The 25 Coolest Hitmen In Movies

The hitman is one of the great character types in all of film. These amoral killers are in the business of professional murder, which demands a healthy blend of ruthlessness and the spirit of an entrepreneur. Most people like to claim that you can’t put a price on a human life—well, these folks share a different opinion.

Usually working for someone with deep pockets, contract killers take meticulous care with their appearance and the method in which they dispose of targets. Let’s face it, no hitman can afford to be sloppy, or else their career won’t likely survive the first job. That means whoever takes one of these roles has to be damn good at it.

This Friday marks another proud addition to the paid murderer on-screen pantheon with the first-rate crime flick Killing Them Softly, in which Brad Pitt plays Jackie Cogan, a hired gun working for the mob. Before you go off to see the film (which we highly recommend that you do), take a look back at some of his contemporaries in our list of The 25 Coolest Hitmen In Movies.

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Written by Jason Serafino (serafinoj1)

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Played by: Colin Farrell

A rookie hitman on his first assignment, Ray accidentally kills a child during a job gone horribly wrong. Consumed with guilt, he spends most of the movie trying to come to terms with what he has done, set to the backdrop of writer-director Martin McDonagh's dark and deeply-sarcastic comedy.

Instead of going from hit to hit and unleashing chaos like most paid assassins, Ray finds himself in surreal situations, most notably during a hotel fight with a drug-addicted dwarf. In Bruges brings us one of the most unique circumstances surrounding the hitman occupation on this entire list, and, while Ray isn’t the typical hired gun, he’s more memorable than most straight-laced ones.

Played by: Bruce Glover (Wint), Putter Smith (Kidd)

Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd deserve one spot in this countdown solely for the reason that they're never apart from each other, no matter the situation. As hired assassins for SPECTRE head Ersnt Stavro Blofeld (Charles Gray), Wint and Kidd are dispatched to take out James Bond by any means necessary. Rather than depend on conventional means to kill their targets, Wint and Kidd use creative tactics like poisonous scorpions and attempted cremations.

Assassinations aside, the most fascinating thing about Wint and Kidd is the implied homosexual relationship between the two. They are even seen holding hands in one scene. It was a groundbreaking direction to take back in 1971, and it helped distinguish the duo from other hitmen in the film world.

Played by: George Clooney

In this underappreciated gem, Clooney plays a solemn American contract killer staying in Sweden with his lover. After she finds out his true identity as a hitman, he disposes of her in bloody fashion and goes about his newly-single life in typical Clooney fashion. As opposed to the other glamorous roles from his past, the actor's role here is that of a cold-hearted killer who spends his time working out alone and crafting custom weaponry.

However, we see cracks in his overly-serious veneer. The vulnerability surfaces when he meets Clara, a woman he falls for. The American is more about tone and atmosphere than action, and because of that, Clooney manages to bring something unique to the hitman role.

Played by: Pierce Brosnan

After being pigeonholed as 007 for most of the ‘90s and early 2000s, Pierce Brosnan broke out with this dark, sardonic role. He plays Julian Noble, a hitman suffering from a loss of confidence after his humanity got the best of him during a job. It’s not often that we see the human side of such a character, but that’s exactly what puts Noble on this list. He’s nervous, unsure of himself, and desperate for a friend. He’s a killer with issues, and it’s intriguing to watch him attempt to put the broken pieces of his psyche back together.

Played by: Karl Urban

In a franchise filled with hired guns, it’s hard to choose just one. Still, we're going with Karl Urban’s performance as the ruthless Kirill. He makes an impact at the beginning of The Bourne Supremacy by shooting Jason Bourne’s girlfriend, Marie (Franka Potente), through the head while the two of them are driving over a bridge. This sends Bourne into a suspected watery grave, while his lady is stone cold dead.

From there, Bourne goes after Kirill in what's one of the cinema's best high-speed car chases during Supremacy's final moments. Kirill in one of the only genuinely evil hitmen included in this list, and with good reason.

Played by: Chow Yun-fat

After he accidentally blinds a singer during a hit gone wrong, professional assassin Ah Jong (named Jeffrey in The Killer's U.S. version) takes one last high-profile job in order to pay for surgery that will restore her sight. This action-packed tale of redemption paints the hitman as a thoughtful human being racked with guilt and regret over his actions.

Remember, this is a John Woo film, so you can be sure that the bullets fly fast and furious as well. And Ah Jong's code of honor actually brings something admirable to an otherwise disgusting profession.

Played by: Sam Rockwell

To understand why Chuck Barris makes this list, you have to know the backstory first. Barris was the real-life creator and producer of hit game shows like The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, and The Gong Show, but he also claims that he was moonlighting as a paid hitman for the CIA at the time. And in 2002, Sam Rockwell played Barris in a movie version of his life—well, at least it was Barris’ version of his life.

Throughout the course of the film, Barris takes out targets with the trained skills of a Marine vet. The double life soon takes a toll on Barris, and he suffers a nervous breakdown, which ultimately costs him everything. However, anyone who can be a TV mogul one day and a ruthless hitman the next is pretty cool to us. Even if Barris’ story is highly questionable.

Played by: Sonny Chiba

In this foreign gem, Golgo 13 is the name of a master assassin who gets hired by an American crime organization to kill a member of the organization’s Hong Kong branch who has been going into business for himself. Throughout the movie, Golgo gets wrapped into a conspiracy involving these corporations that forces him to leave a trail of dead bodies in his wake through the use of extreme prejudice.

Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon is a classic in the action/thriller genre, and most of the praise goes to star Sonny Chiba, who brings a calm and collected physicality to the role that makes even the most gruesome kills look effortless. Whether shooting his targets, bludgeoning them with his fists, or hurling spears through them, Golgo 13 is a master at his craft.

Played by: Jason Statham

In Crank, Jason Statham pretty much plays Jason Statham yet again, and, yes, that's a good thing. As Chev Chelios, the English tough guy takes the role of an expert hitman who's been poisoned and must keep his adrenaline pumping high at all times or else his heart will stop. This means that he has to get in as many high-speed chases, shootouts, and pornographic situations as possible, all in the name of health.

This gimmicky plot leads to a whole mess of overblown action scenes for audiences to eat up. Chelios isn’t like the calm, cool, and collected hitmen that largely make up this list—he’s like a battering ram that enters a room, guns blazing, and takes out his targets in the most extreme ways possible.

Played by: John Cusack

When John Cusack was still one of Hollywood’s most popular actors, he took on the role of Martin Q. Blank in Grosse Pointe Blank. The character is aprofessional assassin who's grown dissatisfied with his work, and the movie revolves around Blank attending his high school reunion, not only to reconnect, but to also take out a target in his hometown.

At the reunion, Blank tells almost everyone that he's an assassin, which Cusack pulls off with deadpan brilliance. It’s this type of nonchalant approach to his profession that leads to one of Cusack’s best performances. Plus, when it’s time to get his hands dirty, Martin is surprisingly adept.

Played by: Tom Cruise

We’ve seen Tom Cruise as plenty of white bread action heroes over the years, but his role as a psychotic hitman named Vincent in Collateral is still one of the freshest performances of his career. Decked out in white hair, without a humorous bone in his body, Vincent tortures helpless cab driver Max Durocher (played by Jamie Foxx) by forcing him to drive him to all of the targets that he needs to eliminate.

He does so with ruthless, reckless abandon as Max just stares on in horror. Vincent is an unhinged maniac, yet he’s also the type of movie villain that you get attached to, especially when he gets acquainted with Max’s mom in the hospital. It should be uncomfortable to watch this murderer buddying up with a sick woman; Cruise, however, pulls it off with style.

Played by: Eric Bana

Who knew Eric Bana had it in him? In Munich, the Australian actor plays Avner Kaufman, an assassin who's in charge of leading a squad to kill 11 members of the Black September terrorist group that was behind the massacre at the 1972 Olympics.

Kaufman and his men systematically take out their targets with brutal force, even though Avner struggles with the moral implications of his crimes. Still, he's a man who gets the job done for his country, as opposed to others on this list who are just interested in money. That’s the most impressive thing about Avner.

Played by: Charles Bronson

Put Charles Bronson in any role and with any cast and he was always going to be the toughest guy on the set. One of his most ass-kicking roles came in The Mechanic, where he played a paid hitman who performed his jobs cleanly, without leaving a trace of evidence. Due to the nature of his job, Bishop must live in complete isolation and never let anyone get too close to him, which just adds to his mystique.

But personality aside, it’s the opening 16 minutes of The Mechanic that land Bishop on this list. Filmed completely without dialogue, this scene shows Bronson's character preparing to make his first hit, focusing on how much care he puts behind each whacking. It’s a brilliant piece of filmmaking that sets up the tone for the rest of the movie.

Played by: Jack Nicholson

Before the 2005 Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie flick Mr. and Mrs. Smith mishandled a similar type of plot, Prizzi’s Honor revolved around two assassin’s (Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner) who fall in love after being hired to kill each other. It was a supremely dark comedy that saw Nicholson seeming just as comfortable with marrying his would-be killer as he is with whacking her himself.

Nicholson doesn’t land on this list because of the way he handles a gun or the grisly way he takes out his targets. He’s here because of how he turned the hitman character type on its head with this role. Prizzi’s Honor is an expertly done dark comedy, and the way Nicholson brought a nonchalant attitude towards the business of murder shouldn’t be missed by fans of the actor.

Played by: Edward Fox

The Day of the Jackal focuses on a hitman hired by the French paramilitary organization, the OAS, to assassinate Charles de Gaulle, the president of France. After the real-life failed attempt in 1962, the movie focuses on the group hiring a British assassin codenamed the Jackal to give it another try. He's a complete mystery—no one knows his true identity and almost everything about his life story is fictitious.

Through the use of false documents and custom made weapons, the Jackal moves around the world wherever he wants as he and the OAS hatch a plot to kill one of the world’s most prominent leaders. And, fortunately for the film's viewers, the Jackal picks off anyone in his path.

Played by: Alain Delon

Mixing the Japanese influences of the samurai with the style of a 1940s American gangster, Jef Costello became the template for every other hitman following the release of Le Samouraï in 1967. He’s stoic and professional, and despite years of the gun-for-hire work, he hasn’t even caught the attention of the police. The man is just that good at what he does.

It’s normally a red flag when an actor doesn’t show emotion while performing a role, yet Costello actually succeeds because of that. He’s calm, cool, and collected while going about his murderous business. We also get the glimpse at the private life of the man, who lives in a simplistic manner with his lone bird and books on samurai culture. He’s the thinking man’s hitman, and still one of the best.

Played by: Lee Van Cleef

As the robotic and obsessed hired gun simply known as Angel Eyes, Lee Van Cleef managed to craft a personality for an on-screen hitman that is still one of the gold standards. He was completely unfeeling and ruthless, and nothing mattered more to him than the job he was paid to do.

And even though he was meant to be an unsavory character, you can’t help but like Mr. Eyes by the film’s end. Even after violent torture scenes and various killings, he proved himself to be the type of violent Old West character that makes the genre great.

Played by: Anne Parillaud

After a criminal junkie accidentally kills a police officer during a robbery gone wrong, the fiend, named Nikita, is recruited by the French government to become an assassin under their control in order to avoid the death sentence. She is then trained to become a cold, remorseless killing machine, and Nikita does so in kick-ass fashion.

Anne Parillaud absolutely owns the role of a female assassin, as opposed to other women in similar roles who just seem to be playing the part. She’s a natural with a firearm, making you believe that she's a vicious killer. Nikita eventually falls for a man who doesn't know about her murderous profession. But when he finally does find out, Nikita's human side begins to come out, which adds even more to admire about her.

Played by: John Travolta

After starring in Welcome Back, Kotter and Saturday Night Fever, no one expected John Travolta to reemerge in the ‘90s. The haters were proven wrong, though. As the slick hitman Vincent Vega, Travolta resurrected his career and gave life to one of his best roles.

Along with his partner, Jules Winnfield (played by Samuel L. Jackson, and who we’ll get to later), Vincent spends most of his time fondly reminiscing about his trip to Amsterdam, staring at a $5 milkshake in befuddlement, shooting adrenaline into his boss’ wife's heart, and, that's right, taking out any target he’s ordered to whack.

Though they're a pair, Vega and Jules are so distinct from one another that they definitely each needed their own entries here. Unlike Jules, Vega is best remembered for the Chuck Berry dance scene with Uma Thurman and his love of Elvis, not for his violent outbursts. He’s a hitman that seems more content to eat a cheeseburger at a ‘50s style diner than brandish a gun, and for that, he lands on our list.

Played by: Tom Hanks

Michael Sullivan is an interesting addition to the movie hitman lore because, while he spends most of his time gunning down people for the Irish mob, he’s also a loving father who's trying protect his son after the 12-year-old witnesses a hit. If you thought these hitmen were violent when doing their job, you should see Sullivan when his son’s life is threatened.

He’s a more human killer then we’re used to, and that relatable quality makes this character work. The dichotomy between protective father and ruthless killer brings different layers to the character, and each gangster he guns down is a show of love for his child. He's a sappy hitman done right.

Played by: Forest Whitaker

Liberally borrowing elements from Le Samouraï, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai revolves around a titular hitman for the mafia who follows the ancient code of honor employed by the samurai. Unlike most guys in his profession, Ghost Dog is content to sit in the park playing chess or take care of his pigeon coop on the roof of his apartment building. But his peaceful lifestyle and mindset are constantly at odds with his profession, which he even goes about in a spiritual way.

By bringing Eastern influences into his work, Ghost Dog makes for one of the most unique killers on this list. He isn’t some amoral sadist—he even refuses to spill innocent blood. However, don’t let the pigeons and the spirituality fool you, once he gets let off his chain, he’s a complete killing machine.

Played by: Javier Bardem

Complete with a bizarre bowl cut and a cattle bolt gun, Javier Bardem creeped out our very souls as the cold-blooded Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men. Hired to retrieve a missing suitcase full of money from Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), Chigurh goes from town to town unleashing terror on anyone in his way. Much like the Terminator, he's a cold, emotionless sociopath who is a pure nightmare machine.

Bardem brings so much personality to the part, yet he’s relatively quiet throughout. The only real hint of a personality we get is through the actor's eyes, which evoke the stare of a Great White. There's something so cool about a dude that can leave the house with a haircut like that and still make us fear him.

Played by: Jean Reno

There are many reasons to root for Léon during The Professional, despite the fact that he’s a violent killer, but it’s his relationship with a young girl named Mathilda (Natalie Portman) that really makes him stand out. He takes the girl under his wing after her own family is killed, and he teaches her the ways of the hitman, which would come in handy later on in the film.

Léon also has the distinction of coming up with some of the most brutal and unique kills on the list. He strangles, hangs, blows up, and shoots anyone who gets in his way. When the greatest love in a dude’s life is a houseplant, don’t expect him to care much about the human race.

Played by: Samuel L. Jackson

This jerry-curl-wearing, bible-quoting lunatic is still the most memorable role Samuel L. Jackson has ever taken. He’s cool and slick, yet if you piss him off he will pump you full of lead. Nor is some gun-toting monster. Jules is a hilarious, real dude who likes to talk about fast food and sex. His high-point comes right during his introductory scene when he, along with his partner, Vincent Vega (John Travolta), wastes a room full of jokers who owe his boss money.

Writer-director Quentin Tarantino has the uncanny knack to make us connect with the most unsavory of characters in all of his movies, though none are quite as memorable as Jules.

Played by: Arnold Schwarzenegger

Without displaying any emotions, Arnold Schwarzenegger made the cyborg killing machine from Terminator into a cultural icon. The T-800 is guided by a computer to be as cold and calculating as possible. He’s more like a horror movie villain than a typical assassin, especially with the way he stalks his target, Sarah Conner (Linda Hamilton), throughout the entire movie.

Playing the only non-human hitman on this list, Schwarzenegger managed to make him the most fascinating character in the film simply by dressing in leather and putting on some shades. Many actors have since tried to copy T-800’s monochromatic look and grim façade, but no one has come close to what Schwarzenegger was able to do with so little.