40 Wild Facts About Robert Mitchum, Hollywood's Original Bad Boy

In 2003 the American Film Institute included two of Mitchum’s characters in its list of the Top 50 villains in cinema history. His searing portrayal of Max Cady in Cape Fear was ranked at number 28, while serial killer Reverend Harry Powell from The Night of the Hunter was number 29. It was a fitting tribute to an actor who knew exactly how to get under an audience’s skin.

Speaking of Harry Powell, it was reportedly the part Mitchum most enjoyed playing. Interestingly, he once revealed director Charles Laughton got cold feet about his truly frightening performance, though. He claimed Laughton “didn’t want people to drag their children off the streets every time I passed. The character was too strong for him, but that is what he asked me to begin with.” 

George C. Scott won the Best Actor Oscar for 1970’s Patton. Revealingly, though, Mitchum was approached to play the role first and turned it down. It wasn’t because he didn’t like the material: he thought the script was incredible. Yet he felt the movie needed an actor who could fight the studio to keep the focus on the character, not the battles. He therefore recommended Scott.

Mitchum always told anyone who would listen that he went into acting because he found it easy. Whether this is true or not is debatable, but one thing that isn’t debated is how natural he made it all seem. Perhaps this ease in front of a camera had something to do with how he could look at a script and immediately memorize his dialogue. We’re sure most actors would kill to have that particular talent!

Katharine Hepburn, who worked with Mitchum in 1946’s Undercurrent, was not a fan — and boy, did she let him know it! She reportedly gave him this damning verdict: “You know you can’t act, and if you hadn’t been good-looking you would never have gotten a picture.” Ouch! We reckon most would disagree with her, though.

In a 1969 Roger Ebert interview, Mitchum had a memorable put-down of a fellow Hollywood icon. He quipped, “You’ve got to realize a Steve McQueen performance just naturally lends itself to monotony. Steve doesn’t bring too much to the party.” Arguably a bit rich coming from a man who constantly downplayed his own acting ability with quotes such as, “I have two acting styles: with and without a horse.”

Throughout his career, Mitchum routinely gave off the impression that he didn’t take acting very seriously at all. He once said, “Movies bore me, especially my own.” He would claim he only acted because it was easy work, he was paid well, and he got to meet beautiful women. Still, most believe this was only feigned indifference. 

While he was under contract with RKO, the studio wanted Mitchum to shave his chest and do some shirtless scenes. He was having none of it, though. Amusingly, he once revealed, “They got so they wanted me to take some of my clothes off in the pictures. I objected to this, so I put on some weight and looked like a Bulgarian wrestler when I took my shirt off.”

Mitchum got his start in Hollywood by playing a series of villains in Hopalong Cassidy Westerns in 1943. These were all very small roles, but they gave him a platform on which to build. After two more years of minor parts, he hit it big with The Story of G.I. Joe in 1945. In fact, playing marine Bill Walker landed him his solitary Academy Award nod.

In the ’70s, Mitchum had a late-career revival when he starred in three critically acclaimed crime thrillers: The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Farewell, My Lovely and The Yakuza. Choosing to star in these gritty movies makes it hard to fathom why he turned down the role of “Popeye” Doyle in 1971’s similarly down-and-dirty The French Connection, though. He reportedly found the story offensive, but the decision still seems weird.

For 1958’s Thunder Road, Mitchum approached none-other-than Elvis to play the role of Robin Doolin, his character Lucas’ younger brother. The King was keen, but reportedly one of two things happened, both apparently instigated by the singer’s manager Colonel Tom Parker. He either asked for too high a salary for his client, or vetoed the project because it wasn’t a musical and therefore there was no chance of a tie-in album. Bummer.

For a man with such a carefully maintained tough-guy reputation and devil-may-care demeanor, Mitchum was something of a renaissance man. For instance, he regularly wrote poetry, with co-star Deborah Kerr saying he read pieces to her while they filmed The Sundowners. Believe it or not in 1969 a TV Guide writer even claimed that under Mitchum’s hard exterior lurked “imprisoned the soul of a poet.”

Unlike many Hollywood stars, Mitchum was a one-wife man throughout his entire career. Yes, he had his wife Dorothy by his side for 57 years, right up until his death. Far from being an ideal husband, though, it’s pretty well-known that he cheated on her throughout their marriage. In fact, he allegedly had dozens of affairs, yet she stuck it out till the bitter end.

Mitchum and Dorothy first met when they were teenagers. In fact, Miss Spence originally dated his brother John! They eventually married when he was 23, and his proposal has gone down in Hollywood folklore. According to biographer Lee Server, Mitchum told her, “Stick with me, kid, and you’ll be farting through silk.” Weird turn of phrase, huh?

Legendary movie critic Ebert once dubbed Mitchum “the soul of film noir.” This genre designation was created by French journal Cahiers du cinéma. In the ’40s, Mitchum was the leading star of this wave of dark, brooding crime films, filled with cynical protagonists the likes of which Hollywood had never seen before. Some of his best noirs included Crossfire, Out of the Past and The Big Steal.

Mitchum was always considered “cool,” even when his real-life persona didn’t quite stack up. For instance, in the ’60s he was notably supportive of the Vietnam War, even while public opinion turned against it. Amazingly, this did nothing to hurt his popularity with the youth of America — in 1968 teenagers voted him the coolest celebrity in the country. 

Millionaire Howard Hughes — who would be played by Leonardo DiCaprio in 2004’s The Aviator — took over RKO pictures in 1948. He was a huge fan of Mitchum’s and made sure the actor had a steady stream of pictures. Biographer Lee Server felt Hughes, whom he described as “scrawny, hard-of-hearing, whiny-voiced and paranoid,” saw Mitchum as his fantasy alter ego on screen.

Alongside his acting career, Mitchum diversified into the world of music in the ’50s and ’60s. He released several albums of pop and country songs, and even joined the calypso music craze in ’57 while shooting a movie in Trinidad. As absurd as that may seem, his efforts were far from being vanity projects — Mitchum actually had musical talent and a solid singing voice.

When Mitchum starred in The Last Tycoon, he was struck by the talent of the lead Robert De Niro. But one thing about the fiercely committed young actor tickled him — his method-acting tactic of staying in character as movie mogul Monroe Stahr at all times. Mitchum reportedly nicknamed him “Kid Monroe” and had a good giggle about it with some of the other old hands on set.

The Season Three M*A*S*H episode “Big Mac” revolves around the crew preparing for a great honor — a visit from General Douglas MacArthur. He finally shows up at the end of the episode, looking remarkably like Robert Mitchum. But here’s the thing — the role was uncredited, and to this day it’s never been officially confirmed whether it was Mitchum or not. Weird.

Mitchum was cast in 1978’s The Big Sleep with a notorious Hollywood hellraiser from the other side of the pond: Oliver Reed. By this time Mitchum was 60 years old, but his capacity for boozing was still insane. He allegedly drank an entire bottle of gin in 55 minutes, which impressed even Reed. How he didn’t wind up in the hospital getting his stomach pumped is anyone’s guess.

Mitchum’s older sister Annette was the person who got him treading the boards. When he was 19, he and the family moved to Long Beach, California, and Annette — who later became known by the stage name Julie Mitchum — convinced him to join her at The Players Guild of Long Beach theater company. He worked backstage and did some writing before deciding acting was where his future lay.

A bottle of gin in 55 minutes is pretty obscene, but it’s arguably child’s play compared to what Mitchum was apparently putting away in his younger days. Actor Jack Hawkins revealed in his biography that, while shooting 1963’s Rampage, Mitchum would drink rum before dinner. That doesn’t sound so bad, right? Well, maybe it is if you drink 49 glasses of the stuff like Mitchum supposedly did.

Mitchum was originally cast in the John Wayne/Lauren Bacall picture Blood Alley, but he was fired under mysterious circumstances. Legend has it that, while attending a Coast Guard lunch event in San Francisco, he had a few too many drinks. Then, when filming resumed, he got into an argument with a crew member and — allegedly — hurled them into the river! Mitchum has always denied the accusation, though.

When he lived with his grandparents in Delaware, Mitchum got into a fight at school and was expelled. This mightn’t sound too surprising, considering his “bad boy” reputation. But when you find out he tangled with the headmaster, it takes on a whole new significance! So, in conclusion, yes — 12-year-old Mitchum got kicked out of school for punching his principal. Crazy.

An ageing Mitchum provided the incredible narration in 1993 western Tombstone. Initially, though, he was supposed to play an on-screen character: Old Man Clanton. Unfortunately, prior to the shoot, he fell off a horse and hurt his back. In the ensuing scramble Stephen Lang wound up playing the character, with Mitchum taking on voiceover duties instead. 

Mitchum likely didn’t have any memories of his father, James, who died in an accident when the toddler was only two years old. Tragically, while on military service in South Carolina the railyard worker was crushed between two train carriages. At the time, Mitchum’s mother, Ann, was pregnant with his younger brother, John, leaving her to raise the family on a government pension.

During World War II, Mitchum worked at the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation operating machinery. According to Server, the cacophonous noise of the machines affected his hearing, and he then suffered a nervous breakdown from the stress of the job. This reportedly left him temporarily blind — a condition which these days might be known as “hysterical blindness.”

In 1987 The Equalizer star Edward Woodward — who played Robert McCall in the vigilante show — suffered a heart attack. He was set to recover, but producers had to figure out what to do while their star was on the mend. Brilliantly, they enlisted Mitchum to star in a two-part episode as an old comrade who helps McCall’s son track down his father, who had mysteriously vanished.

Mitchum was famed for his hooded eyelids and sad, sleepy eyes, which set him apart from every other leading man in Hollywood. He was adamant that his eyes looked sleepy, though, because he was sleepy — he suffered from chronic insomnia. The star also said his past as a boxer had left him with astigmatism, a condition which causes light to be reflected at more than one point of the eye. It can cause headaches and blurry vision.

It was an open Hollywood secret that Mitchum smoked marijuana, but in 1948 it became public knowledge when he was busted for possession. When police asked him his profession, he allegedly quipped “Former actor” as he thought the scandal might torpedo his career. He wound up serving 43 days on a prison farm, where he was photographed by Life magazine and said, “I like jail. It’s like Palm Springs, but without all the riff-raff.” Classic Mitchum.

According to Mitchum’s biographer Server, the hot-headed actor lost his temper on the set of Angel Face. Director Otto Preminger reportedly forced Mitchum and Jean Simmons into repeated takes of a slapping scene. Frustrated, and feeling like his leading lady was being mistreated, Mitchum “either slapped Preminger across the face, with just the force the director had been asking for, or very nearly did the same.” 

In 1981 Mitchum was sued by his secretary of many years Reva Frederick. You see, he had closed down his office, and she believed he owed her pension money from as far back as 1961. Unbelievably, it then transpired that she had actually been stealing from him for years — a sum amounting to millions of dollars. She dropped her lawsuit when they worked out a deal, and he didn’t prosecute. 

Reservoir Dogs icon Michael Madsen once told movies website Screen Rant that seeing Mitchum’s performance in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison was life-changing for him. He said, “I just remember sitting on the floor at my mom’s sister’s house, watching that as a little boy on a black-and-white RCA television. I remember seeing that movie and it being the first time it ever crossed my mind to be an actor.”

Mitchum acted until the mid-‘90s yet, amusingly, reports of him claiming to be retired go back several decades. For example, in 1970 he visited his son on the set of Rio Lobo and director Howard Hawks asked him to play the role of El Dorado’s drunk sheriff again. When he said he’d already hung up his boots, star John Wayne remarked, “Mitch has been retiring ever since the first day I met him.” 

Aged 14 Mitchum began traveling the country. While in Georgia, he was arrested for vagrancy and, by the time he got to court, a charge of robbery was also thrown in. He protested his innocence but was placed on a chain gang, where a leg wound got infected. Incredibly, he escaped into the woods, while the guards shot at him, and the future acting legend then hitch-hiked his way to Pennsylvania. A kindly doctor then picked him up and took him home.

Mitchum died on July 1, 1997, from emphysema and lung cancer. The very next day, his The Big Sleep co-star James Stewart passed away from a heart attack. Despite both being Hollywood legends, the difference in their funerals was stark. Mitchum never wanted a memorial service — he was cremated, with his ashes scattered at sea. By contrast, a mind-boggling 3,000 people came to Stewart’s funeral.

In 1991 Martin Scorsese’s Cape Fear was released, with Mitchum’s The Last Tycoon co-star De Niro taking over the iconic Max Cady role. Winningly, Mitchum cameoed in the film as a police lieutenant. Interestingly, while some viewers loved De Niro’s livewire intensity as Cady, others missed Mitchum’s characteristic subtlety. An IMDb commenter perhaps summed it up best with, “Robert De Niro acted scary. Robert Mitchum was scary.”

President Dwight D. Eisenhower loved watching Westerns in the White House’s plush movie theater. There was one actor whose movies he would completely refuse to watch, though. Yes, you guessed it: Mitchum. Eisenhower was not amused by the star’s marijuana possession arrest, you see. And if the projectionist ever slyly slipped a Mitchum picture into the rotation, the President would reportedly get up and leave!

Mitchum was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1945 and served from April until October of that year. He didn’t see any action, though, spending his time as a drill instructor and medic. Mitchum described his role hilariously to Rolling Stone magazine, saying he was a “pecker checker” who also inspected the rear end of “every G.I. in America, looking for piles, haemorrhoids, bananas, grape, dope — you name it.” More stars than you think have served in the military. And some got a lot closer to the action than Mitchum. Ever wondered how Humphrey Bogart got his lip scar?

One of Hollywood’s most groundbreaking actors, Humphrey Bogart was bucking tradition way before he broke into the movie business. After throwing his chance of an Ivy League education, the actor joined the U.S. Navy and served in the Atlantic in World War I’s final year. As legend has it, Bogart even received his famous lip scarring during an attack on his ship.

Born to Jewish parents, Kirk Douglas was appalled by the actions of Nazi Germany in World War II. So much so, in fact, that he postponed a burgeoning theater career in order to fight against Hitler’s forces. Nevertheless, the icon didn’t get his wish; after enlisting in the Navy, he was sent to fight Japan in the Pacific instead.

We all know James Earl Jones for his distinctive voice and screen presence. However, there was a time when the actor almost gave up on his dreams to pursue a military career. Having been drafted to serve his country in the Korean War, Jones considered staying in the Army for its financial security. Luckily, a superior made him realize the military life wasn’t for him.

A musician, movie star and civil rights activist, Harry Belafonte can thank the military for helping to develop his diverse career. Following time spent in the U.S. Navy during World War II, the entertainer was afforded a chance at a higher education due to the G.I. Bill. Soon after, Belafonte enrolled at university in New York, a move that arguably set him on the path to stardom.

For an actor as tough as Clint Eastwood, a military record is almost a given. But while the star did serve while the Korean War raged, he never saw combat. Instead, he spent the whole conflict as a lifeguard at an Army boot camp. Still, Eastwood came close to death after a Navy airplane in which he was hitching a ride crashed near the San Francisco coast.

If we told you that Bob Ross was once a fearsome drill sergeant, you wouldn’t believe us, right? Bizarrely, the painter – famous for his calm and kindly demeanor – had such a mean streak during his 20-year stint in the U.S. Air Force that he acquired the nickname “Bust-‘em-up Bobby.” Nevertheless, the constant toughness took its toll and Ross switched buffaloing for brushstrokes upon his 1981 retirement from service.

Prior to becoming a Hollywood legend, deadpan star Buster Keaton had a thoroughly miserable time in the Army. Serving in World War I, the star – as he divulged in his 1960 autobiography – spent the conflict feeling “ridiculous” thanks to an ill-fitting uniform. “Apparently, the quartermaster general had never anticipated that anyone under 5’5” tall would be allowed to join the United States Army,” he fumed.

Bea Arthur had a knack for playing strong-willed characters on-screen – a trait that she had in real life, too. Indeed, the Golden Girls star was one of the first women to sign up to the U.S. Marine Corps’ Women Reserves during World War II. And fittingly, Arthur’s service evaluation described her as “argumentative” and “over-aggressive.”

Hailed as the “King of insult comedy,” Don Rickles made his fame throwing barbs at the rich and famous. We don’t know how well his caustic gags would have gone down with his fellow sailors, however, when he served on a torpedo boat in World War II. Enlisting after high school, Rickles remained in the Navy until 1946.

As mean in real life as he was in the movies, Charles Bronson had the military decorations to back up his macho persona. During World War II, the Death Wish star flew 25 missions as the gunner in a B-29 bomber. On one mission, Bronson was wounded; as a result the surly actor later received a Purple Heart.

As a guitarist, Jimi Hendrix remains unparalleled. But as a soldier, this pioneering musician really fell below the mark. Enlisting in the Army to avoid a jail sentence in 1961, Hendrix proved to be unskilled, disorganized and more inclined to playing guitar over performing his actual duties. When the musician suffered an ankle injury 13 months into his service, his superiors had no problem discharging him.

Despite gaining fame as the gun-toting James Bond, in truth Roger Moore always despised firearms. Luckily, the actor rarely had a rifle in his hand during his mandatory National Service in the mid-1940s. In fact, the thespian – who was stationed in the Combined Services Entertainment wing of the British Army – spent some of his time acting in radio plays which were broadcast to his fellow troops.

Although Drew Carey may seem like a mild-mannered comedian, he actually has a long history in the military. In 1980 The Price Is Right TV host signed up to the Marine Corps Reserves, in which he served until 1986. But while his army days are indeed behind him, the star’s trademark crew-cut remains a reminder of his time in the service.

A universally beloved performer, Johnny Carson gained the confidence to enter showbiz after entertaining the U.S. Navy’s top brass. While stationed in Guam in the aftermath of World War II, the host met Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal and promptly showed him some card tricks. According to biographer Paul Corkery, the stoic superior’s bemused reaction convinced Carson that he could put a smile on anyone’s face.

Before becoming a country music icon, Johnny Cash was a talented U.S. Air Force Morse Code operator. And this led to him becoming strangely involved in a pivotal moment of world history. Following the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953, Cash – then stationed in West Germany – intercepted and decoded the communiqué announcing the news. Consequently, he became the first American to learn of the Soviet dictator’s passing.

Like many men his age, Bob Barker enlisted in the military – specifically the Naval Reserves – during World War II. And though The Price Is Right legend trained as a fighter pilot for 18 months, the conflict ended before he could be deployed. “When the enemy heard I was headed for the Pacific, they surrendered,” Barker joked in his 2009 autobiography.

Made famous by 1987’s Good Morning, Vietnam, AVFN was an important fixture of G.I.s’ lives during this Southeast Asian conflict. And Pat Sajak – who served as a DJ in Vietnam prior to his Wheel Of Fortune fame – was one of the radio station’s regular voices. “My time in the military… [is] among those things in my life of which I’m most proud,” he wrote in an article for armed forces entertainment charity USO in 2014.

The word “rebellious” seems as though it was made specifically for iconic actor Steve McQueen. And true to his on-screen persona, the “King of Cool” was a rule-breaker in real life. While serving in the Marines in the late 1940s, McQueen spent time in the brig for a two-week desertion of duty. His reason for being AWOL? He had been visiting his girlfriend, of course.

Born into a family with a tradition of military service, Kris Kristofferson naturally followed his forebears and enlisted in the Army in the 1960s. But despite his history as a Ranger, the singer has no love of warfare or those in charge of it. “I identify with [the troops],” the singer reportedly said. “But I sure as hell don’t identify with the ******** who sent them over there.”

It goes without saying that Arnold Schwarzenegger takes bodybuilding very seriously. So much so, in fact, that he even served time in a military jail because of it. During his National Service with the Austrian Army in 1965, Schwarzenegger snuck out into neighboring Germany one night to compete in a bodybuilding competition. Upon his return, he was rewarded with three days in the brig.

Following the United States’ entry into World War II, Jimmy Stewart went to great lengths to serve his country. To this end, the future Vertigo star bulked up to meet the military’s weight requirements; he eventually flew 20 risky combat missions during his time in the U.S. Army Air Corps (later the U.S. Army Air Forces).

Few soldiers can admit to experiencing war in the same way as Christopher Lee, nor to having seen things that made the terror of the horror icon’s many movies look virtually benign. During World War II, the late actor served in the British Army’s Special Air Service and performed covert operations in enemy territory. Lee almost died twice during these missions which – as he would admit to The Telegraph in 2011 – left him with “enough horror to last [him] a lifetime.”

Before he became immortalized as Star Trek’s pacifistic Spock, Leonard Nimoy spent a year and a half as a soldier in the U.S. Army Reserve. And the future star was quite the overachiever while in service: not only did he rise through the ranks to become technician third grade, but he also used his time in the military to hone his theater skills by regularly writing and performing stage shows.

Like his Star Trek co-star Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan – a.k.a. Scotty – also had a military past before finding fame. In fact, after the one-time actor joined the Royal Canadian Artillery during World War II, he participated in a D-Day mission, during which he was shot six times. Strangely, though, it was a trigger-happy comrade and not the enemy who fired the offending rounds at the lieutenant.

He may star in hit comedies like 21 Jump Street today, but Rob Riggle hasn’t always been cracking wise on screen. A sense of humor, however, may have served him well as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps: Riggle saw combat in Afghanistan, Liberia and Kosovo during the near-decade that he spent on active duty. He officially retired from the Marines in 2013.

Influenced by the war films of his youth, in 1955 Morgan Freeman enlisted in the USAF, where he trained as a fighter pilot. However, the Dark Knight star quickly tired of the role and quit in 1959. “It took me a year and a half to get disabused of my romantic notions about it,” Freeman would go on to explain to Interview magazine in 1996.

Known for his bad boy attitude and piercing blue eyes, Paul Newman was one of Hollywood’s most famed actors. Prior to his legendary screen career, though, the Butch Cassidy star served as a gunner in the U.S. Navy throughout World War II. And, for his service, Newman earned decorations including the prestigious Combat Action Ribbon.

Though he’s played his fair share of maverick characters on screen, Harvey Keitel actually started his career in the disciplined world of the U.S. Marine Corps. The Reservoir Dogs star enlisted shortly after graduating high school and saw active service in Lebanon – an experience that would go on to shape his personal philosophy on taking risks in life.

Some people fit perfectly into the throes of military life; not Gene Hackman, however, who by his own account was a terrible U.S. Marine. Only 16 at the time of his enlistment, the French Connection star – who served from 1947 to 1951 – often abandoned his post and was demoted three times as a result.

Mel Brooks is well known for satirizing Adolf Hitler in comedies like The Producers, but before finding fame he was fighting the Nazis for real. As a combatant in the U.S. Army, Brooks served as an engineer in the Battle of the Bulge and reportedly countered the Nazi propaganda that was blasted out throughout Germany by playing Jewish entertainer Al Jolson through his own handmade set of speakers.

Undoubtedly one of the most badass film stars on the planet, Chuck Norris is utterly deserving of his fearsome reputation. That’s not only because the star has several fighting titles to his name, but because he also served in the USAF between 1958 and 1962. During this time, Norris became acquainted with the Korean martial arts that would help make him a star.

Like many of his Hollywood contemporaries, Charlton Heston enlisted in the military during World War II and would become an aerial gunner and radio operator in the U.S. Air Force. However, the Planet of the Apes star’s military service goes way beyond this conflict. In fact, Heston held the United States’ highest level of military clearance after narrating confidential films on nuclear safety.

Tom Selleck became well known in the ’80s thanks to Magnum P.I, but the mustachioed actor could have found fame sooner if it hadn’t have been for the Vietnam War. Upon the conflict’s outbreak in 1967, moreover, the California National Guard drafted Selleck – which led to Twentieth Century Fox canceling a lucrative contract that could have seen the future star break through earlier than he did.

Although Clark Gable was 40 years old when the U.S. entered World War II, the star nevertheless requested to be put in active combat. And despite a strongly worded telegram from Franklin D. Roosevelt urging the Gone with the Wind actor to “stay where you are,” Gable was eventually granted his wish and acted as an observer-gunner in the U.S. Air Force.

Before he was following the orders of the evil empire in Star Wars, Adam Driver was serving a more noble cause. Following the September 11 attacks, the Kylo Ren actor trained as a mortar operator with the U.S. Marines. Unfortunately, however, a broken sternum led to Driver’s discharge just days before he was due to leave for his first tour of duty.

Just like his famous on-screen alter ego James Bond, Sean Connery spent time in the service of Queen and country. In 1946, a 16-year-old Connery committed himself to a seven-year stint with the Royal Navy, although a bout of stomach ulcers led to his dismissal when he was just three years in to his contract.

Alec Guinness is best known nowadays for his portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, but he was already a respected stage actor when World War II broke out. Henceforth, in 1941 the star joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, where he courageously headed up an assault vessel in the invasions of Normandy, Sicily and Elbe.

After being called up for national service at the age of 18, Michael Caine joined the U.K.’s Royal Fusiliers and went on to serve in the Korean War. And, years later, the star would reveal that he actually almost lost his life in the conflict after his patrol was discovered by Chinese forces. Luckily, the group managed to outwit their opponents and escaped unharmed.

In a similar way to fellow Hollywood star Clark Gable, Gene Kelly was dissuaded from entering World War II largely due to his popular public appeal. The Singin’ in the Rain star eventually made it into the U.S. Navy, though, where he reached the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade. However, the conflict ended before he ever saw combat.

As is customary in her native Israel, Gal Gadot was required to spend two years doing National Service in the Israeli Defense Force. During this time, the actress trained fellow recruits and fought in the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War. Importantly, this experience set Gadot up for her career in Hollywood and the rigorous training regimes required for films such as Wonder Woman.