The Last Action Heroes (Paperback)

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

From the editor of Empire magazine this is the behind-the-scenes story of the golden age of the action movie, the stars who ruled 80s and 90s Hollywood and the beloved films – from Die Hard to The Terminator – that made them famous.

Charting Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s carnage-packed journey from enmity to friendship against the backdrop of Reagan’s America and the Cold War, the book also reveals the untold stories of the colourful characters, from Steven Seagal to Bruce Willis, who ascended in their wake. These invincible action heroes used muscle, martial arts or the perfect weapon to save the day, becoming pop-culture titans.

Drawing on candid interviews with the action stars themselves, plus their collaborators, friends and foes, Nick de Semlyen's The Last Action Heroes chronicles how, as the 1990s rolled in, the glory days of these macho men began to fade, but how the mayhem they wrought on screen and off excites us still.

"A blast" Ian Rankin
"A lively celebration of 1980s action stars" The Times
"Hugely entertaining" Edgar Wright