The legendary career of action star Chuck Norris started off training celebrities in martial arts in the 1960s. From there, he made the leap into acting, playing one of the main villains in Bruce Lee's Way of the Dragon.
Decades later, Norris has made numerous films and TV shows, though he might be best known as Walker, Texas Ranger. No matter where he appears, there are certain Chuck Norris tropes that typify his movies and TV appearances.
Often Law Enforcement
In most of his films, the characters Chuck Norris plays are frequently either a member of law enforcement or a member of the military. The plot usually relates directly in some fashion to one of those two professions.
This actually fits in well with his life before Hollywood as Norris was an Air Policeman with the United States Air Force. He is quite connected to that world.
Texas Ranger
One of the forms of law enforcement he is most notably connected with through his works are the Texas Rangers. This stems primarily from the role he's best known for, Cordell Walker on Walker, Texas Ranger. But that was not the first time he played a Texas Ranger.
In the 1983 film Lone Wolf McQuade, Norris played J.J. McQuade, a Texas Ranger who preferred to work alone but gets a new partner forced on him. That's the inciting incident of almost every 1980s cop movie.
Works Alone
While there are certainly exceptions to this, the characters Chuck Norris plays in his films frequently prefer to work alone. The action fantasy of the lone hero taking on multiple enemies is pervasive in this style of film and the work of Chuck Norris is no exception.
This comes up often when he plays a police officer of some kind, though his military characters also take the lone wolf approach.
No Nonsense
Chuck Norris films are not exactly well known for their humor. The characters he plays are usually no nonsense types who take the mission they're on extremely seriously.
Naturally, there are the occasionally dry cool wit moments that you find in most action films from the era but certainly not much in the way of comedy. His characters are quite focused on kicking ass and taking names.
Incorruptible
A Chuck Norris hero is always incorruptible. No matter what the situation, he cannot be broken or altered in his course. In fact, it's even unlikely that a character Chuck Norris is playing will even admit that he's wrong. But if you're going to rescue prisoners of war from Vietnam, you have to remain focused.
It comes down to the determination of an action film hero.
Almost Always The Hero
Chuck Norris is almost always the hero in his movies, rarely playing a villain. His characters are consistently fighting the good fight, taking on enemies of various types. Even in his cameo in the movie Dodgeball, Chuck Norris is heroic. There is one notable exception to his heroic tendencies, though.
Bruce Lee, his friend and fellow actor, brought him in to 1972's Way of the Dragon to play one of the film's villains, leading to an epic fight scene between Norris and Lee. If you're going to play a bad guy, it might as well be against Bruce Lee.
Fighting America's Enemies
Given Chuck's general worldview, it's no surprise that the heroes he plays frequently take on America's real life perceived enemies in film form. One of his most frequent enemies are the Viet Cong.
Norris played Colonel James Braddock in the Missing in Action movies, a series of Vietnam War films based on rescuing American soldiers who were prisoners of war or missing in action.
Uses Violence, Hates Violence
Possibly the biggest irony of all Chuck Norris films are his character's attitudes towards violence. While he often plays cops or soldiers well versed in the martial arts, those same characters would usually prefer to find a peaceful way of solving their problems. For them, violence is a last resort.
This mirrors Norris's own attitudes in life as he is highly against fighting in real life, and always prefers to avoid conflict. It might seem odd for someone who served in the military and is highly trained in multiple martial arts but that kind of control is both necessary and admirable.
So Many Roundhouse Kicks
When Chuck Norris does fight in one of his films or TV shows, you can bet that you're going to see at least one roundhouse kick. Whether it's intentional or not, the roundhouse kick has become Chuck's trademark fighting move. Well, at least on screen.
During the run of Walker, Texas Ranger, finishing the episode's bad guy off with a classic roundhouse became somewhat of an unintentional running gag. You can still find some amazing compilations of these moments on YouTube.
The Beard
When you want to talk about a defining trait of a Chuck Norris movie, you have to talk about the beard. In earlier films like Way of the Dragon, Norris is clean shaven and it just doesn't make visual sense. It's like you're seeing the man naked.
For the vast majority of his films, Norris sports an epic beard, which is more important than it seems. Most action heroes of the era are either clean shaven or sport 5 O'Clock Shadow. Norris is one of the few that consistently sports a very manly beard in most of his movies.