# I'm looking for examples of unusually short action heroes. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 29, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720 "2010-12-29T17:34:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/41 "2010-12-30T01:57:05Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Terry Pratchett’s work features a number of short people in action roles, but most are non-human (e.g. dwarves, gnomes, the Nac Mac Feegle). The only unusually short human character I can think of at the moment is Nobby Nobbs\* of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, but I don’t know that you’d call him a _hero_. I mean, he’s generally one of the good guys and has definitely seen action, but since he’s usually robbing corpses afterward then “hero” is maybe not the best description. > > \*His exact species has been questioned, but he does have a certificate from the Patrician stating that he is in all probability a human. [Lu-Tze](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu-Tze#Lu-Tze) possibly? The subject of Rule One: “Do not act incautiously when confronting a little bald wrinkly smiling man”. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/42 "2010-12-30T01:57:53Z")
Kyla writes: \> Buffy’s pretty short. IMDB says SMG is 5’4". The average height for adult American females is 5’4". The Amazing Hanna writes: \> Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in WWII and later a movie actor, was \> probably the closest thing to a real-life action hero there’s ever been. He was \> tiny - five foot five. The average height for adult American males at present is 5’9.5", so that’s not tiny. Furthermore, the average height was slightly less during Murphy’s lifetime. > **[Human height](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_height)** > > Human height or stature is the distance from the bottom of the feet to the top of the head in a human body, standing erect. It is measured using a stadiometer, in centimetres when using the metric system or SI system, or feet and inches when using United States customary units or the imperial system. > In the early phase of anthropometric research history, questions about height techniques for measuring nutritional status often concerned genetic differences. > Height is also important because it ... ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/43 "2010-12-30T02:00:55Z")
How about Chiun from Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins? Joel Grey is 5’5". ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/44 "2010-12-30T02:22:20Z")
[Cordwainer Bird](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordwainer_Bird#Cordwainer_Bird), alter-ego (and frequent pseudonym) of Harlan Ellison and the protagonist of his **Weird Heroes Vol. 2** short story, “The New York Review of Bird.” An exaggerated version of Ellison’s own public persona, Bird was exactly 4 feet tall, a master of Jeet Kune Do, and a literary vigilante (He would shove incompetent editors out of high windows, beat up bookstore employees for putting his book of essays in the “sci-fi” section, that sort of thing). Drawn by Neal Adams. Another obscure Marvel character (and another Neal Adams character) is Shadow-Stalker, a Japanese-American who was too short to be considered for Special Forces and went on to become some kind of ninja instead. This was a one-shot character for the b&w magazine **Bizarre Adventures** , IIRC. The story was totally overshadowed by an “Elektra” story by Frank Miller in the same issue. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/45 "2010-12-30T02:33:36Z")
Rorschach, in WATCHMEN, is 5’6"; he wears a hat and has lifts in his shoes when fighting crime in costume, but also wins a number of brawls against noticeably bigger opponents while in civilian garb; he’s said to have possessed _“impressive skill in the areas of gymnastics and amateur boxing”_ even before starting his superhero career, and generously helps along his athletic prowess with a brutal knack for using improvised weapons. In the movie, he’s played by Jackie Earle Haley – who’s the same height, maybe even a trifle shorter, and looks it on-screen. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/46 "2010-12-30T02:44:57Z")
Sylvester Stallone is often made to look taller than he actually is: [‘Expendables’ director Sylvester Stallone made ‘taller’ for movie’s poster](http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/08/02/2010-08-02_italian_stallion_is_boss_expendables_director_sylvester_stallone_made_taller_for.html) ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/47 "2010-12-30T21:06:18Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > Sylvester Stallone is often made to look taller than he actually is: > [‘Expendables’ director Sylvester Stallone made ‘taller’ for movie’s poster](http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/08/02/2010-08-02_italian_stallion_is_boss_expendables_director_sylvester_stallone_made_taller_for.html) :: shrug :: The OP specifically says that the thread is about the apparent height of the character on screen, not the actual height of the actor. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/48 "2010-12-30T21:11:32Z")
Danger Mouse! Although I don’t know if he was unusually short compared to other mice. ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/49 "2010-12-30T21:15:04Z")
Under Dog. Not only was he short, but he had to take pills to become a Super Hero (what a roll model he was to me as a kid!) Better living through chemistry! ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/50 "2010-12-30T22:34:02Z")
Tyrion Lannister from Song of Ice and Fire performs several heroic deeds, and is arguably one of the primary protagonists. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/51 "2010-12-30T23:23:43Z")
Gimli - You said Hobbits. Didn’t mention Dwarfs (Dwarves?). Mighty Mouse - Ben Stiller is only 5’6". So that means that Tugg Speedman, Starksky (of Starsky & Hutch) and Mr Furious are probably also short action heroes. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/52 "2010-12-30T23:30:57Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Gimli - You said Hobbits. Didn’t mention Dwarfs (Dwarves?). The reason I ruled out hobbits (and implicitly dwarves) is that I am looking for (a) human characters (and yes, I know that Hobbits are technically Men) and (b) characters who would perceive themselves as being short by the standards of their community. As I mentioned upthread, Pippin & Merry probably don’t perceive themselves as being short; they think Legolas & Boromir are giants. (Just as Harry Potter thinks that Hagrid is a giant.) > [@](#): > > Ben Stiller is only 5’6". So that means that Tugg Speedman, Starksky (of Starsky & Hutch) and Mr Furious are probably also short action heroes. 5’6" is short, but not unusually so. And again I meant the characte. I don’t recall whether, in the roles you cite, he is shot so as to seem taller, as Tom Cruise usually is. (I recall seeing him walking beside Ving Rhames in one of the Mission Impossible movies; the camera made it seem that they were the same height, which clearly they are not. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/53 "2010-12-31T06:36:09Z")
Scott Carey - The Incredible Shrinking Man Pat Kramer - The Incredible Shrinking Woman Tom Thumb Napoleon Bonaparte Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (I hear he was getting a lot of action at the Moulin Rouge) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/54 "2010-12-31T08:51:28Z")
Napoleon was actually around 5’6": > **[Napoleon complex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_complex)** > > The Napoleon complex, known informally as small man syndrome, is a syndrome normally attributed to people of short stature. It is characterized by overly aggressive or domineering social behavior, and carries the implication that such behavior is compensatory for the subject's physical or social shortcomings. Both commonly, and in psychology, the Napoleon complex is regarded as a derogatory social stereotype. > The Napoleon complex is named after Napoleon, the first Emperor of the French. Common... ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/55 "2010-12-31T10:09:29Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Was a big fan of Alpha Flight precisely at that period, and I absolutely dont remember JP Beaubier (note how the “gay” token is a French speaker) having AIDS. At the time he was not specifically revealed as being gay, and certainly not as having AIDS. JP had been gayer than a San Francisco Pride Parade since the beginning; it wasn’t something they harped on à la “Wolverine has adamantium-laced bones” since it would have sent the CCA into hydrophobic fits, but there had been enough clue-by-fours to build a whole three-story house. Any character played by Van Damme. In UniSol they specifically make a point of showing off the difference between him and Lundgren, but in general there aren’t attempts at making him look tall (or less-short). Stallone on the other hand isn’t any kind of tall, but except for the Rocky movie where he’s up against (again) Lundgren, I think they tend to “gloss it over” - not exactly make him look taller, but make him look less short. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/56 "2010-12-31T11:21:52Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Stallone on the other hand isn’t any kind of tall, but except for the Rocky movie where he’s up against (again) Lundgren, I think they tend to “gloss it over” - not exactly make him look taller, but make him look less short. Well, there’s also the Rocky movie where he’s up against Hulk Hogan. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/57 "2010-12-31T11:34:12Z")
Yoda ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/58 "2010-12-31T12:25:51Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > How about Chiun from Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins? > > Joel Grey is 5’5". Which is taller than the fictional character in the Destroyer series who is only 5’ tall (and someone you’d definitely want to be polite to). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/59 "2010-12-31T13:38:13Z")
Does Wall.E count? Also, how about Nemo? (from _Finding Nemo_) ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720/60 "2010-12-31T14:44:42Z")
Alexander the Great in Mary Renault’s _Fire From Heaven_ is an action guy-- less so in the remainder of the trilogy, not least because he’s dead in the third book. He was described as shorter than other boys, but I don’t recall if he was supposed to be unusually short. It looks like the consensus on his real life height is that he was of average height or slightly less. The Hero, played by Billy Curtis, from _The Terror of Tiny Town_ probably won’t count because everyone in the cast was short. Mighty Mouse clobbered taller foes. Non-human, though. Pixie from the Eternals was short. To a lesser extent so are Kitty Pryde and Jubilee, as in shorter than Wolverine if I recall correctly. Seems like Speed Racer was kinda short, but not freakishly so. Stealing from TVTropes: The hero from _Yu Gi Oh_ is short. [A stretch, he does his action by proxy, I believe] “Charles Manson is 5’2”." [No, he’s not an action hero, I just didn’t know that.] “Bank robber George “Baby Face” Nelson was a raving loony, with a whole keyboard full of Berserk Buttons, but the biggest one was his height: he was only 5’4”." “Attila the Hun may have suffered from dwarfism.” [Probably the best one I found and it’s a solid maybe, probably a tale made up by his literate enemies.] /tvtropes The tropes I found were [Mister Big](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MisterBig) and [The Napoleon](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheNapoleon). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-examples-of-unusually-short-action-heroes/565720.md?page=4)