The 25 Best Gunfighters in TV and Movie History

There aren't too many lead-pumping, saddle-pounding westerns on TV these days, so it's easy to think of Justified's Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) as the best gunman around. Granted, he is pretty good, and after three seasons of busting meth heads and land speculators, he has built up a sizable ballistic body of work.

But where does the quick-drawing U.S. Marshal stack up when compared to the gunfighters of years' past? John Wayne, Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, and many more have played slick sharpshooters, so we took a look back at the baddest cowboys, marshals, and outlaws from the big and small screen in an effort to figure out who was the best in the Wild and/or not-so-wild West. These are The 25 Best Gunslingers in TV and Film History.

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Written by Brenden Gallagher (@muddycreekU)

Appears In: Maverick (1957-1962)
Portrayed By: James Garner and Jack Kelly

Sometimes being a great gunslinger is more about attitude than actual marksmanship. While Bret and Bart Maverick were cardsharps, ladies men, and great fistfighters, they were not actually great shots. When Bart was asked by one of his many lady friends about his prowess with a pistol, he said, "My brother Bret can outdraw me any day of the week, and he's known as the Second Slowest Gun in the West."

It didn't matter that they weren't accurate, though, because they tended to get the girl and save the day, even if they had to give up a big poker haul to do it. Sometimes it doesn't matter how good a shot you are if you look slick and get the girl.

Appears In: The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)
Portrayed By: Paul Newman

In our opinion, Newman merits inclusion here for managing to look like a badass in a rocking chair. The film starts with rowdies in a town roughing up old Roy Bean, which is immediately followed by Bean returning to the town and wasting everyone who did him wrong.

This numbers among the most effective ways to establish law and order, even in the most lawless of town. While there are some moments of true badass behavior in this film, there are also some strange moments, like Paul Newman pushing a bear on a tree swing. It's good for Roy Bean that we aren't here to evaluate the behavior of these marksmen when they aren't gunslinging.

Appears In: The Walking Dead (2010-Present)
Portrayed By: Laurie Holden

The same rule goes for piano players as for gunslingers: Practice makes perfect. Andrea starts her time on The Walking Dead unable to hit a target that isn't lying dead in her arms. Soon enough, she is blowing away zombies like a champ.

While some of her camp believe that she would be better suited to preparing food and washing clothes, we here at the Pop Culture Channel are equal opportunity when it comes to badassery. We would like to see more females blowing the heads off of monsters; we hope that Andrea's placement on this list is one small step toward the changes we want to see in the fictional violence landscape.

Appears In: Have Gun - Will Travel (1957-1963)
Portrayed By: Richard Boone

Not only is Paladin on Have Gun - Will Travel a gunslinger, the entire show is also based around the idea that he has a gun to sling (and also apparently, as such, he is capable of travelling).

Paladin was a gentlemen gunfighter, which meant that rather than just hauling off and shooting you, he would ask you a couple questions, then haul off and shoot you. Also, his calling card was a knight chess piece, which made his shooting even more gentlemanly.

From our point of view, Paladin took the chess thing way to seriously. He went as far as to compare himself to the marble horse. He claimed, "It's an attack piece, the most versatile on the board. It can move eight different ways, over barriers, and [is] always unexpected." OK, dude, whatever you say, you're the guy with the gun.

In addition to his musings on chess, the intellectual Paladin incorporated literary references, from Shakespeare to Donne, into his routine, which further angered the villains who were already annoyed by the chess references, adding insult to injury before he killed them.

Appears In: Deadwood (2004-2006)
Portrayed By: Timothy Olyphant

Bullock is one of the few characters on this list to be based on a real person. You likely wouldn't guess this was the case, given the magical realism of David Milch's Deadwood. Any fan will tell you that extreme naturalism wasn't exactly the order of the day on the show.

Olyphant's Bullock isn't as eager to pin on the tin star as Raylan Givens, his character in Justified, as he moves to town with the idea of opening up a hardware store and leaving his gunfighting days behind. As often happens, the ex-sheriff becomes a sheriff once again when he sees the nefarious forces at work in the pioneer town.

Despite Bullock being urged back into his crusade for the forces of good, the morality of Deadwood is less clear cut than in most westerns. More than a few times, Bullock is compelled to join forces with nemesis Al Swearengen (Ian McShane). Don't let this dissuade those of you who haven't caught the show before—just because there is moral ambiguity doesn't mean that there aren't some great gunfights and the standard HBO nudity.

Appears In: Pale Rider (1985)
Portrayed By: Clint Eastwood

Preacher earns his nickname early in the film when he arrives to assist miners wearing a preacher's collar and resists resorting to violence any more than he has to.

Anyone who thought things were going to stay that way needs to brush up on their Biblical symbolism. The parallels with Revelations 6:8 ("And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.") are not coincidental. So, yeah, stick around a little bit further into the film if you want to see Eastwood exact his brand of pistol-based vengeance.

Appears In: Django (1966)
Portrayed By: Franco Nero

Django was one of the most violent films to date when it blazed into theatres in 1966. As with most incredibly violent films, Django was wildly popular. Over 30 "sequels" and take-offs on the original (including Django Unchained) have been created, though most of them have no one from the original production involved.

If Django proves anything, it is that sometimes the size of the gun matters more than the skills of the gunslinger. We'll stop there if you plan on digging up the film and watching it, but if not, treat yourself to this horribly violent spoiler.

Appears In: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid(1969)
Portrayed By: Robert Redford

Robert Redford and Paul Newman have a classic buddy film relationship in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Newman plays the talkative leader and Redford the quiet sureshot. Things would have probably been OK for them if they had kept doing what they were doing, with Butch scheming and Sundance shooting people and banging schoolteachers.

Once Butch actually kills someone and they take their outfit to Bolivia, you can't help but get the sense that their days are numbered. If you've already seen the epic final scene and have ever wanted to view it rendered in Legos, let us make your dreams come true.

Appears In: High Noon (1952)
Portrayed By: Gary Cooper

High Noon is another film that starts off by introducing you to a marshal who has turned in his badge. You can guess where this is headed.

What you likely can't guess (unless you know beforehand, which now you will...sorry) is that the film takes place roughly in real time. Though there are a few events compressed here and there, turning 100 minutes of events into a little under 85, you pretty much live the events leading to Marshal Will Kane's outgunned stand-off with an old nemesis and his henchmen.

Appears In: Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Portrayed By: Barry Pepper

Great gunslingers don't always have to be in-your-face duelists. Sniper Daniel Jackson gets his man just as often, if not more frequently, than his more demonstrative brethren. If you think that sniping can't be as exciting as face-to-face gunfights, you should take a look at this supercut of Jackson's Bible-thumping marksmanship.

Appears In: The Guns of Will Sonnet (1967-1969)
Portrayed By: Walter Brennan

Will Sonnett was unlike most TV Western stars of the '60s. Rather than tall, dark, and handsome, Sonnett was old and rough around the edges. He would intimidate more youthful villains who got an itchy trigger finger by calmly stating that he was certainly a better shot than they were, "no brag, just fact."

Brennan was the perfect actor to play Will Sonnett, as he was himself a wily veteran. By the time he strapped on Sonnett's holster, Brennan was over 20 years removed from his three Oscar wins for Best Supporting Actor (a record that still stands today—for Come and Get It, Kentucky, The Westerner). Will Sonnet was one of his last of 230 film and TV roles he took in his storied career.

Appears In: Appeared in 40 films and TV shows including Law of the Lash (1947), Return of the Lash (1947), and The Black Lash (1952)
Portrayed By: Lash LaRue

Lash LaRue is an OG gunslinger from the era of Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, from back in the day when a man would play characters named after himself every time he stepped on screen, and that's just how it was.

LaRue differentiated himself from other cowpokes of the era by carrying around a bullwhip and dressing all in black. Though LaRue appeared in numerous different television shows and films, the man kept it humble. He would often show up for appearances at local theatres around the country, making him the only western star that children had a decent chance of actually meeting.

Like most aging cowboys, LaRue had a tough time later in his career. Lash resorted to two-bit convention appearances, B-movies, and even a western-themed pornography entitled Hard on the Trail while working out his long-standing troubles with the IRS. Later in life, LaRue seemed to make peace with all of it, finding solace in born-again Christianity and guitar playing as he faded deep into the hazy collective memory of pop culture.

Appears In: Lethal Weapon (1987), Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)
Portrayed By: Danny Glover

Just like a number of our western gunslingers, Murtaugh is considering retirement at the beginning of the Lethal Weapon franchise. In fact, he would be the first to tell you that he is "too old for this shit."

That doesn't mean that he doesn't know his way around a pistol. Though Danny Glover's Murtaugh demonstrates proficiency with a firearm, he is remembered more for his catch-phrase than his rather impressive marksmanship. One of our favorite references to Murtaugh is from the How I Met Your Mother episode entitled "Murtaugh," in which Ted keeps a running list of things he is too old for. Thankfully, someone on the Internet wrote down both Ted's list and Barney's competing list that he believes he is too young to do.

Appears In: Lethal Weapon (1987), Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)
Portrayed By: Mel Gibson

Riggs plays the wild card to Murtaugh's beleaguered, practical veteran in the Lethal Weapon films. Gibson's turn as Riggs takes the traditional maverick gunslinger stereotype to a whole new level. We often question Riggs's sanity when he does things like this and like this. It is this unhinged quality, particularly when played against Murtaugh's staid family man, that makes his performance so memorable.

We love the humorous humanity Riggs brings with his marksmanship. When asked about his prowess with a pistol, he responds all too truthfully, "It was the only thing I was ever good at."

Appears In: Justified (2010-Present)
Portrayed By: Timothy Olyphant

Raylan Givens probably already made this list in his head. When you revisit old westerns from TV and film you realize that Givens is almost playing a role himself, some self-styled combination of all the duellists and lawmen he watched on TV growing up. In an America where the Old West is settled, Givens has to turn to Appalachia to practice his old-school style of hard justice.

We've loved watching Givens try to play the old-fashioned sheriff in a new world of bureaucracy and due process, and look forward to future seasons of Justified, especially if they can find more villains as compelling as Mags Bennett (Margo Martindale) and Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins). In honor of Givens' much anticipated return to gunfighting, get stoked with this cut of his gunplay from the first two seasons.

Appears In: The Quick and the Dead (1995)
Portrayed By: Sharon Stone

There are a number of awesome gunfights in the quirky dueling contest western The Quick and the Dead. The edge has to go to Sharon Stone as The Lady because she is the most effective duelist in the contest, and she looks the best doing it (sorry, Leo and Russell Crowe fans).

It's not the most beloved of the new crop of westerns to come down the pike in the last 20 years, but you could make a convincing argument for the inclusion of a number of performers from the film on this list, as Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Gene Hackman all provide memorable acting and dueling performances.

Appears In: Tombstone (1993)
Portrayed By: Kurt Russell

It is difficult to choose between Russell's turn as Wyatt Earp and Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday in Tombstone, as they complement each other so well. Russell's Earp is the family man dragged out of retirement, and Kilmer's Holliday is the kind of rakish gambler you can't help but love. They both have roughly equal shooting skills and similarly amazing facial hair. There is one key difference that puts Doc Holliday over the top...

Appears In: Tombstone (1993)
Portrayed By: Val Kilmer

...He's our huckleberry.

Appears In: Wanted Dead or Alive (1958-1961)
Portrayed By: Steve McQueen

Josh Randall was the original Walker, Texas Ranger. Steve McQueen's portrayal of the Confederate veteran turned marksman and bounty hunter on Wanted Dead or Alive springboarded him into the stardom we remember him for today.

Randall's weapon of choice was a Mare's Leg, which is a modified short rifle with a special holster that allows a marksman to blow away bad guys even faster than they could with a pistol. You can see the Mare's Leg in all of its Freudian glory in the opening sequence of the show. Though McQueen became the first TV star to find stardom in film with hits like The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1963), and Bullitt (1973), he did some of his best gunslinging early on.

Appears In: Desperado (1995)
Portrayed By: Antonio Bandaras

No offense to any musicians out there, but usually when there is an instrumentalist character in a film, they are generally more the sensitive type than the badass type. This all goes out the window, of course, if that musician is toting a guitar case full of guns and has a score to settle. If you have your doubts regarding the abilities of a minstrel-turned-gunman, check out this clip and remember to check under the guitar if you suspect someone is packing heat in their case.

Appears In: Unforgiven (1992)
Portrayed By: Clint Eastwood

Whenever a retired gunslinger takes "one more job," everybody better watch out. The plot of Unforgiven is basically the plot of The Bucket List, except instead of checking off a list of things to do before they die, Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman set out with a checklist of people to kill. We can't think of two senior citizens we would be more afraid to see on our doorstep.

Though the concept for the film can be traced back to 1976, Eastwood held production of the film until he knew he was old enough to play the role; he wanted Unforgiven to be his last ride as well as Will Munny's. This was Eastwood's last turn as a cowboy, ending decades of epic gunslinging.

Appears In: Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Portrayed By: Charles Bronson

Charles Bronson staked an entire career on badassery, so it is tough to choose one role from his gunslinging repertoire. We decided that musical gunmen get bonus points, so we went with Bronson's aptly named harmonica playing character, Harmonica.

Harmonica earns his gunslinging stripes from the get-go by wasting three bad guys in the first scene. Our favorite Harmonica moment comes not in a gunfight, but with words said prior to wasting a villain. When asked who he is, Harmonica doesn't give his name, but instead utters the names of men that his target has killed before, culminating with one last reminder of the villain's past misdeeds when he finally guns him down.

Appears In: Gunsmoke (1955-1975)
Portrayed By: James Arness

In terms of sheer amount of gunslinging, Marshal Dillon from Gunsmoke has outslung any other character on this list. Gunsmoke ran for 635 episodes, spanning two decades. Marshal Dillon remains the iron man of television leading man to this day. Only Kelsey Grammar's Frasier Crane appeared in more television episodes, but that took him two shows, Frasier and Cheers.

This longevity allowed the character to grow as the series progressed; Dillon grew more hesitant on the quick-draw, tiring a bit of violence as time marched on. We doubt Raylan Givens, also a U.S. Marshal, will have any similar evolution, largely because it would be hard to imagine another live-action show lasting 20 years.

Appears In: Stagecoach (1939)
Portrayed By: John Wayne

Stagecoach was a breakthrough film in a number of ways. The John Ford classic marked the arrival of John Wayne as a leading man, was the first use of Monument Valley in a western, and John Ford's direction was heralded by the likes of Orson Welles as a "textbook of filmmaking." Choosing a top John Wayne gunslinging appearance is tough, as he played a cowboy at least 65 times. We had to go with The Ringo Kid, the role that made John Wayne John Wayne. Check the badass trailer for the film, from back when trailers were four damn minutes long.

Appears In: A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Portrayed By: Clint Eastwood

Though sometimes he goes by "Joe," other times by "Manco," and still at other times by "Blondie," we ultimately know him as the Man with No Name, and he is perhaps the most iconic figure of the western genre. The climactic duel of The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly alone has been the subject of homage and parody countless times.

Eastwood's performance is a reminder to our dialogue-heavy generation that, sometimes, less is more. Eastwood famously insisted some of his lines be cut from A Fistful of Dollars. From then on, the Man with No Name's stoicism only increased and his popularity among moviegoers only grew. When Eastwood does speak in the trilogy, it counts, as he delivers great lines like "There are two kinds of people in this world, my friend: people with guns and people who dig. You dig."