Anti-heroes come in every shape and size and have been popular with audiences going back to ancient Greek mythology. Since the silent movie era, they have been a cinematic staple that has long endured in Hollywood. Contemporary examples we can’t get enough of include James Bond and Jason Bourne. Audiences get to live vicariously through these god-like symbols of skill and bravery, killing machines who live on the edge while effortlessly fighting the bad guys. They marvel at these creatures – as comfortable at the helm of a luxury yacht, cocktail in hand, in exotic locales as they are serving up brutal violence, outnumbered yet invariably beating an army of formidable foes, all the while offering up witty banter. And against the odds, they win, every time.

Conversely, everyday men who inadvertently find themselves in extraordinary predicaments have also been celebrated on the small screen. They are not trained CIA operatives or martial arts experts. In fact, judging from appearances, it would seem they’ve never set foot in their local gym. These captivating characters are mere mortals such as Breaking Bad’s middle school teacher-turned-head-honcho-drug-dealer Walter White, The Sopranos’ lead mobster Tony, or even Mad Men’s slick Don Draper. Their questionable morals notwithstanding, we can’t help but root for them. Though they are most certainly not caped crusaders, nor exude superhero abilities, they grab our attention by having us ponder ourselves in similar predicaments.

Now The Gray Man, who also goes by the name Sierra Six, is joining that prestigious anti-hero list. Our latest antihero ‘exhibit’ appears courtesy of Netflix’s spy action thriller, starring Ryan Gosling as a criminal-turned-spy, which the streaming giant hopes will prove himself worthy of his own franchise, like the Bonds and Bournes of the world. At a recent Netflix Q and A, director Joe Russo heralded The Gray Man’s being very much a product of his times. “This is a modern story. Bond is about 60 years old at this point and Bourne is about 20 years old. This film is connected in a lot of ways to some issues that are going on in the world right now.”

Current Bond Daniel Craig addressed the appeal of anti-heroes during a 2009 press junket. “If we think about films like the Michael Caine spy movies they were doing in the 60s, we’ve always had that interest and those movies always interested me. What I think is enduring about Bond is that he seems to know the answers, or at least he knows where the bad guy is, and he goes and gets him. It’s part of why we enjoy these films, it’s the escapism. That’s what I want to see in my Bond character. I want to see a guy who knows what he’s doing.”

Spy movies are a genre all their own and remain global crowd pleasers. While promoting The Bourne Ultimatum, in 2007, Matt Damon noted our enduring fascination with the subject, “Spies are everywhere. It’s the second oldest profession and I wouldn’t expect espionage to end, any more than I’d expect prostitution to end.”

Sylvester Stallone, meanwhile, whose name is synonymous with such beloved cinematic figures as Rambo and Rocky, seems to relish cinematic times before technology began steering storylines. While promoting The Expendables, about a past-its-prime group of elite mercenaries, in 2010, he said, “Once Batman Velcro-ed his muscles on, it became a different world, a different game. Once they put wires on, it’s a different planet. The action of my generation wasn’t a giant spectacle. It was done in very close quarters: one on one, man on man. Never man against beast, man against spaceship, or man against the world.”

So, what makes a good anti-hero story? Stallone has obviously given this subject some thought. “If you go into Greek mythology, it’s an extension of ancient myth where it was translated from father to son around the campfire, and then from tablet to written word,” he said during the same interview. “We need this concept.”