Instead of making The Expendables 3, maybe Hollywood could consider putting together a soldier‑of‑fortune tale with an actual plot. Thankfully, history’s done all the hard work already. Here are ten movie worthy stories that belong on the big screen.

10 Xenophon

Ten thousand Greek mercenaries found themselves stranded deep in hostile Persian lands after their patron Cyrus fell in battle and their general was assassinated. The desperate soldiers chose the philosopher‑soldier Xenophon to guide them home.

Rather than take the long, familiar route, Xenophon steered the Ten Thousand northward toward the Black Sea, crossing rugged mountains, battling through Armenia, and navigating a tangled web of clan alliances. When the surviving Greeks finally saw the Black Sea’s waves, they shouted, “The sea, the sea!” That triumphant cry would make a perfect cinematic climax.

9 Memnon of Rhodes

Memnon, a Greek mercenary commander hired by Persian king Darius, first clashed with Alexander the Great at the Battle of Granicus, where his forces were routed. Undeterred, Memnon proved to be the only commander capable of slowing Alexander’s eastward march.

He abandoned pitched battles, instead fortifying strategic cities such as Halicarnassus. Alexander’s siege of that citadel turned into a grueling, Pyrrhic effort, buying time for the Persian side. Memnon later tried to rally Sparta and other disgruntled city‑states against the Macedonians, but a sudden fever cut his campaign short.

8 The Varangian Guard

From the 10th to the 15th century, Scandinavians who once raided the Byzantine Empire found a new calling as elite mercenaries in the emperor’s personal guard. Their massive axes and fierce loyalty made the Varangian Guard a feared fighting force.

If one story had to be highlighted, it would be that of Harald Hardrada. After a failed uprising forced the young Harald to flee Norway, he sought refuge in Constantinople, rose through the Guard’s ranks, and became its captain. When his request to marry the empress’s niece was denied, Harald seized the woman, fled with a hoard of treasure, and returned to Norway as a legendary warlord.

7 The Catalan Company

The Catalan Company began as a mercenary force hired to tip the balance in the War of the Sicilian Vespers. After that conflict ended, the Company sold its services to the Byzantine Empire, which desperately needed fresh troops to replace those lost to the Turks.

Victorious but increasingly insubordinate, the Catalans attempted to carve out their own kingdom within Byzantine lands. Their leader, Roger de Flor, was assassinated, and the Company was expelled. They drifted to the Duchy of Athens, where they were promised land and titles. When the duke reneged and tried to pit the mercenaries against each other, the Catalans united, defeated the ducal army, and ruled Athens for the next seventy years.

6 Patrick Sarsfield

In the late 17th century, Ireland became a battlefield in the broader Catholic‑Protestant conflict that engulfed Europe. Patrick Sarsfield fought for the deposed Catholic king James II during the Williamite War.

Although the Irish effort failed, Sarsfield’s tenacity forced King William III to sign a treaty that allowed thousands of Irish‑Catholic soldiers to seek refuge in France—a migration known as the “flight of the wild geese.” In France, Sarsfield and his men formed the Irish Brigade, serving the French monarchy across Europe while hoping for a chance to return home. Sarsfield fell in the Battle of Landen, reportedly whispering, “If this was only for Ireland,” as he died.

5 Rolf Steiner

Rolf Steiner grew up in Germany, ran away to study for the priesthood, and then abandoned those plans after a romance went sour. He enlisted in the French Foreign Legion, only to be expelled for sympathizing with Algerian insurgents.From 1967 onward, Steiner offered his services to various African rebel movements. He led Biafran forces against Nigeria with modest success, then helped Southern Sudanese separatists challenge Khartoum’s dictatorship. After being captured and imprisoned for three years, he was released due to poor health.

4 “Mad” Mike Hoare

Mike Hoare began his career as an accountant before World War II thrust him into the British Army, where he saw action in India and Burma. After the war, he turned his love of African terrain into a safari business, which became a springboard for a mercenary career in the Congo during the 1960s.

Hoare’s fame grew after he helped rescue European hostages in Stanleyville. His downfall came in 1981 when he attempted a coup in the Seychelles, arriving disguised as a beer‑drinking charity group. A customs inspection uncovered weapons, sparking a gun battle. Hoare commandeered a passenger plane to escape, later serving three years of a ten‑year sentence before being released.

3 Bob Denard

Bob Denard epitomized the shadowy mercenary archetype—multiple aliases, covert operations, and a willingness to support whichever anti‑communist cause suited French interests. He fought in the Congo, Algeria, Yemen, Benin, and Nigeria, but his most lasting impact was on the Comoros Islands.

From 1975 to 1995, Denard staged four coups, effectively ruling the archipelago through a succession of puppet presidents. A final, unsuccessful coup in 1995 with just thirty mercenaries led to his arrest and a brief prison term before he faded into relative peace, shielded in part by French special services.

2 Tim Spicer

Tim Spicer represents the modern, corporate mercenary. A veteran of the Falklands and Northern Ireland, he founded a freelance military firm that secured contracts in Papua New Guinea and Sierra Leone—both ending in scandal.

After rebranding several times, Spicer launched Aegis Defense Services in 2002. Within two years, Aegis secured a $300 million U.S. contract to coordinate thousands of contractors in Iraq, a storyline reminiscent of “The Social Network” but with armored SUVs. Yet the venture was marred by videos showing Aegis personnel targeting unarmed Iraqi civilians, further tarnishing Spicer’s reputation.

1 Simon Mann

Simon Mann, a former SAS operative, masterminded a plan—dubbed the “Wonga Coup”—to seize Equatorial Guinea’s oil wealth. He gathered financiers, recruited mercenaries, and plotted a route through South Africa to Zimbabwe to acquire weapons before advancing to the target nation.

The operation unraveled when Zimbabwean authorities arrested the mercenaries, and a small advance party in Guinea was captured the next day. The scandal implicated Mark Thatcher, son of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who avoided serious punishment. Mann received a pardon in 2009, and his escapade continues to attract Hollywood interest.

Our past is packed with vivid characters whose exploits could easily fill a Hollywood blockbuster. From daring sea raids to improbable fortunes, these ten historical adventures prove that reality often outshines fiction.

10 Historical Adventures Overview

10 “Lord” Timothy Dexter

Sometimes sheer luck beats cleverness, and no one embodies that better than 18th‑century Massachusetts entrepreneur Timothy Dexter. Born to a laboring family, Dexter received little formal schooling but harboured an unrelenting ambition to climb the social ladder. His first step toward gentility came when he married a well‑off widow while still apprenticing as a leather‑worker.

Dexter’s real windfall arrived toward the close of the Revolutionary War. By then, Continental paper money had plummeted in value—$40 in notes bought merely $1 worth of goods, spawning the phrase “not worth a Continental.” Wealthy patriots began buying these depreciated notes from penniless soldiers. Eager to appear prosperous, Dexter poured his entire fortune into Continental currency. When Alexander Hamilton later enacted his financial plan, Dexter exchanged his Continentals for Treasury bonds and emerged fabulously rich.

Legend has it that Dexter embarked on a series of absurd‑seeming ventures yet somehow still profited. One tale claims he shipped wool mittens to the tropical Indies, only for merchants heading to Siberia to snap them up. Another story alleges he sent coal to Newcastle during a miners’ strike, then sold the cargo at a premium. To flaunt his intellectual side, Lord Dexter authored a 9,000‑word hybrid biography‑philosophy tome riddled with missing punctuation, erratic capitals, and countless spelling errors. Its bewildering title? A Pickle for the Knowing Ones or Plain Truth in a Homespun Dress.

9 Howard Blackburn

Howard Blackburn rose from modest origins as a fisherman, first plying the waters of Nova Scotia and later Massachusetts. At age 24, a brutal winter storm blew his schooner far off course, forcing the captain to row back through icy seas without the protection of heavy mittens. Anticipating the danger, Blackburn curled his hands to keep them functional even as they froze. After five days of relentless rowing, without food, water, or sleep, they returned—only his mate perished, and Blackburn emerged having lost all his fingers and a toe.

Although his fishing career ended, the legend of his tenacity earned him enough renown to open a tavern that still stands today. Yet adventure called again in 1899 when Blackburn embarked on a solo trans‑Atlantic crossing aboard the Great Western, completing the voyage in 62 days. While others had made the crossing before, they still possessed usable fingers. Even at 72, on the brink of death, Blackburn was plotting yet another Atlantic trek.

8 Henry Every

Henry Every may not be a household name, but his swashbuckling feats rival those of any cinematic pirate. Dubbed the “King of Pirates,” in 1695 he seized one of the largest hauls in buccaneering lore.

Every learned of a Mughal fleet returning to India laden with gold and silver, protected by a formidable array of cannons and riflemen. To stand a chance, he allied with fellow pirates and ambushed the 25‑ship Mughal flotilla. Captain Thomas Tew, his partner, fell in battle against an escort vessel, paving the way for Every’s ship, the Fancy, to overtake the Mughal flagship Ganj‑i‑Sawai. After a fierce clash and a dose of luck, Every captured the Ganj‑i‑Sawai, plundering up to £600,000 in treasure and instantly becoming the world’s richest pirate.

The raid soured Anglo‑Indian relations, and a massive bounty was placed on Every’s head, making him the most wanted man on the seas. Astonishingly, he never faced capture or death in combat; he simply vanished from the record, and the whereabouts of his treasure remain a mystery.

7 William John Cavendish‑Scott‑Bentinck 5th Duke of Portland

Following in the footsteps of his forebears, William John Cavendish‑Scott‑Bentinck inherited the title of Duke of Portland and a seat in Parliament, taking up residence at Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire. Yet he became renowned more for his eccentricities than his political role, especially a bizarre paternity lawsuit that surfaced nearly twenty years after his death.

There’s little doubt the duke prized his privacy. Rumour has it his valet was the sole person permitted to see him; all other staff communicated with him only through that intermediary or via written notes. Moreover, servants were instructed to ignore him entirely, even if they crossed his path in the corridors.

This reclusiveness drove him underground, where he supervised the construction of extensive halls and tunnels beneath Welbeck Abbey. Among his projects were a concealed carriage passage all the way to the nearby station and a massive ballroom—though he never invited anyone to a party. Eighteen years post‑mortem, a widow named Anna Maria Druce claimed that the duke’s secretive nature allowed him to lead a double life as her father‑in‑law, Thomas Charles Druce, before faking his own death. The case spiralled into a decade‑long legal battle, featuring an exhumation, multiple perjury charges, and two individuals confined to an asylum.

6 General Gregor MacGregor

Gregor MacGregor’s life reads like a two‑act drama. In the first act, he served as a British Army officer from 1803 to 1810, fighting in the Napoleonic Wars and eventually rising to the rank of general. Afterward, he joined the Venezuelan independence movement, earning heroic status and full military honors at his death.

The second act reveals a different side: MacGregor attempted one of history’s most audacious cons. Returning to Britain, he proclaimed himself Cazique (prince) of a newly‑created nation called Poyais, situated near the Black River. He described an eight‑million‑acre paradise brimming with fertile land, insisting it needed investors and settlers to flourish. In an era when the Spanish Empire was crumbling, many saw Latin‑American ventures as smart investments, and MacGregor offered a £200,000 Poyais bond promising a six‑percent return.

MacGregor pocketed roughly £1.3 million from these bonds, but there was a catch—Poyais was a fabrication. The Scottish settlers who arrived found no settlement, and many perished. When the truth reached London, MacGregor fled to Paris, tried the con again, and was eventually arrested.

5 Sidney Weinberg

Hollywood loves a rags‑to‑riches saga, and few exemplify it better than early‑20th‑century investment banker Sidney Weinberg. Born one of eleven children to Jewish immigrants chasing the American dream, he left school at 15 to seek work.

In 1907, the 16‑year‑old Weinberg set his sights on Wall Street. He entered the imposing 43 Exchange Place building, knocking on every office door to ask if anyone needed a errand boy. His persistence landed him a janitor’s assistant role at a modest brokerage house named Goldman Sachs.

One day, Weinberg delivered a flagpole to the Sachs residence, impressing Paul Sachs enough to earn a promotion to the mailroom. He continued to work hard, attending business school on the firm’s dime. By 1927, he became a partner; by 1930, he ascended to CEO of Goldman Sachs, rescuing the firm from bankruptcy. He would hold that position for 39 years, earning the moniker “Mr. Wall Street.”

4 “Red Legs” Greaves

The saga of “Red Legs” Greaves reads like a novel from the golden age of piracy. Born sometime in the mid‑17th century to Scottish parents exiled to Barbados by Oliver Cromwell for their role in the Scottish Civil War, Greaves was sold into slavery. He attempted escape by stowing away on a vessel, only to discover it was a pirate ship under Captain Hawkins. When discovered, he was forced to join the crew, despite despising Hawkins’ cruel treatment of prisoners.

Greaves eventually challenged Hawkins’ authority, besting him in a duel and assuming command of the vessel. As captain, he was known for his merciful and lenient approach, and after a few successful raids he tried to retire as a plantation farmer. However, his piratical past caught up with him, and he was arrested for piracy and sent to Port Royal to be executed in 1692—the year a massive earthquake sank two‑thirds of the town, killing roughly 5,000 people.

Miraculously, Greaves survived the disaster, escaping by joining a whaling ship’s crew. He later became a pirate hunter, performing so well that he earned a royal pardon, allowing him to retire comfortably on a Nevis plantation.

3 Henry Cyril Paget 5th Marquess of Anglesey

Henry Cyril Paget, Earl of Uxbridge and 5th Marquess of Anglesey, lived a life that could put 1970s glam rock stars to shame. At 23, he inherited a title, a sprawling estate called Plas Newydd, and a considerable fortune. By 27, however, his wealth evaporated, and he died at 29 in 1905, heavily indebted.

Paget epitomised the “live fast, die young” credo, preferring to squander his money on lavish jewellery and extravagant clothing. His typical outfit featured a sumptuous dressing gown from French tailor Charvet, lavishly adorned with jewels and a flamboyant headdress or tiara—often worn only once. When debtors auctioned his possessions, they uncovered over a hundred bath gowns alone.

A patron of the performing arts, Paget transformed his home chapel into a theatre, hiring a premier acting troupe to stage productions where he starred as the lead. His signature performance was a sensual, snake‑like dance that earned him the nickname “the Dancing Marquess.” Rumours swirled about his sexuality, but his six‑week‑married ex‑wife dismissed them, claiming the only person he ever truly loved was himself.

2 Julie d’Aubigny Mademoiselle de Maupin

Few artists have led a life as electrifying as 17th‑century opera singer Julie d’Aubigny, better known as Mademoiselle de Maupin. Her early years were a whirlwind of duels and amorous escapades as she roamed the French countryside in search of adventure.

In 1687, at just 14, Maupin fled Paris with fencing master Sérannes, staging singing and dueling exhibitions to earn a living. When she grew weary of Sérannes, she entered a passionate affair with a young woman, who was promptly sent to a convent by her family. Determined, Maupin infiltrated the convent as a postulant, then set fire to her lover’s room, faking her death by leaving the body of a recently deceased nun behind. This ruse extended their romance for several months before Maupin, bored again, moved on.

Eventually, she returned to Paris and rose to fame as an opera singer. Yet her flamboyant nature persisted. At a royal palace soirée, she attended dressed in men’s clothing—her usual attire—and tried to court another woman. Offended, three suitors challenged her to duels; Maupin accepted and bested all three, though she later had to flee Paris when dueling was outlawed.

1 Adrian Carton de Wiart

Adrian Carton de Wiart launched his military career in 1899 by abandoning college to enlist in the British Army for the Second Boer War. He was wounded in the stomach and groin, prompting his return to England for recovery.

When World War I erupted, Carton de Wiart joined the Somaliland Camel Corps. During an engagement, he suffered a facial gunshot that cost him an eye and part of an ear. He recuperated in England, where he adopted the iconic black eye‑patch that would become his trademark, before returning to the European front.

At the Second Battle of Ypres, artillery mangled his left hand, leading to amputation. Undeterred, he quickly rejoined the fight, this time commanding the 8th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, at the Battle of the Somme. His leadership earned him the Victoria Cross after all senior officers fell in combat.

Between the wars, Carton de Wiart spent time in Poland, surviving a plane crash. When World War II broke out, he eagerly returned to active duty despite being in his 60s. He survived another crash over Libya in 1941 and spent two years as an Italian POW. In his autobiography he quipped, “Frankly, I enjoyed the war.”