Off of this list, Bruce Willis is my fav, not just because Die Hard is one of the best movies ever made, but also because he's a badass. But, I'm suprised Arnold isn't one of your choices. He's the ultimate badass.
Didn't he sue some film company for hurting his little finger during his most recent movie? Badass my ass. Mind you most of these folks aren't badasses in life. JCVD got his clock CLEANED by Chuck Zito. RULE ONE - don't mouth off to a Hell's Angel, there, Jean Claude. Steve Segal almost got his ass royally kicked by a bodyguard whose heritage he managed to insult, and later was found to have paid off the Toronto mob to avoid getting "hurt" on the "set".
My vote is for that soft spoken Latino guy who always crops up whenever they need a really evil looking sod. He's an older, totally tattooed guy. Was recently on "Desperate Housewives" as that guy "Carlos" hired to help his wife get over the miscarraige. Boxing champion of Sam Quentin. I mean, damn.
Jackie Chan is REALLY good at hurting HIMSELF. I dunno about other people. Good gymnast tho, and a great comedian.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, hands down. Yeah, maybe he's a dick in real life (bnut hey, most of these guys probably are too), but come on - Terminator, anyone?? And the thing is, in his character roles he makes no claims to be anything other than a cheezy musclehead who spouts really bad one-liners, so in Cheeziness terms, he kicks anyone's ass. If you're an action hero trying to take yourself seriously, you've already lost, in my opinion. I'll be back.
u cant consider pacino and deniro action stars but yes they have done a few action movies that were just ok. dont forget Wesley Snipes guys