Under the direction of Sylvester Stallone, The Expendables films stand out for their incredible cast. In the first film, The Expendables themselves consist of six men, including Stallone as Barney Ross, Jason Statham as Lee Christmas, Jet Li as Yin Yang, Dolph Lundgren as Gunner Jensen, Randy Couture as Toll Road, and Terry Crews as Hale Caesar. Later films have included other action royalty, such as Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford, and more. Overall, The Expendables boasts some pretty big names, but there are four actors who have appeared in all four films in the Expendables franchise.
Sylvester Stallone
First of all, Sylvester Stallone has starred in all four Expendables films. In fact, the franchise wouldn’t exist without the actor. Stallone wrote three of the four Expendables films and stars in all four as Barney Ross. It makes sense that Stallone would remain with the Expendables franchise not only because of his importance to it, but also because of his reputation as an action star. Stallone made his breakthrough as an actor in 1976, when he played Rocky Balboa in the boxing film Rocky. Since then, Stallone has racked up a slew of action roles and has begun directing his own work. Stallone’s most famous projects include Rambo, and Nighthawks.
Jason Statham
Another integral part of the Expendables franchise that has remained throughout all four films is Jason Statham. In the films, Statham plays Barney Ross’ best friend and right-hand man, Lee Christmas. His character is a knife expert and incredibly skilled in hand-to-hand combat. In the first Expendables film, Christmas struggles to maintain a relationship with his girlfriend, Lacey, due to his work as a mercenary. Later, he plays a major role in taking down the Expendables’ enemies and saving the lives of his friends and colleagues. Although Jason Statham is much younger than his fellow Expendables cast members, he is an important member of the action movie community and the franchise as a whole.
Dolph Lundgren
Dolph Lundgren returned for all four films in the franchise. Throughout the franchise, Lundgren plays war veteran Gunner Jensen. Jensen is initially ostracized by the group due to his excessive violence, and spends much of the first film as a traitor to the Expendables, working for their enemy. Closely associated with The Expendables creator Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren is an action star who first began his career in 1985 when he played rival boxer and villain Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. He is a staple of The Expendables franchise due to his connections to Sylvester Stallone and his memorable performance as Gunner Jensen.