Provided by Wikipedia Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. He was known for his roles in action films and his "granite features and brawny physique". Bronson was born into extreme poverty in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town in Pennsylvania's Allegheny Mountains. Bronson's father, a miner, died when Bronson was young. Bronson himself worked in the mines as well until joining the United States Army Air Forces in 1943 to fight in World War II. After his service, he joined a theatrical troupe and studied acting. During the 1950s, he played various supporting roles in motion pictures and television, including anthology drama TV series in which he would appear as the main character. Near the end of the decade, he had his first cinematic leading role in ''Machine-Gun Kelly'' (1958).
After this period, he returned to the United States to make more films, working with director Michael Winner. Their early collaborations included ''Chato's Land'' (1972), ''The Mechanic'' (1972) and ''The Stone Killer'' (1973). At this point, he became the world's number-one box-office star, commanding a salary of $1 million per film. In 1974, Bronson starred in the controversial film ''Death Wish'' (also directed by Winner), about an architect turned vigilante, a role that typified most of the characters he played for the rest of his career. Most critics initially panned the film as exploitative, but the movie was a major box-office success and spawned four sequels.
Until his retirement in the late 1990s, Bronson almost exclusively played lead roles in action-oriented films, such as ''Mr. Majestyk'' (1974), ''Hard Times'' (1975), ''St. Ives'' (1976), ''The White Buffalo'' (1977), ''Telefon'' (1977), and ''Assassination'' (1989). During this time he often collaborated with director J. Lee Thompson. He also made a number of non-action television films in which he acted against type. His last significant role in cinema was a supporting one in a dramatic film, ''The Indian Runner'' (1991); his performance in it was praised by reviewers.
