Tom Berenger Has Starred In This Action Movie Franchise For Over 30 Years

American actor Tom Berenger's breakthrough role was portraying the antagonist Sgt. Barnes in Oliver Stone's 1986 Vietnam War epic "Platoon," earning him a best actor Oscar nomination. His critically-acclaimed performance led to more starring roles in hit films such as Christopher Nolan's "Inception" (which scientists are trying to make a reality) and baseball comedy "Major League," and cameos in popular TV shows like "Cheers" and "Ally McBeal."

However, despite having enjoyed a lustrous 50-year career and being in his seventies, Tom Berenger isn't slowing down anytime soon. In 2026, the actor returned to our screens for the latest installment of a B-action movie franchise he's starred in for more than 30 years: "Sniper." The release of "Sniper: No Nation" marked Berenger's seventh appearance as protagonist sniper Thomas Beckett — and his first since 2020 — in an action franchise that has spawned 12 films to date, several of which are considered by experts to be the best sniper movies of all time.

Launched in 1993 with the release of the first "Sniper" movie, the long-running "Sniper" film series is made up of 12 b-action and war movies that primarily focus on Master Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Beckett (played by Berenger) and, since 2011, his son Gunnery Sergeant Brandon Beckett (played by Chad Michael Collins), who work as Force Reconnaissance Scout Snipers for the U.S. Marine Corps.

The first "Sniper" followed Sergeant Thomas Beckett and fellow sniper Major Richard Miller (played by Billy Zane, who played the bad guy in James Cameron's "Titanic"), on a mission to assassinate the Panamanian General. This was the only entry to be theatrically released, but received mixed reviews, with Rotten Tomatoes certifying the film as "Rotten" due to its 38% Tomatometer rating and Roger Ebert writing: "Sniper" expresses a cool competence that is a pleasure to watch. It isn't a particularly original film, but what it does, it does well."

While "Sniper" may not be as well regarded as the likes of "Die Hard" (which led to a real FBI investigation), that first movie has been followed by 11 sequels — all direct-to-video releases — which have seen Beckett and/or his son globetrotting to Serbia, Vietnam, and even Malta on covert operations that usually involve taking out terrorists, assassinating a tyrant leader, or being chased down by mercenaries.

Tom Berenger's titular character is the heart of the "Sniper" series. However, following the release of "Sniper 3" in 2004, the series didn't return again until 2011, and when it was revived for a new generation with "Sniper: Reloaded," it wasn't Berenger in the lead role but Chad Michael Collins, who plays Beckett's son, Brandon Beckett.

Since then, Collins has been the primary protagonist in the series, with Berenger returning for four of the eight entries since — "Sniper: Legacy," "Sniper: Assassin's End", "Sniper: Ultimate Kill," and "Sniper: No Nation" — for some father-son sniping action.

But Thomas Beckett was never meant to last past the first film, never mind 30 years. According to Berenger, the original script for "Sniper" included an untimely demise for the beloved sniper.

"In the original script, I'm killed by Billy Zane, who shoots me so I don't get tortured anymore, when I signal him," Berenger told MovieWeb in 2014, when asked if he expected to still be playing the character all these years later. Fortunately for "Sniper" fans, the ending was changed, allowing Berenger to continue reprising the role three decades later.