Clint Eastwood. He never fell into the lifestyle of the hollywood elite, he invented an entire genre of movies..the Action movie with Dirty Harry, a persona that will live in infamy. He along with Sergio Leone, totally redifined the way we watched westerns. They took the traditional good guy/bad guy roles and tossed them out the window and created a unique way to root for a guy who is bad, but just not as bad as his enemy. He is my hero.
Jean-Claude Van Damme. First off, he's a European middleweight Karate champion. Came to the US with only speaking French and Flemish. Came here to the USA with virtually nothing and no chance of getting a hollywood career. Took some chances, learned two more languages and got a break to star in what has become a cult classic martial arts movie, Bloodsport. He took the martial arts movies to a new level, they became very fun to watch. No longer did we have to suffer with the poor quality of kung fu films coming out of China, now we have Bloodsport and Kickboxer, Double Impact...etc...many people have tried to copy what Van Damme re-started, and never with the success or the flare that he brings to the screen. I gained a whole new level of respect for the man, after his latest movie In Hell. Why this didn't get a theatrical release is beyond me. Given that fact, that makes this the best DTV movie of the year. Say what you will about Van Damme, the man has faced hardships, he speaks 4 languages, and is an international action superstar. I respect him very much.