There is nothing more iconic than a good looking leather jacket on a movie star. There are as many styles of jacket as there are stars, which makes looking good easy. From Marlon Brando to Keanu Reeves, leather jackets have been a part of some of the most incredible looking costumes ever. So, here is our list of some of the most iconic leather coats and jackets in Hollywood history.
Marlon Brando In The Wild One
This list wouldn't be complete without including the O.G. leather look on Marlon Brando in The Wild One. The 1953 film about a biker gang was not only a big hit in theaters, but it was a huge influence on society. From the outlaw biker gangs who took inspiration from the look to regular folks who saw the leather jackets as the coolest of cool.
Wesley Snipes In Blade
Wesley Snipes is the coolest-looking superhero in Blade with his iconic look in leather and sunglasses. Everything about the costume and the character oozes cool and defines Blade's renegade nature.
Arnold Schwarzenegger In The Terminator Movies
Leather jackets definitely provide a look for someone to say "Don't mess with me," and nowhere is this more true in Hollywood than when Arnold Schwarzenegger wears one in the Terminator movies. Starting with the first movie, he's usually seen in one and you definitely don't want to mess with him.
Rooney Mara In The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Leather jackets have always been a symbol of rebelliousness in Hollywood. In The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, it's the perfect look for Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) to portray both her anti-social nature and her tough exterior. You can't imagine wearing anything else.
John Travolta In Saturday Night Fever
In the 1970s, no one was cooler than John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. The strut, the hair, the dancing, and the leather jacket all made that possible. The look is so iconic that people are still imitating it today, five decades later.
Carrie-Anne Moss In The Matrix Movies
It's safe to say that The Matrix movies would not be the same if the characters were dressed in anything but the coolest and toughest-looking leather jackets and coats. From Neo to Morpheus to, of course, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) in her amazing looking long leather coat. It's just such an amazing bit of costume.
Brad Pitt In Fight Club
Not every leather jacket has to be black to look completely awesome. Tyler Durden's reddish-brown jacket in Fight Club has become one of the most famous looks in Hollywood. Of course, it's easy for Brad Pitt to pull off almost any look, but he might just look his coolest in Fight Club.
Hugh Jackman In The X-Men Films
Leather jackets have been used a lot over the years to depict both heroes and anti-heroes. Nowhere is this more clear than on Logan aka Wolverine, as depicted by Hugh Jackman in the X-Men and now in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Logan is anti-social to an extreme and his leather jacket definitely indicates that you don't want to pick a fight with him.
Olivia Newton-John In Grease
The costumes in Grease are amazing. Of course, the T-Birds' jackets are fantastic, but it's the leather jacket that Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) dons in the last act that looks the most amazing. She completely changes her look and the jacket is what inspires the whole thing.
Keanu Reaves In The John Wick Movies
Keanu Reaves loves to wear leather in his movies, but the brown leather jacket in the first John Wick movie is probably the coolest. It's great because it's cool as heck, but it's not too over the top for the retired assassin. It makes John Wick seem normal, yet completely cool and ready for anything.
Eddie Murphy In Raw
In his standup movie Raw, Eddie Murphy takes the cool leather look to the next level. Not only does he have an amazing purple leather jacket, he compliments it with matching leather pants. It wasn't the first time he wore a leather outfit on stage, he wore a similar red one in his first standup movie, Delirious, but the purple one in Raw tops the red one in every way.
Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Minds
Dangerous Minds isn't the best movie in Michelle Pfeiffer's filmography, despite having an amazing soundtrack, but for an actress who had a whole bunch of iconic looks in the '80s and '90s, her jeans and leather jacket look in the movie is one of the most memorable. It's a costume that tells you so much about the character without saying a word.
Steve McQueen In The Great Escape
It's hard to argue that Steve McQueen isn't one of the coolest stars in Hollywood history. Of course, you can earn that kind of praise without at least one leather jacket. In The Great Escape, McQueen's brown leather bomber jacket is the epitome of cool. Even when he is covered in dirt, he looks great, but it's when he's wearing the jacket that he looks his best.
Tom Cruise In Top Gun
In the '80s, there was no movie cooler than Top Gun and there was no cooler character than Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, played by Tom Cruise. The leather bomber jacket Cruise wore in the movie became so iconic and such a key characteristic of the role that when Top Gun: Maverick released its first teaser, the jacket was a big part of it.
Harrison Ford In Raiders Of The Lost Ark
There is something about a distressed leather jacket that brings authenticity to a character that few other costume pieces can. Nowhere in film history is this more true than with Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) in all of the Indiana Jones movies. The jacket, along with the hat and the whip, completely define the character in every way. Is there any other kind of jacket you could ever see Indy wearing? Of course not.
Uma Thurman In Kill Bill
There are a lot things that make Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill cool, but Uma Thurman's yellow leather motorcycle jacket tops the list. It's become an iconic costume over the years, and while not everyone could pull off the look, Thurman certainly does and everyone loves it.
Mel Gibson In The Mad Max Movies
As distressed leather jackets go, Mel Gibson's in the Mad Max movies is among the best looking. Looking into a dystopian future, it makes complete sense that leather jackets would still be part of the fashion. They are almost indestructible and have that classic look that almost no other piece of clothing has.
Joey Lauren Adams In Chasing Amy
This one flies a little bit under the radar, but it's an amazing look and deserves to be on this list. Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams) in Chasing Amy has a lot of "rock and roll" to her style and nothing says rock star like leather.
Samuel L. Jackson In The MCU
As Deadpool asks in the post-credits scene in the original Deadpool movie, "Did you expect Samuel L. Jackson in a saucy leather number?" Well, yes, frankly we might have, since Jackson, playing the cooler-than-cool Nick Fury often shows up in a fantastic-looking leather jacket in the MCU. It is something we expect (even if Deadpool wasn't in the MCU at the time).
Tom Hardy In The Dark Knight Rises
Great Villains are often in leather. In The Dark Knight Rises Bane wears one of the greatest leather coats ever. The fur-lined brown leather number is perfect for his character and it's a look that not every villain could pull off, but Bane (Tom Hardy) certainly does.
Halle Berry In Die Another Day
Halle Berry has a few iconic outfits in the Pierce Brosnan-led James Bond film Die Another Day and while her bikini may be the most famous, the red leather jacket she wears for a lot of the movie is one heck of a look too. Sure, the movie isn't the best Brosnan-era Bond film, but you can't deny how great Berry looks in her costumes.
James Dean In Rebel Without A Cause
Seven decades after his death in 1955, James Dean is still the epitome of cool. Though he only starred in three movies, his impact on pop culture is immense. His red leather jacket in Rebel Without A Cause is one reason why. Because Dean's career was so brief, we don't have a lot of "looks" from him, making the jacket that much more iconic.
Kurt Russell In Escape From New York
If you want to look cool and look like you just don't care about anything, a distressed leather jacket can tell a lot of people just how you feel without saying a word. Take the look of Snake Pilsson (Kurt Russell) in Escape From New York. Has anyone ever looked tougher, cooler, and more aloof in an action film? No, not really.
Sigourney Weaver In Aliens
Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is one of the most amazing characters in action movie history. Of course, that means she must look cool as heck in leather, and she does in Aliens. It's not her most iconic look, but come on, you can't deny how awesome it is.
Tom Cruise In Mission: Impossible
Let's be honest, Tom Cruise always looks good in a nice leather jacket, but if you're ranking his costumes by how good looking they are, the jacket he wears in the first Mission: Impossible is at the top. When he is doing his sleight of hand with the disc with the NOC list on it while wearing the jacket is one of the best non-action scenes in the whole series.
Peter Fonda And Dennis Hopper In Easy Rider
If you wanted to be a rebellious hippie in the late 1960s, a leather jacket was a good place to start with your look. Especially if you were on a motorcycle like Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda in Easy Rider. Fonda has a more traditional biker look with his black leather jacket, but Hopper's character goes for a sweet suede jacket with some awesome fringe. Both look amazing.
Anne Hathaway In Get Smart
Get Smart might not be the best movie that Anne Hathaway has ever been in, but her white leather coat looks fantastic in it. It's not the only time Hathaway has shown up in an iconic leather look, who could ever forget her look in The Dark Knight Rises, it is a unique look that you don't see in a lot of movies. Of course, she completely pulls it off.
Matt Dillon In The Outsiders
The greasers in The Outsiders are mostly known for their jean jackets, but one greaser, Dally (Matt Dillion) wears a leather jacket and he looks exactly the part in it. It's not the cleanest jacket in the world, we wouldn't expect it to be, but man it looks so cool!
Laurence Fishburne In The Matrix
Like many of the characters in The Matrix, Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) looks totally iconic in his leather duster. Sure it's not a "jacket," but there was no way we could leave it off of this list!
Jon Voight In Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy is a little bit of a forgotten movie these days, but it was a massive hit when it was released. Those who know, know. Jon Voight's suede jacket with the long fringe isn't a look everyone can pull off, and even in the movie it's not always the best look, but looking back, it's safe to say it belongs on this list as one of the best in Hollywood history.
Jason Momoa In Fast X
It's not hard for Jason Momoa to look cool, I think we can all agree. Still, in Fast X, that black and white snakeskin-looking leather jacket is simply amazing. It's not a look that anyone can pull off, in fact, many would look ridiculous in it, but not Momoa, not by a longshot.
Emma Stone In La La Land
Red leather is a fantastic look, though not everyone looks good in it. Emma Stone in La La Land isn't just anyone though. Stone just looks fantastic in the jacket and it, along with all the others on this list, has become iconic.
