The next time you watch a comedy movie, see if you can picture the star engaging in fisticuffs with a criminal and taking down their henchpeople in a shootout. You never know: they could be Hollywood’s next great action hero.
It may seem unlikely until you realize that many of the best action movies and TV shows of all time have been led by or featured pivotal roles played by stand-up comedians or actors who broke through in funny flicks or even classic TV sitcoms. See for yourself by taking a look at some comedically talented actors who beat the odds by becoming action stars.
Will Smith
After initially coming to prominence as a rap artist, Academy Award winner Will Smith proved he had a charismatic onscreen presence as the star of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air cast in the early 1990s. In 1995, he was cast in director Michael Bay's buddy cop movie, Bad Boys, and, the following year, led Roland Emmerich's action-packed alien invasion flick, Independence Day. There would soon be so much more where those came from.
Cheech Marin
Along with his partner, Tommy Chong, Cheech Marin essentially became the face of stoner comedy, especially after co-leading the classic '70s movie, Up in Smoke. His career would take a turn when he appeared in 1995's Desperado, leading him to become a staple of Robert Rodriguez's movies, and, eventually, began portraying a type of character his roles from the Cheech & Chong movies would try to avoid alongside Don Johnson in the hit cop show, Nash Bridges.
Chris Pratt
By channeling much of the same comedic energy from his scene-stealing breakout role in the Parks and Recreation cast as Andy Dwyer, Chris Pratt helped make 2014's sci-fi odyssey, Guardians of the Galaxy, a light breath of fresh air into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His fun, heartfelt performance as Peter "Star-Lord" Quill also convinced Hollywood he was leading man material, opening the door for him to star in the Jurassic World movies and Amazon Prime's The Terminal List, to name a few.
Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd made his major motion picture debut in the hilarious high school movie classic Clueless before later hit comedies like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Knocked Up made him one of Hollywood's most sought-after actors in the genre. He found the perfect role to become inducted into the MCU in the form of Ant-Man, playing the shrinking superhero with the same everyman quality that made him an A-lister.
Michael Keaton
Because Michael Keaton got his start in stand-up comedy and had been best known for movies like Night Shift and Mr. Mom at the time, comic book fans were up in arms over Tim Burton's decision to cast him in his live-action Batman movies, Batman and Batman Returns. The Oscar nominee has since been regarded as one of the best actors to play the Dark Knight (if not the best) and would even return to superhero movies as one of the best Spider-Man movie villains, Vulture, in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Nicolas Cage
It is easy to forget that Nicolas Cage started out in comedies like Valley Girl and Peggy Sue Got Married before blowing us away in high-octane thrillers like Con Air, Face/Off, and Gone in 60 Seconds. Then again, it is also easy to tell that the Oscar winner has a comedy background from some of his action movie credits, including the three listed above and his even Cagier roles, like from Mandy and Willy's Wonderland.
Damon Wayans
You may have forgotten he was on Saturday Night Live, but you should surely remember Damon Wayans from his days on the In Living Color cast and from sitcoms like My Wife and Kids. Hopefully, you did not also forget about his roles in '90s crime thrillers The Last Boy Scout (opposite Bruce Willis) and Bulletproof (opposite Adam Sandler) or when he took over as Roger Murtaugh for Fox's series adaptation of Lethal Weapon.
Robert Downey Jr.
After lasting one season on Saturday Night Live, appearing in several '80s teen comedies like Weird Science, and earning his first Oscar nod for playing Charlie Chaplin, Robert Downey Jr.'s career would hit a snag in the early 2000s. Luckily, he would make an inspiring comeback after leading the 2005 noir thriller Kiss Kiss Bang Bang before kicking off the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the title role of Iron Man and playing Guy Ritchie's version of Sherlock Holmes.
Eddie Murphy
Many credit Eddie Murphy with single-handedly saving Saturday Night Live in the early 1980s, right before making his feature debut alongside Nick Nolte in Walter Hill's 1982 buddy crime thriller, 48 Hrs. Just two years later, the comedian led his own acclaimed action-comedy movie called Beverly Hills Cop, which made him Hollywood's biggest star.
Bruce Willis
In the mid-to-late 1980s, Bruce Willis was best known for playing David Addison on Moonlighting, starring opposite Kim Basinger in Blind Date, and appearing in commercials for Seagram, which is why audiences initially laughed when they saw him as John McClane in the trailer for Die Hard. However, the 1988 action classic would immediately skyrocket the actor to stardom and turn him into a top Hollywood action star, later known for leading thrillers like The Fifth Element, Armageddon, and Sin City.
Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx's stand-up career led him to join the In Living Color cast and lead his own self-titled sitcom before his Oscar-winning performance in the 2004 music biopic, Ray, and Oscar-nominated performance in Collateral the same year opened wider doors for him. He went on to star in more thrillers like Jarhead, The Kingdom, Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as Electro, and White House Down.
Alan Ritchson
One of Alan Ritchson's first major acting credits was playing doltish college football player Thad Castle on the uproarious sitcom Blue Mountain State before landing a small role in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, doing performance capture for the 2014 and 2017 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, and playing Hank "Hawk" Hall on Titans. The 6'3" actor's defining, star-making turn came when he was cast in the title role of the hit Amazon Prime TV show, Reacher, leading to his casting in Guy Ritchie's The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.
Lucy Liu
Lucy Liu landed her breakthrough role on the hit workplace dramedy Ally McBeal as Ling Woo. Soon after, she achieved cinematic stardom in 2000's Charlie's Angels, teamed up with Antonio Banderas in the 2002 spy thriller Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, and was cast as ruthless assassin O-Ren Ishii in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.
Bob Odenkirk
Bob Odenkirk wrote for Saturday Night Live for years in the 1980s before co-leading his own acclaimed sketch comedy series with David Cross called Mr. Show, which was his main claim to fame for years. However, he stumbled onto a new career path when he joined the Breaking Bad cast as Saul Goodman, who earned his own prequel spin-off called Better Call Saul, before leading his own action flick called Nobody.
Martin Lawrence
Martin Lawrence led a successful stand-up career that turned into a successful TV career with his hit sitcom, Martin, in between starring in movies like Do the Right Thing and Boomerang. In 1995, he played Det. Marcus Burnett, for the first of multiple times in Bad Boys and even went on to play a cop in a few more overt comedies, namely Blue Streak and Big Momma's House.
Ryan Reynolds
For years, even after starring in more earnest thrillers like Smokin' Aces and Safe House, it seemed like Ryan Reynolds' defining performance would forever be the title role of National Lampoon's Van Wilder, which paved the way for him to star in more raunchy comedies like Waiting... or Just Friends. However, that would change in 2016 when he led Deadpool, which is still very much on the side of silly but is also as action-packed as any other comic book movie.
Sam Richardson
Sam Richardson quickly became a favorite in the comedy landscape for his hilarious performances in shows like I Think You Should Leave, Veep, and Ted Lasso. He would later go on to impress audiences in Amazon Prime's action-packed time travel movie The Tomorrow War opposite Chris Pratt, as the lead of the 2021 horror-comedy movie Werewolves Within, and in Paramount+'s Star Trek: Section 31.
Keanu Reeves
As the star of franchises like the John Wick movies and the Matrix films, in addition to favorites like Speed and Point Break, Keanu Reeves is one of the most prolific action stars in cinema history. Thus, it is sometimes hard to believe that he is the same actor who, excellently, played one-half of the titular duo from the Bill & Ted movies.
John Goodman
John Goodman began rising to prominence on the groundbreaking sitcom Roseanne as Dan Conner (whom he would reprise in the revival series The Conners). However, he has managed to cover just about every genre you can think of throughout his career, including action films like Kong: Skull Island and Atomic Blonde.
Emily Blunt
It might seem like a stretch to call Emily Blunt a comedy star, but she did find her breakthrough film role with a hilarious scene-stealing performance in 2006's The Devil Wears Prada. She would later prove she could play someone with a rougher exterior when she starred opposite Tom Cruise in the thrilling time loop movie, Edge of Tomorrow, and in Denis Villeneuve's stunning Sicario.
Rick Moranis
Rick Moranis is one of the most treasured comedic actors of his time, from his days at SCTV starring alongside Dave Thomas as the McKenzie Brothers (who led their own 1983 movie, Strange Brew), to appearing in films like Ghostbusters, Little Shop of Horrors, and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. In the middle of those comedy classics was a role in Walter Hill's dystopian "Rock 'n Roll fable," Streets of Fire.
Bill Burr
Bill Burr used to mock the Star Wars movies in some of his stand-up bits, which gave The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau a funny idea to bring him into the galaxy far, far away. He cast the Massachusetts-born comedian on the series as a mercenary named Migs Mayfield, which Burr has since recognized as one of the highlights of his career.
John Leguizamo
Despite getting his start as a stand-up comedian, many of John Leguizamo's earliest acting roles have actually been in action movies, including Die Hard 2 and Executive Decision. In addition to more humorous credits, like To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar and the Ice Age movies, more thrillers would come his way, such as the John Wick movies and Violent Night.
Owen Wilson
Owen Wilson may be closely associated with comedies like Bottle Rocket, Meet the Parents, and Zoolander, but the actor has diversified his talents over various styles. He has even tried his hand at the action genre a few times, most notably in Behind Enemy Lines, No Escape, and Disney+'s MCU-canon series, Loki
Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks' first major show business breakthrough was a sitcom called Bosom Buddies, which led to roles in comedy films like Bachelor Party and Turner & Hooch. It was his Oscar-winning roles in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump that opened the door for him to star in intense dramas like the acclaimed war movie Saving Private Ryan and the sci-fi epic Cloud Atlas.
Val Kilmer
Some of Val Kilmer's most iconic roles include Iceman in Top Gun, Doc Holliday in the Western movie classic Tombstone, and the title role of Batman Forever. However, his breakthrough films were the ridiculous spy parody, Top Secret!, and the college comedy, Real Genius, in the early-to-mid 1980s.
Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis rose to fame as Jackie Burkhart in the That '70s Show cast and as the voice of Meg on Family Guy before acquiring A-list fame. Her action movie credits, namely the video game movie adaptation Max Payne and the Wachowski's ambitious sci-fi adventure, Jupiter Ascending, have not been her most esteemed efforts, but we will still count them.
Randall Park
Randall Park is best known for leading the sitcom Fresh off the Boat, his hilarious cameo on The Office as "Asian Jim Halpert," and for hit comedy movies like The Interview and Neighbors. He has also become a staple of the comic book movie genre with his role in the MCU as Agent Jimmy Woo and as Dr. Shin in the Aquaman movies.
Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf started making a name for himself when he was a teen as Louis on the Disney Channel original comedy series, Even Stevens. He went on to make a Hollywood breakthrough in the Transformers movies, which led to his roles in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and, eventually, David Ayer's 2014 war drama, Fury.
Malin Akerman
Before she became the first actor to play Silk Spectre II in live-action in 2009's Watchmen, Malin Akerman rose to fame in comedy movies like 2007's The Heartbreak Kid and shows like Children's Hospital.
Jim Belushi
Just like his late older brother, John, Jim Belushi broke out on Saturday Night Live. Unlike John, Jim achieved a brief career in action movies, such as Red Heat with Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Principal, and Oliver Stone's Salvador.
Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine was already an Oscar-winning movie star when he was cast as the lead of the hit sitcom, McHale's Navy. Eventually, he would appear in more earnest action-oriented titles, such as a made-for-TV adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front, John Carpenter's Escape from New York, and 2010's RED.
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