Top 10 Bald Dudes

Stylish, bizarre, and lovably creepy, John Malkovich and hair parted ways in the late 1980s, resulting in a full-on solar panel by 1990. Hair loss did little to hinder his career, however, as it only made him more... Malkovich. The actor - who once lost 70 pounds by eating nothing but Jell-O for four months - was typically cast as James Dean-types in his hairy days, but found that as his hair thinned out, his choice of roles bloomed.

As a former diver, Jason Statham had a late start to acting, not taking up the craft until he was 31. Prior to breakout roles in “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch,” Statham modelled for companies like French Connection, where spokespeople for such companies found that his slowly receding hairline and his short-cropped follicles made him look “normal” and believably masculine. The action star cites baldness as a blessing and claims hair never really suited him anyway.

Heartthrob, tennis star, and camera endorsee, Andre Agassi made heads turn when he showed off his own polished dome in the mid ‘90s. Beginning at age 19, Agassi was committed to hiding his baldness at all costs, including at the French Open. Then known for his long locks, Andre’s mane was actually an elaborate weave system that he accidentally compromised by using the wrong conditioner. With his hair threatening to leave, Agassi became more focused on keeping his piece intact than winning the match. Eventually, Agassi traded the lie for a razor and 11 minutes later was a new man.

In his pre-WWE days, Steve Austin was a baby-faced, long-haired virtual nobody, but his fortune changed in late 1995. Signing with what was then known as the WWF, Austin was first reinvented as The Ringmaster, and soon revamped his look with a smooth scalp, goatee, and a Stone Cold bad attitude. Far more than just tough-guy trimmings, the Stone Cold style also allowed Austin to put his hair loss against the turnbuckle and force it into submission. As popular as swilling beer, cursing, and being from Texas, the look took off in a way “the Hulk Hogan” never did.

The original bald-by-choice, Yul Brynner shaved his once dark and curly locks at the suggestion of Irene Sharaff, who was the costumer for “The King and I.” Brynner stuck with the look through the play’s stage run and its Hollywood film production and eventually made the look permanently his own. In a world of Brylcreem and fedoras, Brynner’s shorn dome made him an icon. So committed was Yul to the sleek look that he would actually wear wigs for roles requiring cranial coverage rather than grow out his own hair.

Mama said wear a hat. While not as openly hairless as the others appearing on our list, LL Cool J has been follically challenged since a young age and suffers from alopecia areata (are-ay-ah-ta) or spot baldness. This in turn led to his series of iconic headgear, including his once trademark red Kangol bucket hat. Although typically hat-free in his role as Sam Hanna on “NCIS: Los Angeles,” it’s rare to find the rapper naked from the ears up anywhere else.

Much like Steve Austin, Vin Diesel made bald not only cool, but down right bad ass. Balding in patches at a young age, the former bouncer opted to cut it off at the pass and shave it to the skin. Although he will at times rock a field of stubble, his naturally dark and curly hair isn’t making a comeback anytime soon. Free of his patchwork noggin’ blanket, Diesel is both faster and furious-ier than his fellow action hero peers and manages to pull off a tough, but likable persona.

Yippee ki yay, mister barber. Although he has come up with some creative solutions to his overall hair-lackage, Bruce Willis’ full schedule of kicking ass means he just doesn’t have time for hair. Often wigged in his movies, Willis has been proudly hairless off screen since the mid-’90s and has claimed his championing of the look is a statement against the hair growth industry. Typically bare-skulled in most of his more recent film roles, Bruce cites his hair loss as proof both of his humanity and that manliness comes from the heart, not the comb.

Others may have been bald before him, but no one made a shaved head as fashionable as Michael Jordan. Already a trendsetter with his Air Jordan sneakers, and knee-length shorts, when MJ began shaving his head in the tail end of the ‘80s, the rest of the NBA took note and many followed suit. Shaving his head to control early male pattern baldness, Jordan paved the way to the barber for fellow b-ball baldy Shaquille O’Neal, among others.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions.
- Ving Rhames
- Larry David
- Ben Kingsley
- Telly Savalas
- Mike Tyson

He may or may not have been the first bald captain of the Enterprise, but Patrick Stewart did it with an authority that was all his own. First losing his hair at 18 and bald by 19, Stewart initially held on to what was left of his side-locks by wearing a comb-over... that is until a friend held him down and cut it off. Stewart would later use his baldness to his advantage by transforming into an actor capable of playing older characters, as was the case when he began playing the 59-year-old Captain Picard at age 47.

Do you agree with our list? Who’s your favorite notable bald dude? For more aerodynamic Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.