Charles Bronson was one of fifteen children of a Lithuanian immigrant coal miner and worked in the mines himself before acting, which is visible in a face that had already been through something.
The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape and The Dirty Dozen made him a recognisable supporting presence, and Once Upon a Time in the West gave him Harmonica, a role of almost no dialogue.
Death Wish made him a star at fifty-two and defined the rest of his career, which he was pragmatic about. He was for a period the highest-paid actor in the world.