- Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), in In the Heat of the Night (1967)
- Popeye Doyle (Gene Hackman), in The French Connection (1971)
- Frank Serpico (Al Pacino), in Serpico (1973)
- John McClane (Bruce Willis), in Die Hard (1988)
- Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand), in Fargo (1996)
In chronological order.