Legendary actor Joe Don Baker might be best ed for his action movie roles in the 1970s, but his six-decade career saw him play a wide variety of unique characters. The Texas-born performer got his start in the late 1960s with an uncredited role in Cool Hand Luke, but would soon begin showing up in ing roles in action films and westerns at the beginning of the next decade. By the middle of the 1970s he was a bona fide movie star, and was often given top billing in many exploitation and genre films.

Though he would become something of a recurring punchline on the show Mystery Science Theater 3000, Baker's career continued to diversify as the decades wore on, and he found success on TV. Often bouncing between bombastic tough-guys and sleazy heels, Baker's true strength was that he could inhabit a character with a reality that many of his contemporaries couldn't muster. While he would never return to leading-man status in his later years, Baker could be relied upon to turn in a strong ing performance, especially when given a role that was uniquely suited to his talents.

10 Mud (2012)

Joe Don Baker's Final Onscreen Appearance

Though he ed away in 2025, Joe Don Baker's final performance came in the underrated Matthew McConaughey film, Mud, in 2012. The coming-of-age drama takes a page from Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer novels, but with a dash of modern cynicism.

Joe Don Baker is only in the film briefly in the role of King, a man with ruthless intentions who wants his revenge against the titular character. The appearance in the film earned Baker the only major award win in his entire career when he snagged the Robert Altman Award at the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards. While it might not be his most memorable part, it was a fitting role for Baker to end his career with.

9 Congo (1995)

Baker Plays Is In His Element As An Authority Figure

The sci-fi/action film Congo was a box office smash in 1995, though the reviews were mixed at best. Hearkening back to an older era, the film is reminiscent of the classic adventure films from the golden age of Hollywood, but with a dose of modern sci-fi cheese.

The actor had a talent for hiding his villainous characters behind his natural folksy charm.

Baker appears as TraviCom CEO R.B. Travis, who dispatches the second expedition to rescue his son and find the blue diamond. Though the script is poor to say the least, Baker is perfect for the role of the cynical CEO who is actually in it for the money and doesn't care what damage he inflicts. The actor had a talent for hiding his villainous characters behind his natural folksy charm.

8 Mars Attacks! (1996)

A Rare Comedic Performance From The Dramatic Star

Though Mars Attacks! isn't generally ranked among Tim Burton's best films, it's an interesting experiment that showed off the filmmaker's unique vision. Based on the eponymous series of trading cards, Mars Attacks! is a tongue-in-cheek parody of sci-fi films with a wicked sense of humor and an all-star cast including Jack Nicholson and Pierce Brosnan.

Starring alongside a young Jack Black, Joe Don Baker plays Glenn Norris, the father of Lukas Haas' Richie. Baker's performance is surprisingly comedic, and ostensibly parodies many of the "Good ol' Boy" roles he was known for playing in the '70s.

7 The Living Daylights (1987)

Joe Don Baker's First James Bond Movie

The first of three James Bond films that Joe Don Baker would appear in, The Living Daylights is also the first movie to star Timothy Dalton as 007. Continuing the series' trend toward cartoonish action and over-the-top fun, The Living Daylights is a standard '80s Bond movie that stands in stark contrast to the violence of its successor, Licence to Kill.

Joe Don Baker's three James Bond movies include:

The role of Brad Whitaker is a ing villain in the film, but Baker is deft at giving the obnoxious arms dealer a lived-in feeling. Though there are those who think Baker was miscast in the role, it is that clash that makes Whitaker feel more like a real person instead of a strange stereotype.

6 Fletch (1985)

Baker Plays The Straight Man In A Chevy Chase Comedy

Based on Gregory Mcdonald's popular novels, Fletch stars Chevy Chase as a journalist with a knack for disguises who finds himself in too deep while investigating a story. The movie often slips through the cracks when recalling the best '80s comedies, but it was anchored by Chase's overwhelming starpower.

Chevy Chase returned for the sequel, Fletch Lives, and a third film was produced in 2022 with Jon Hamm in the lead role.

Perfectly cast as the straight man, Joe Don Baker plays Chief Jerry Karlin, yet another stentorian authority role that was right in his wheelhouse. While the part is utterly devoid of humor, Baker's performance makes Chief Karlin a believable figure in a film that is known for its over-the-top humor.

5 Framed (1975)

An Underrated Exploitation Gem With Baker In The Lead Role

Joe Don Baker's time as a leading man was rather short, and his 1975 film Framed is one of his most underrated outings from that period. Baker plays a bar owner who is desperate for justice as the entire corrupt system tries to put him away. Part prison movie and part redneck-exploitation epic, Framed was trying to cash in on the success of Baker's starmaking appearance in Walking Tall.

While the film itself is far from perfect, the gritty realism sets it apart from the usual action fare, and Baker's performance as Ron is dynamic and layered. The one-man-against-the-system formula was an important factor in many exploitation movies from that era, and Framed took things one step further by having some truly death-defying stunts.

4 GoldenEye (1995)

A New Bond Era & A New Character For Joe Don Baker

After appearing as a villain in The Living Daylights, Joe Don Baker popped up in GoldenEye as James Bond's CIA ally, Jack Wade. Helping to reignite the franchise after its longest break up to that point, the first Pierce Brosnan film brought back the explosive action and kept just a touch of 007's beloved campiness. Often considered one of the best Bond films ever, GoldenEye was certainly the highlight of Brosnan's tenure.

Baker doesn't appear for too long in GoldenEye, but his brief moments onscreen are filled with character. Spinning some folksy charm, Wade is the quintessential American counterpoint to Bond's suave British agent. Unlike earlier characters (such as Sheriff J.W. Pepper), Wade is exaggerated but still remains likable.

3 The Natural (1984)

Baker Plays A Character Based On Babe Ruth

The 1984 sports drama The Natural adapts Bernard Malamud's debut novel of the same name, and is generally considered one of the best baseball films of all time. Deftly balancing a magical realist tone and the usual cliches of sports dramas, The Natural has a lyrical quality that makes it a love-letter to the sport of baseball and its long history of tradition.

he is only given a brief time to make an impression, and The Whammer nearly steals the show.

Joe Don Baker appears in a ing role as The Whammer, a famous slugger who challenges Roy to strike him out. The Whammer is loosely based on baseball legend Babe Ruth, and Baker's performance really sells the arrogance of the fictitious version of the sports superstar. Like many of Baker's best roles, he is only given a brief time to make an impression, and The Whammer nearly steals the show.

2 Cape Fear (1991)

The Martin Scorsese Remake Features Baker In A Crucial Role

Martin Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear took the ideas of the original film and novel and made them even more nightmarish. Ostensibly Scorsese's first horror film, the gripping thriller features Robert De Niro in what might be his most deranged role as recently freed ex-con Max Cady. Hyperstylized and appropriately verbose, the film both pays tribute to the original, and tells its own version of the story.

Baker plays the role of private investigator Claude Kersek, who is hired by the family to keep tabs on Cady. Kersek is one of Baker's most complicated characters, and he is both a hero and villain simultaneously. While his fight against Cady is heroic, his bumbling methods and casual violence make him a sleazy example of the injustice that Cady rails against.

1 Walking Tall (1973)

The Film That Made Baker A Movie Star

1973's Walking Tall was the movie that made Joe Don Baker a household name, and his turn as Buford Pusser will forever be his defining legacy. Loosely based on the real life of the aforementioned person, Walking Tall is essentially a revenge film where one determined man takes on the entire corrupt system that has infiltrated his small town.

A key part of the 1970s redneck-exploitation boom, Walking Tall mixes action, drama, and comedy into a concoction that elevates it above many of its exploitation contemporaries. As for Baker's performance, he breathes life into Pusser and makes him more than just a cliche and exaggerated folk hero. A remake starring The Rock failed to capture the magic of the original, and there's a reason why Walking Tall will always be Joe Don Baker's biggest contribution to the art of film.