The Last Action Heroes

The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood's Kings of Carnage

By: Nick de Semlyen

Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot

The behind-the-scenes story of the action heroes who ruled 1980s and ’90s Hollywood and the beloved films that made them stars, including Die Hard, First Blood, The Terminator, and more.

“Entertaining . . . This is a book that makes you ache for the days when the movie screen belonged not to men who dress in superhero capes but to those who lift weights.”—Washington Examiner

A NEWSWEEK BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Last Action Heroes opens in May 1990 in Cannes, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone waltzing together, cheered on by a crowd of famous faces. After years of bitter combat—Stallone once threw a bowl of flowers at Schwarzenegger’s head, and the body count in Schwarzenegger’s Commando was increased so the film would “have a bigger dick than Rambo”—the world’s biggest action stars have at last made peace.

In this wildly entertaining account of the golden age of the action movie, Nick de Semlyen charts Stallone and Schwarzenegger’s carnage-packed journey from enmity to friendship against the backdrop of Reagan’s America and the Cold War. He also reveals fascinating untold stories of the colorful characters who ascended in their wake: high-kickers Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan, glowering tough guys Dolph Lundgren and Steven Seagal, and quipping troublemakers Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bruce Willis. But as time rolled on, the era of the invincible action hero who used muscle, martial arts, or the perfect weapon to save the day began to fade. When Jurassic Park trounced Schwarzenegger’s Last Action Hero in 1993, the glory days of these macho men—and the vision of masculinity they celebrated—were officially over.

Drawing on candid interviews with the action stars themselves, plus their collaborators, friends, and foes, The Last Action Heroes is a no-holds-barred account of a period in Hollywood history when there were no limits to the heights of fame these men achieved, or to the mayhem they wrought, on-screen and off.

©2023 Nick de Semlyen (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Fans of ’80s excess will revel in the book’s accounts of the boozy bacchanals and ego-driven feuds that played out behind the scenes of the biggest movies in Hollywood history.”—The Seattle Times

“An all-you-can-eat feast . . . [a] deft, hilarious, overlapping weave of anecdotes and detail.”—AirMail

‘If it’s bulging biceps, titanic tantrums, sculpted shoulders and Herculean drug habits you're after, then Nick de Semlyen is the author for you. His book The Last Action Heroes is not bad either, a hugely entertaining romp through ’80s and ’90s action cinema, every page riddled with a zillion bullet holes.”—Edgar Wright

Entertaining, but lacks depth

I enjoyed the author's book on the 80's comedy stars, and this one is good, too. While I learned a lot, I just felt he could have dug deeper. And while there was a basic chronological order, a clear through line didn't develop. All that said, I can recommend this book for anyone who was, and still is, a fan of the action heroes who dominated the 80's and 90's.

Entertainment for 80s Action movie fans

The book gives excellent behind-the-scenes and biographical details. Much like the movies covered in the book, it’s simple and easily digestible entertainment!

Easy Listening Nostalgia

Heard many of the Behind the scenes stories before but there are plenty of new ones in here to enjoy as well.

I couldn’t stop listening

I loved this book. A lot of interesting tidbits that I didn’t know about, and I consider myself an action hero expert.

Simply Wonderful

This whole book was extremely interesting and enjoyable. There wasn’t one moment that I was not thoroughly amused. A perfect read.

So good, I want more!

Great listen in no small part to Bronson Pinchot. Love all the stories and hearing the side by sides of these action stars. Would love to hear more in depth of the last 25 years, or even the next wave of action stars like statham, jet li, Matt Damon, Tony Jaa, vin diesel, the rock, and others like them. Make more books like this!!!

Could have been THE book on the subject

I really enjoyed this, but the decision making about what action stars to include felt lacking because of one noticeable absentee—Kurt Russel. He’s mentioned in passing along with another missing mainstay in Mel Gibson, but the book felt incomplete given how huge these two were during the time period.

How can you leave good ol’ Jack Burton out of a book like this???

Excellent!!

Great Story!
Bronson Pinchot is a very good narrater — very impressed… had no idea! 2 Thumbs up!!

A kid again...

Dad's idea of quality time with me as a kid was seeing the latest action movie at our local $1 theater.

Listening to this made me that little kid excited for the movies on Friday night.

Even though a lot of the material in here I've heard before(I'm a podcast addict), having them all collected and talking about each star equally kept this a quality listen even when it was stuff I already heard of or knew.

Great listen and will return to in a year or so probably because it just goes down so easily.

You son of a b**ch I'm in!

Bronson delivers yet another great read of course.
These are fascinating stories for anyone fascinated by these stars and the period that propelled them to stardom. I found the volume so easily digestible, like many others I was wanting more in depth coverage - as I am a voracious hunter of this kind of lore. Don't let that deter you, listener, you'll have a great time with it. I sure did.