The 18 best unexpected action stars in Hollywood history

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There’s no shortage of great action stars—the genre itself can carry an actor’s entire career if they want it to. But as entertaining as it is to watch our familiar favorite, there’s something truly exciting about watching an actor deliver a top-notch fight scene you never expected them to do. Some of the stars on this list are household names today, but there was a time when few of their fans would have expected a wild gunfight or bloody brawl in their filmography. Whether they left the genre behind after a few excellent films or barely did anything other than action, these 18 actors delivered unexpectedly incredible action performances.

Bruce Willis

Before he became John McClane, Willis was a comedic television star and a reasonably successful recording artist (really!), but his breakthrough action role combined solid stunt work with an affable, everyman charm that went a long way toward making Die Hard as an absolute classic, even after all these years.

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Michelle Yeoh was already a superstar when it came to action movies, but her co-star in Everything everywhere at onceKe Huy Quan, was a wonderful surprise and kicked as much ass as she did. During his acting hiatus after work dried up in the 90s, Quan worked behind the camera as an assistant director and even a stunt choreographer.

Quan used this experience with astonishing effect in EWRAOwhere he played the role of Waymond Wang (and his many multiversal incarnations) so well that he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his work.

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Scarlett Johnson

Johansson’s casting as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow for 2010 Iron Man 2 was a departure from the dramas for which she was best known, such as The Girl with a Pearl Earring And Vicky Christina BarcelonaBut from that very first hallway fight, Johansson became the definitive Black Widow of the screen, managing to pull off some of the MCU’s greatest stunt scenes even when surrounded by superheroes.

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Michael Keaton

Keaton played primarily a comedic lead role before playing the masked crusader in Tim Burton’s Batman Movies. Some questioned the wisdom of this casting, but Keaton gave a great performance as Batman and was also a charming Bruce Wayne.

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Matt Damon

Who would have thought that Will Hunting could cause as much fury as Matt Damon when he took on the nickname Jason Bourne? The combination of The Bourne Identity And Ocean 11 Coming out in the early 2000s, Damon firmly established himself in the genre. Damon is now active in all sorts of genres (in front of and behind the camera), but we still love to see him back in action.

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Liam Neeson

Lead actor Neeson had already made great action films before Taken Premiere (see Sam Raimi’s Dark Man if not), but before that turning point in 2008, he was best known for portraying historical figures, romantic leads, and other more dramatic performances. TakenNeeson made a lot of great action films, including sequels, the survival film The graythe action thriller Non-stopand so many more that he could retire today and leave us with hours of great action to watch.

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Michael Cera

Michael Cera was the perfect cast for this adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s classic Scottish pilgrim Graphic novels, starting as a wimpy bass player who dates a high school student and slowly becoming a fighter as he faces off against the seven evil ex-girlfriends of his new love Ramona. The vivid images sold Scottish pilgrim against the worldbut the film would have been a disappointment if Cera’s performance hadn’t convinced us to passionately root for Scott.

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Uma Thurman

Thurman had already developed an impressive range when she portrayed the Bride in Quentin Tarantino’s astonishing two-part martial arts revenge saga, but she exceeded all wildest expectations when Kill Bill Her fiery rage in every shot drives Volume One to all-timer status, with Volume Two gives her character more depth and adds momentum to the tempo in a fascinating way.

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Nicholas Cage

We all know that Cage can do anything these days, but his move to the action genre from previous film roles like Moonstruck, Arizona JuniorAnd Leaving Las Vegas was a pleasant surprise for fans everywhere. Cage (and the audience) obviously had a lot of fun playing roles in these action classics like With air, Face Off, The stoneand current great films like the ultra-brutal thriller Mandy.

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Eli Roth

If you know Eli Roth from his brutal directorial work, you may have suspected that he could do this in the right role. Roth usually appears in his own films and had a cameo in Death Proof before taking on the role of Sergeant Donny Donawitz (aka Bear Jew) in Quentin Tarantino’s excellent alternate history war drama Inglourious Basterds – The Last JediFun fact: This role was originally intended for Adam Sandler, but Roth aced it (pun intended).

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Daniel Day Lewis

Did you know that one of the most famous drama actors of all time also directed a hard-hitting war film with none other than heat Director Michael Mann? If not, your next movie night is easy to plan.

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Bob Odenkirk

That’s right, Saul Goodman has action talent. Odenkirk is known as a writer of hilarious comedies and has made a name for himself as a dramatic actor over the years, but he shocked audiences by producing and starring in an excellent action film: 2021 No one. Odenkirk plays a former hitman who becomes the target of a crime boss when he beats up a group of drunken hooligans linked to the Russian mafia on a bus. You’ll feel every punch in this awesome bus fight, and that’s just the beginning.

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Emily Blunt

Blunt’s performance in 2014 Edge of Tomorrow was a great departure for the actress, and she seemed just as comfortable in the genre as her much more experienced co-star Tom Cruise. The next year, Blunt took on the lead role in the brilliant thriller Sicarioa phenomenal double blow of two completely different but equally brilliant action films.

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Daniela Pichler

Patel has acted in several thrillers and (infamously) played Prince Zuko in… this Avatar: The Last Airbender Adaptation, but his directorial debut Monkey Man is so promising for his future as a filmmaker. It’s unfortunate that no director gave Patel a chance to showcase his action talent before making his own film, but he has made the wait absolutely worth it with Monkey Man.

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Today it is hard to believe, but when Daniel Craig was first cast as James Bond in 2006, Casino RoyaleThe reaction from fans and press was quite negative, with Craig receiving unfavourable comparisons to the previous Bond, Pierce Brosnan. Craig’s interpretation of Bond quickly silenced questioning fans, with Casino Royale stands out today as one of the best James Bond films of all time. From the very first scene, in which Bond relentlessly chases his parkour target through a construction site, Craig brings an intimidating physicality to the super spy.

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Charlize Theron

Theron has always been associated with the action genre, with a great role in the American remake of The Italian job Back in 2003, but it’s safe to say that she achieved action superstar status since the 2010s, with her roles in films such as Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blondeand even the Fast & Furious Movies.

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Will Smith

What would the world look like if Will Smith continued to make music instead of Bad Boys And Men in Black Mid-90s? Although he still takes on roles in a variety of different genres, Smith is still such a lucrative action star that the Bad Boys The series is still running today and we couldn’t be more excited about it.

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Chris Pratt

Pratt was known as a lovable sitcom buffoon in Parks and Recreation, and then combined action with comedy in the perfect transition when he played Starlord in Protector of the Galaxywhich stands out as one of the best MCU films to date. One might think that Pratt, with his Marvel experience and subsequent projects like The glory seven and that Jurassic World Movies.

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