There is no hairstyle humanity wishes it could forget more than the mullet. Business in the front, a party in the back, the mullet is widely considered to be “a lowbrow and unappealing hairstyle” (according to Wikipedia). It’s hard to believe that there was ever a point in time when the mullet was considered cool, but the 1980’s were that point. The 80’s were a veritable mullet explosion in North America. Seems like every big star was sporting one, and, as a child of the 80’s, I’ll admit that I, too, had a mullet for much longer than I should have. So, since it’s Richard Dean “MacGyver” Anderson’s birthday today, and ol’MacGyver sported a pretty awesome mullet for a while there, I thought it might be fun to list off some of the most famous movie star mullets. Consider this the MacGyver Mullet Tribute List.
5. Wayne Campbell, Wayne’s World
It makes me really sad that Mike Myers’ movies have gone so far downhill since Wayne’s World, because back in the day, Myers was a funny, funny guy. His character Wayne Campbell was very much into rock and metal, and being that the character was created in the late 80’s for a short segment on CBC television which then became a reoccuring sketch on Saturday Night Live, Wayne also featured the classic 80’s hairdo.
4. Martin Riggs, Lethal Weapon 2 and 3 (especially 3)
Mel Gibson wore a mullet for both parts 2 and 3 of the Lethal Weapon franchise. It started small in part 2, but boy how it grew for part 3. Much like Mike Myers, Mel is another celebrity mullet-bearer whose career has gone significantly downhill over the past decade. I wonder if wearing a mullet puts a curse on you that doesn’t take hold under many years later. Incidentally, this isn’t the only time Mad Mel will appear on this list.
3. Jack Burton, Big Trouble in Little China
Kurt Russell is another star who has two entries on this list. While you might consider it cheating that I’m repeating celebrities, each of these entries is for a different movie, so I think that counts. Kurt wore a mullet in not one, not two, but THREE John Carpenter movies! He was playing the same character in two of them (who will appear later on this list), mind you. Being that Jack Burton from Big Trouble in Little China was a bit of a redneck trucker, the mullet definitely suited his character.
2. Mad Max, Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome
Here’s Mad Mel again, with the biggest mullet yet! Thankfully Max’s massive mullet gets cut off about halfway through the film, sparing our eyes from the ridiculousness. It’s kinda funny if you think about how Mel had a huge mullet in this film, had it cut off, and then grew it back in four years later for Lethal Weapon 2.
1. Snake Plissken, Escape From New York
Snake Plissken makes the top of this list because he’s a character that I still consider to be cool, even though he sports a big ol’mullet through the entirety of Escape From New York AND its sequel Escape From L.A. You have to hand it to Kurt: the man can actually make a mullet look good.
Honourable Mentions:
Joe Dirt, The Adventures of Joe Dirt
Solid Snake, the early Metal Gear Solid games
Stuntman Mike, Death Proof (more Kurt Russell!)