsiders (1983), Red Dawn (1984) and Dirty Dancing (1987).

Action heroes

• Arnold Schwarzenegger: The Terminator (1984), Commando (1985) and Predator (1987).
• Sylvester Stallone: Rocky Balboa and John Rambo in First Blood (1982).
• Sigourney Weaver: Ripley in Aliens (1986), plus Ghostbusters (1984).

Comedy stars

• Eddie Murphy: from Saturday Night Live to 48 Hrs. (1982), Trading Places (1983), Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Coming to America (1988).
• Bill Murray: Caddyshack (1980), Stripes (1981) and Ghostbusters (1984).
• Steve Martin: Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) with John Candy.

The Brat Pack and teen idols

• Molly Ringwald: John Hughes' muse in Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985) and Pretty in Pink (1986).
• Matthew Broderick: WarGames (1983) and Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986).
• Demi Moore: St. Elmo's Fire (1985), on her way to bigger stardom in the '90s.

Acclaimed dramatic actors

• Meryl Streep: won the Best Actress Oscar for Sophie's Choice (1982).
• Sally Field: won her second Oscar for Places in the Heart (1984).
• Michael Douglas: won Best Actor for Wall Street (1987).

Test yourself

How many 80s movies can you name? Try our 80s movie trivia quiz, then check out the best 80s movies and the famous 70s actors quiz.