Louis Zamperini

If you don't know Louis Zamperini's name, you ought to. He is among the closest things to a real-life superhero that we have. The man's life tale is so amazing that you'd think it was all fiction if Tom Hardy or another actor played him in a biopic. (In actuality, a movie was made of his life, but Jack O'Connell portrayed him. Unbroken was the title of the film, which Angelina Jolie directed.)

He had a reputation for being a bit of a problem when he was younger, and was reportedly the head of a children's criminal organization. Nevertheless, by the time he was in high school, he had straightened out and was one of California's top student-athletes. He qualified for the Olympic team at the youngest age ever for distance running.

He stands out as a minor action star due to his involvement in the war. During the Second World War, while serving as a B-24 bombardier, his aircraft narrowly avoided running out of fuel on one mission before returning to the Midway Atoll. The majority of the crew was killed when his B-24 was later shot up by Japanese Zeros, but the remaining members—including Zamperini—made it back to base alive despite the plane having 600 bullet and shrapnel holes.

Zamperini's luck ended out in 1943 when his aircraft crashed over the Pacific. Three of the eleven crew members—Zamperini, the pilot, and the tail gunner—survived. Even after being strafed by Zero pilots who spotted the guys afloat, he still managed to survive despite being lost at sea for 47 days.

The Japanese Navy eventually discovered the castaways after they had drifted for an absolutely astounding 2,000 kilometers, and he was taken prisoner. Before being freed, he was imprisoned for two years and subjected to countless torturous acts. Later in life, he even sent his former tormentors a letter of pardon for what they had done.