Bruce Campbell launched his career portraying one of the horror genre’s most iconic heroes of all time. Still, fans of the veteran actor will know that Ash Williams merely scratches the surface of the B-movie king’s amazing body of work.
Today, we are going to take a look at ten of our other favorite roles from Campbell’s legendary career. Because picking just ten was hard enough as it was, these roles won’t be further ranked and will instead be listed in order of appearance.
Jack Forrest
Maniac Cop (1988)
Campbell’s status as the king of B-movies comes from starring in such cult classics as Maniac Cop. Co-starring with Tom Atkins, Laurene Landon, and Robert Z’Dar, the film features Campbell as the policeman Jack Forrest. When a “maniac cop” begins killing innocent people on the streets, Jack comes under suspicion for the murders and must prove his innocence by stopping the real culprit. Fortunately, Jack proves his innocence by stopping the real culprit.
Sadly, Jack was killed off in the sequel, but given how Campbell portrays it, the death scene is entertaining.
Brisco County Jr.
The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. (1993-94)
Stepping away from the horror genre, Campbell has also proven himself to be a fantastic Western star based on his work on The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. The series, which starred Campbell as the titular bounty hunter, only aired for 20 episodes before it was prematurely axed by the network.
In the years since the series has developed a strong cult following, and the complete series on DVD has been a hot item for fans of the B-movie legend.
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On April Fool’s Day 2020, Campbell had fun with his fans by posting a fake poster for a Netflix revival of the classic Western comedy. Although it was a joke, Campbell also said he’d be up for doing the potential reboot for real if the offer came along. Can someone at Netflix please give him a call?
Autolycus
Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess (1995-99)
There’s no way any list of Campbell’s best roles would be complete without a mention of Autolycus. A master thief, Autolycus first appeared alongside Kevin Sorbo on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
Quickly becoming a very popular character, Autolycus would make several additional appearances on the show. He would also join Lucy Lawless on the Hercules companion series Xena: Warrior Princess, where the memorable Campbell character became even more beloved. He even got his own official Xena action figure, which is another excellent collectible for big Campbell fans.
Campbell and Lawless would later reunite for Ash vs. Evil Dead.
Surgeon General of Beverly Hills
Escape from L.A. (1996)
Because of his natural charm and charisma, Campbell has always been fantastic at playing the hero. In the ’90s, John Carpenter sought to highlight the other side of the Evil Dead actor by casting him as the villainous Surgeon General of Beverly Hills in Escape from L.A.
Under heavy makeup, Campbell looks rather unrecognizable in the role, and the sadistic nature of the demented surgeon is far unlike any of his other roles.
Jack Stiles
Jack of All Trades (2000)
Years after The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., Bruce Campbell would take on another lead role in a period series set at the start of the 19th century. Airing alongside Cleopatra 2525, the series starred Campbell as Jack Stiles, a secret agent on assignment on the French island of Pulau-Pulau.
Angela Dotchin co-starred as Emilia, an English spy, and Jack’s love interest. Many historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson, Blackbeard, and King George III also appeared and were parodied in the series.
Unfortunately, Jack of All Trades was axed in the middle of its second season, but as with Brisco County, Jr., it can be considered a cult favorite and can be viewed in its entirety on DVD.
Wrestling Ring Announcer
Spider-Man (2002)
When Sam Raimi brought the story of Peter Parker to the big screen for the first time, he called upon his pal Bruce Campbell to appear for a special cameo. After Peter acquires his superhuman abilities, he sharpens them in the wrestling ring by creating a masked character called the Human Spider.
As the ring announcer, Campbell is the one who coins the “Spider-Man” name for the web-slinging superhero, insisting on announcing him that way to the fans instead of the name Peter had given him.
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In Spider-Man 2 and 3, Campbell would portray different characters in other hilarious cameo appearances. Still, as the man who created Spidey’s superhero name, the wrestling announcer is perhaps the most memorable of the three.
Elvis Presley
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
One of Campbell’s most beloved roles was in the bizarre horror-comedy film Bubba Ho-Tep from director Don Coscarelli. Based on the novel by Joe Lansdale, the movie features an elderly Elvis Presley now living under a false identity in a rural retirement home. With the help of another patient who insists he’s JFK, Elvis must save his fellow residents when an ancient and sinister mummy terrorizes them.
Initially, Bruce Campbell contemplated reprising the role in a potential sequel in the immediate years following the release of Bubba Ho-Tep. That project was not meant to be, but most fans of Campbell still consider Elvis to be among Campbell’s most iconic roles.
William Cole
Man with the Screaming Brain (2005)
In 2005, Campbell showed off more of his creative side when he released the sci-fi comedy film Man with the Screaming Brain. Co-written and directed by Campbell, the bizarre film also stars Campbell as a wealthy businessman whose life is saved from an attempted murder when a mad scientist surgically repaired his brain using tissue from the brain of a dead cab driver.
Like some of Campbell’s other films, it’s a movie that has to be seen to be believed. Campbell’s performance will stick with you as it’s certainly one of the most intriguing roles of his career.
Bruce Campbell
My Name Is Bruce (2007)
Bruce Campbell would also direct himself in the meta horror-comedy film My Name Is Bruce, which saw the king of B-movies playing himself. The concept is that Campbell is called upon to battle a supernatural entity based on his work playing the good guy in various horror and sci-fi films. For big fans of the actor, watching the film is a very amusing and highly entertaining experience.
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Campbell has since teased working on a sequel, so let’s hope that becomes a reality, as a new adventure with Campbell as Campbell seems like it would be a lot of fun.
Sam Axe
Burn Notice (2007-13)
While the groovy one played Ash Williams for a total of 30 episodes of Ash vs. Evil Dead, it’s still Sam Axe that makes up Campbell’s biggest television role. When he joined the USA series Burn Notice, he co-starred with Jeffrey Donovan as the former Navy SEAL turned private investigator. With his charming charisma, Campbell added a lot to the popular series, helping turn Burn Notice into a big hit for the network by appearing in 111 episodes across seven television seasons.
Because Sam Axe was such a beloved character, Campbell was even given a solo go when he starred in the 2011 made-for-tv prequel movie Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe. While TV producers are busy rebooting every other classic show from the past, might we suggest a new Burn Notice spin-off series with Campbell back as Sam Axe? We can only hope.
