It’s 2013. Sylvester Stallone is riding a weird, nostalgic wave after the success of The Expendables. He decides to team up with Walter Hill—the guy who basically invented the modern buddy-cop genre with 48 Hrs.—and they make this gritty, neon-soaked, old-school action flick. But honestly? Nobody saw it. The movie tanked. Yet, when you look back at the cast of the movie Bullet to the Head, it’s a bizarrely stacked lineup of talent that really should have made more of a splash.
You've got a mix of legendary action muscle, rising stars who were about to explode into the DC and Marvel universes, and some of the most reliable "that guy" actors in Hollywood. It’s a snapshot of a specific moment in action cinema where the old guard was trying to hand off the torch to the new muscle.
Stallone as the Reluctant Hitman
Sylvester Stallone plays Jimmy Bobo. Yeah, that’s his name. It’s a ridiculous name for a professional killer, but Stallone leans into the grit. By the time he shot this, Stallone was in his mid-60s, but he looked like he was carved out of granite. He’s not playing Rocky or Rambo here; Bobo is a cynical, world-weary hitman from New Orleans who lives by a very specific, albeit violent, code.
What makes Stallone’s performance work isn't the dialogue. It's the physical presence. He’s bulky, tattooed, and looks like he’s lived through a thousand bar fights. He carries the movie. He had to. Without his gravity, the whole thing would have felt like a straight-to-DVD bargain bin find.
But he needed a foil.
Sung Kang and the Buddy-Cop Friction
Enter Sung Kang as Taylor Kwon. Most people know Kang as Han from the Fast & Furious franchise—the guy who is always eating snacks and looking cool while drifting. In the cast of the movie Bullet to the Head, Kang plays the straight man. He’s a Washington D.C. detective who has to team up with Stallone’s hitman character to solve a double murder.
The chemistry is... interesting. It’s not the instant magic of Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. It’s prickly. Kwon is tech-savvy and follows the law, while Bobo just wants to punch through doors. It’s a classic trope, but Kang brings a certain dryness to the role that balances Stallone’s mumbles. Fun fact: the role was originally supposed to go to Thomas Jane, who had actually worked with Stallone before, but the studio reportedly wanted more "ethnic diversity" for the buddy dynamic. It was a controversial swap at the time, especially since Jane had already started training, but Kang holds his own against a legend.
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Jason Momoa: Before He Was Aquaman
If you want to know why this movie is worth a re-watch, it’s because of Jason Momoa. Long before he was the King of Atlantis or riding motorcycles in Fast X, he was Keegan. Keegan is a mercenary. He’s a beast. He’s the "final boss" of the movie.
Momoa is terrifying here. He’s lean, mean, and incredibly fast. There is an axe fight at the end of the film—yes, a literal axe fight in a burning warehouse—between Stallone and Momoa that is genuinely one of the better choreographed fights of that era. You can see the raw charisma that eventually made Momoa a superstar. He wasn't just a "big guy" in the cast of the movie Bullet to the Head; he was a legitimate screen presence who felt like a real threat to Sly.
He kills people with zero remorse. He’s the mirror image of what Stallone’s character could have been if he didn't have a soul.
The Supporting Players and Villains
The movie is filled with faces you recognize but might not be able to name immediately.
- Christian Slater: He plays Marcus Baptiste, a corrupt middleman. Slater is doing what he does best—being slightly manic, incredibly smug, and totally punchable. He’s the sleazy white-collar criminal who thinks he’s smarter than the guys with the guns.
- Sarah Shahi: She plays Lisa Bobo, Jimmy’s daughter. She’s a tattoo artist, which is a nice touch because she’s the one who supposedly did all of Stallone’s ink in the film’s lore. Shahi is great; she’s tough and doesn't take her dad's crap, which adds a layer of humanity to Stallone's hitman persona.
- Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: You might remember him as Mr. Eko from LOST or Killer Croc from Suicide Squad. He plays the main antagonist, Robert Morel. He’s a high-level corrupt businessman. He’s sophisticated, cold, and uses his power like a blunt instrument.
- Jon Seda: Before he was a staple of the Chicago P.D. universe, Seda had a small but pivotal role here as Louis Blanchard, Bobo's partner who gets killed off early to kickstart the plot.
Why the Chemistry Mattered
Walter Hill directed this. If you don't know Hill, he’s the guy who made The Warriors. He understands that an action movie is only as good as the tension between the leads. In the cast of the movie Bullet to the Head, the tension is built on the generational gap.
Stallone represents the 1980s. He’s all about muscle, revolvers, and "eye for an eye" justice. Sung Kang represents the modern era—cell phone tracking, legal procedures, and forensic evidence. The movie spends a lot of time poking fun at how "old" Stallone is. He can't use a smartphone. He doesn't care about GPS. He just knows how to find people by asking the right (or wrong) questions in dark alleys.
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The Production Context
This movie was based on a French graphic novel called Du Plomb Dans La Tête. It’s a dark, nihilistic story. The film tries to keep some of that darkness, but it definitely adds that "Stallone Hero" sheen to it. When you look at the cast of the movie Bullet to the Head, you’re seeing a production that was trying to bridge the gap between international graphic novel fans and American action junkies.
It’s also worth noting that this was Stallone’s first lead role in a non-ensemble movie in a while. He had been doing The Expendables, which was a group effort. Here, the weight was on him. Critics were actually fairly kind to him, even if they didn't love the movie's predictable plot. They praised his "granite-faced" commitment.
The Legacy of the Cast
Looking back, it’s wild how many of these actors went on to massive things.
- Jason Momoa became one of the biggest stars in the world.
- Sung Kang stayed a pillar of the Fast franchise.
- Sarah Shahi led her own shows like Sex/Life and appeared in Black Adam.
- Holt McCallany (who has a minor role as a cop) went on to star in the prestige Netflix hit Mindhunter.
The cast of the movie Bullet to the Head was essentially a scouting ground for the next decade of genre television and film. If the movie were released today on a streaming platform like Netflix or Max, it would probably be a massive hit. In 2013, it was just another R-rated action flick lost in the shuffle of PG-13 superhero movies.
Realism vs. Action Tropes
Is it a realistic movie? No. Not even a little bit. The police work is questionable at best. The way Stallone recovers from injuries is borderline supernatural. But within the internal logic of a Walter Hill movie, the cast makes it feel grounded. They play it straight. There aren't many "winking at the camera" moments.
Momoa’s Keegan doesn't make quips. He just kills.
Stallone’s Bobo doesn't give long monologues about his past. He just drinks bourbon and cleans his guns.
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That lack of pretension is what makes the performances hold up better than the script itself.
How to Appreciate the Film Today
If you’re going to dive back into this one, pay attention to the background characters. The casting director, Mary Vernieu, clearly had an eye for talent. Even the guys getting punched in the background seem to have a specific "New Orleans" look that adds to the atmosphere.
To get the most out of the cast of the movie Bullet to the Head, you should:
- Watch it as a double feature with 48 Hrs. to see how Walter Hill evolved his style.
- Focus on the contrast between Momoa's fluidity and Stallone's sheer mass during their fight scenes.
- Listen for the score by Steve Mazzaro (who worked with Hans Zimmer)—it uses a lot of gritty, bluesy guitar that fits the cast's vibe perfectly.
The movie isn't a masterpiece. It's a "B-movie" with an "A-list" effort. It’s the kind of film they don't really make for theaters anymore. It’s raw, it’s violent, and it relies entirely on the charisma of its leads to keep the audience from noticing the plot holes. If you're a fan of any of these actors, it's a mandatory watch just to see them in a different light before they became the household names they are today.
Practical Takeaways for Fans
If you want to track down more from this specific crew, check out these projects where they show similar energy:
- Stallone: Cop Land (for his best acting) or Tulsa King (for that same "old guy in a new world" vibe).
- Jason Momoa: Road to Paloma. He directed it and it has that same gritty, low-budget intensity as his character in Bullet to the Head.
- Sung Kang: Better Luck Tomorrow. It’s the "origin story" of his Han character and shows his range beyond just being the sidekick.
The cast of the movie Bullet to the Head proves that even a box office flop can be a treasure trove of talent if you look closely enough. It’s a gritty, sweaty, bourbon-soaked reminder of why we love the action genre.
Next Steps for Action Movie Buffs:
Check out the original graphic novel Du Plomb Dans La Tête by Matz and Colin Wilson. It offers a much darker, more European take on the story that helps explain some of the weirder character motivations you see in the film. After that, look for the "making of" featurettes on the Blu-ray, specifically the segments on the axe-fighting choreography, which involved intensive training for both Momoa and Stallone to ensure the safety of the veteran actor while maintaining a high-speed intensity.