The 10 Coolest Hicks In Movies And TV

Whether it’s in movies or everyday life, rednecks generally get a bad wrap. In terms of cinema, bucktoothed yokels can blame films like Deliverance, the disturbing 1972 thriller in which a despicable country dude makes Ned Beatty squeal like a piggy as he sodomizes him from behind. Yeah, an image as heinous as that could certainly sully a reputation or two.

Fortunately, we’re here to help out our (possibly inbred) brothers in all the backwoods across the country. With today’s release of the gritty, violent, John Hillcoat-directed Lawless, it’s as good a time as any to point out that both film and television have given pop culture junkies plenty of badass bumpkins over the years.

Lawless, in fact, introduces us to three of them: the bootlegging, gun-toting, seemingly invincible Bondurant brothers, played by Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, and Jason Clarke. When they’re not romancing the prettiest ladies in Franklin County, Virginia, the rugged siblings, all of whom really existed during the Prohibition and were immortalized in Matt Bondurant’s 2008 historical novel The Wettest County in the World, are busting shots at corrupt lawmen and defending their legacy.

Inspired by Lawless, we’ve put down the moonshine momentarily to rank The 10 Coolest Hicks In Movies And TV. The days of squealing like oinkers are officially of the past.

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Written by Matt Barone (@MBarone) and Jason Serafino (@Serafinoj1)

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Played by: Tim de Zarn

In The Cabin in the Woods, a jam-packed horror roller coaster crammed with multiple characters, countless monsters, and nonstop jokes, the scene-stealing Mordecai (played with committed humorlessness by Tim de Zarn) impressively leaves a mark.

As the so-called "harbinger" in director Drew Goddard's brilliantly conceived meta-scare flick, the grizzled actor makes his few minutes of screen-time count, playing a riff on the backwoods gatekeeper archetype seen in classic horror movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Hills Have Eyes, and Friday the 13th.

Like everything else in Cabin, Mordecai's lone scene is hilariously self-aware, with the doomsayer spouting off verbose threats as his shirt-and-tie overseers Sitterson (Richard Jenkins) and Hadley (Bradley Whitford) bust Mordy's chops behind his back.

Played by: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, and Jason Clarke

The Bondurant brothers, the three real-life Franklin County, VA, bootleggers who sold moonshine in the Prohibition era and are fictionalized in John Hillcoat's new period action-drama Lawless, covered all of the man's man bases during their reign of alcohol-financed hustling.

Jack (Shia LaBeouf), the youngest of the seemingly invincible lot, represents every good guy who dreams of bigger and more dangerous things, and gets the girl (Mia Wasikowska) that no one thinks he's good enough for; Forest (Tom Hardy), their imposing shotcaller, intimidates the law and bashes faces in with the authority of natural born leader; and Howard (Jason Clarke), the most reckless sibling, cracks wise and loves a good ass-kicking as much as he enjoys a stiff drink. Mama Bondurant should be proud.

Played by: Randy Quaid

It seems like every family has that one member who is so pushy and obnoxious that the mere sight of them is enough to cause a mutiny among the ranks. Still, no matter how bad they might be, you can take solace in the fact that they don’t come close to comparing to Cousin Eddie from the Vacation series. This leisure-suit-wearing Hamburger-Helper-eating son of the soil is the epitome of a hick as he fumbles his way through the movie series with a perpetual can of cheap American beer glued to his hand.

The worst part about Cousin Eddie, though, is just how loveable he is. Sure, you may want to hate him and his boorish ways, but he’s so kind and helpful throughout the series that you can’t help but take a shine to this country mouse. Although, whatever you do, just don’t go out and rent the direct-to-video Cousin Eddie spin-off movies; we don’t like him that much.

Played by: Walton Goggins

Justified, one of the best new TV shows of the new millennium, has its fair share of law-breaking yet charismatic and totally likeable hicks, right down to its main character, US Deputy Marshall Raylan Givens (Timothy Olymphant). But it's Boyd Crowder, the quasi-bad-guy played with manipulative charm and combustible edge by character actor deluxe Walton Goggins, who owns every scene he's in, whether it's through giving a God-fearing religious monologue or lulling enemies into a state of calm before unloading his pistol.

To the show's creators' shared credit, it's nearly impossible to get a definitive read on Boyd; one minute, he's on Raylan's side, and the next he's a full-blown criminal without any hesitation. No matter how he's acting, though, Boyd remains simultaneously badass and fascinating.

Played by: Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine

The titular protagonists in writer-director Eli Craig's underrated horror-comedy Tucker & Dale vs. Evil are a couple of friendly rednecks after our own hearts. All they want to do is drink beer and mind their own business in the comfort of their backwoods cabin.

When a bunch of obnoxious college kids (including the lava-hot Katrina Bowden) show up and suspect Tucker and Dale of being homicidal maniacs straight out of an old Tobe Hooper flick, it's easy to feel sorry for the flannel-shirted buddies. It's not their fault that dumb-ass teenagers get diced up in their wood chipper—they're as harmless as flies hovering above cow's dirty behinds. Thanks to the winning performances from Tudyk and Labine, they're also the most likeable on-screen twosome of the last few years.

Played by: Norman Reedus

Armed with nothing but a crossbow and a severely salty demeanor, there is no one more vital to the survivors on The Walking Dead than Daryl Dixon. Unlike the hot-headed Shane or the indecisive Rick, Daryl isn’t ruled by his anger or fear. Instead, he’s ruled by his own survival instincts. His unrivaled loyalty and wilderness knowledge has saved the group from death countless times, but it still seems like he gets no respect for it.

Daryl has evolved from a renegade outsider into a more compassionate, and fleshed-out, character as the group has slowly warmed up to him over time. He has proven himself to be nothing like his racist brother, and has become a fan-favorite in the process. At the end of the second season it seemed like Rick was finally beginning to recognize his value to the team, and we wouldn’t be surprised if he has a much bigger role in future episodes.

Played by: Nicolas Cage

Not a highbrow discussion of cinema goes by without numerous mentions of Joel and Ethan Coen, the filmmaking brothers who regularly combine their talents into prestigious, critically embraced movies of singular coolness. Yet a Coen-directed film that's often overshadowed by the gargantuan reputations of The Big Lebowski, Fargo, and No Country for Old Men is the quirky 1987 action-comedy Raising Arizona, a.k.a. one of Nicolas Cage's finest hours.

Years before he screwed the moviemaking pooch and started crapping out junk like Season of the Witch, Cage gloriously went full wacko to play Herbert "H.I." McDunnough, a two-bit, rural criminal who hits the road with his fellow hick chick, Edwina (Holly Hunter), to steal a baby and some diapers, an abduction plan that, naturally, puts them in the sights of some ticked-off cops.

It's not that H.I. enjoys kidnapping "critters"; rather, it's Edwina's infertility that inspires the thievery. Or, as H.I. puts it, "Edwina's inside were a rocky place where my seed could find no purchase." How can you not love a simpleton who speaks so eloquently?

Played by: Patrick Swayze and Liam Neeson

As a country boy turned big city cop, Truman Gates (Swayze) tries to get to the bottom of his brother’s murder in Chicago by way of law and order. But his other brother, Briar (Neeson), believes they should take matters into their own hands and engage in a good old fashioned blood feud with the killers and their families. What follows is a culture clash that sees the ways of the old world collide with modern justice in an appropriately cheesy ‘80s action flick.

Before Liam Neeson became a certifiable killer in Taken, his ruthless leanings were already beginning to show here as he became a bigger badass than Swayze throughout the entire picture. In one of the more impressive transformations ever on film, Neeson somehow managed to seamlessly turn himself from a lanky Irishman into a full-blown hick for this part. Meanwhile, Swayze provided the requisite amount of beatdowns and one-liners that we would expect from this type of film. Plus, he brought his famous mullet along for the ride.

Played by: John Schneider, Tom Wopat, and Catherine Bach

Perhaps the most famous hicks to ever hit the small screen, Bo, Luke, and Daisy Duke became pop-culture icons when The Dukes of Hazzard first revved its engine in 1979. Mostly known for their Dodge Charger named The General Lee, and high-cut shorts—only in Daisy’s case, thankfully—the Dukes were the impulsive, youthful voice of a generation of fun-loving Southerners. And their run-ins with “Boss” Hogg and Sherriff Coltrane perfectly captured the rebellious nature of the culture at the time.

The Dukes were one of the first hick teams on TV to shed the stereotypes of the Southern way of life and actually portray the people in a way that wasn’t just used for laughs. They weren’t the inbred hillbillies that most people erroneously associate with the region; instead, they were crafty and sharp, with a style that seeped into the mainstream. Forget the movie remakes and direct-to-video cash-ins, because the original Dukes are the only Charger-cruising family worth your time.

Voiced by: Hank Azaria

The Simpsons is best known for its classic roster of dimwitted characters, but no denizen of the town of Springfield is as slow or as comfortable in blue jeans as Cletus Delroy Spuckler, better known as Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel. Decked out in a sleeveless shirt and a near-endless supply of denim at all times, Cletus may have the fashion sense of someone from the Jersey Shore house, but make no mistake about it, the man is an out-and-out hick.

Whether he’s cruising the highway looking for some fresh road kill to cook up for dinner, or being forced into a government-sponsored class on how to be a better parent, Cletus makes the inbred characters from Deliverance look like the Rockefellers. But despite his startling lack of intelligence and bizarre odors, he is also the proud parent of 44 children—all of whom live off of tax payer money.

Over the years, he has established himself as one of the most endearing and quotable characters on the show. Just whatever you do, don’t call him a hillbilly; he prefers the term hill-William.