Bronson himself worked in the mines as well until joining the United States Army Air Forces in 1943 to fight in World War II.

During the 1950s, he played various supporting roles in motion pictures and television, including anthology drama TV series in which he would appear as the main character.

Bronson also performed in many major television shows, and was nominated for an Emmy Award for his supporting role in an episode of General Electric Theater.

In 1974, Bronson starred in the controversial film Death Wish (also directed by Winner), about an architect turned vigilante, a role that typified most of the characters he played for the rest of his career.

Until his retirement in the late 1990s, Bronson almost exclusively played lead roles in action-oriented films, such as Mr. Majestyk (1974), Hard Times (1975), St. Ives (1976), The White Buffalo (1977), Telefon (1977), and Assassination (1987).

[18] After the end of World War II, Bronson did odd jobs until a theatrical group in Philadelphia hired him to paint scenery, which led to acting in minor roles.

[23] In 1952, he acted in Bloodhounds of Broadway;[24] Battle Zone;[25] Pat and Mike,[26] Diplomatic Courier (1952),[27] Henry Hathaway's My Six Convicts,[28] The Marrying Kind,[29] and Red Skies of Montana.

[31]: 318 In 1953, he played Igor the sidekick of Vincent Price in the horror film House of Wax, directed by Andre de Toth.

[35] The Library of Congress selected House of Wax for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2014, deeming it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

[51] That year on television he played a lead in "A Chain of Hearts" an episode of the anthology drama series DuPont Cavalcade Theater.

[74][75] Harrison's Reports praised the film as "A superb Western, well-acted and crammed full of action, human interest, pathos, suspense, plus some romance and humor.

[81] In 1961, Bronson played supporting roles in William Witney's Master of the World,[82] Joseph Newman's A Thunder of Drums,[83] and Richard Donner's X-15.

[86] Bronson was nominated for an Emmy Award for his supporting role in an episode entitled "Memory in White" of CBS's General Electric Theater.

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the critics consensus reads, "With its impeccably slow-building story and a cast for the ages, The Great Escape is an all-time action classic.

Bronson was cast as Velasquez, a demolitions expert, in the third-season episode "Heritage" on ABC's WW II drama Combat!.

[109] On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the critics consensus reads, "Amoral on the surface and exuding testosterone, The Dirty Dozen utilizes combat and its staggering cast of likeable scoundrels to deliver raucous entertainment.

He was making Villa Rides when approached by the producers of Jean Herman's French film Adieu l'ami looking for an American co-star for Alain Delon, a fan of Bronson's acting.

Bronson's agent Paul Kohner later recalled the producer pitched the actor "on the fact that in the American film industry all the money, all the publicity, goes to the pretty boy hero types.

[134] In 1970, Bronson played lead roles in Richard Donner's Lola,[135] Peter Collinson's You Can't Win 'Em All,[136] Sergio Sollima's Violent City,[137] and Terence Young's Cold Sweat.

[142] That year, this overseas fame earned him a special Golden Globe Henrietta Award for "World Film Favorite – Male" together with Sean Connery.

[143] In 1972, Bronson began a string of successful action films for United Artists, beginning with Michael Winner's Chato's Land.

[148] He played Paul Kersey, a successful New York architect who turns into a crime-fighting vigilante after his wife is murdered and his daughter sexually assaulted.

[156] In 1975, he starred in the directorial debut of Walter Hill, Hard Times, playing a Depression-era street fighter making his living in illegal bare-knuckled matches in Louisiana.

[172] Bronson auditioned for the role of Superman for the 1978 film adaptation, but producer Ilya Salkind turned him down for being too earthy and decided to cast Christopher Reeve.

[174] For the 1981 film Escape from New York, the studio wanted him to play the role of Snake Plissken,[175] but director John Carpenter thought he was too tough-looking and too old for the part, and he decided to cast Kurt Russell instead.

It is a fictionalized account of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) pursuit of a man named Albert Johnson, played by Bronson.

In the holiday drama, Bronson plays Francis Pharcellus Church, a reporter assigned to reply to letter by a young girl, whose family is in despair facing a bleak Christmas.

[195] In 1993, Bronson was paired Dana Delany to lead in the CBS television film Donato and Daughter, directed by Rod Holcomb.

Two years later, with the grudging consent of her father, a successful, Jewish dairy farmer, Tendler wed Buchinsky, a Catholic and a former coal miner.

[221] On December 27, 1998, Bronson was married for a third time to Kim Weeks, an actress and former employee of Dove Audio who had helped record Ireland in the production of her audiobooks.