A year ago, nobody expected that Marvel Studios would cast lovable Parks and Rec goof Chris Pratt as Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, in Guardians of the Galaxy; at the time, Pratt wasn't a total stranger to the world of action - courtesy of a supporting role in Zero Dark Thirty - but he'd never attempted anything on the scale of Marvel's grand space opera, either.

Guardians opens today, and Pratt nails the physicality of the role, which spells good news for his future action endeavors (not only a Guardians sequel, but Jurassic World as well). Whether he's outwitting foes with guile, blasting down bad guys, or swinging prosthetic legs like baseball bats, Pratt is the real deal in every set piece, both big and small.

He isn't, however, the first actor to transition from a comedic (or dramatic) background to the muscular antics of action. Not to take anything away from Pratt - he's great! - but there's a laundry list of thespians who have unexpectedly decided to take up arms on the big screen. To prove as much, we've put together a list of our 10 favorite unlikely action Stars (in no particular order) for your perusal.

Will Smith

Unlikely Action Movie Stars Will Smith

The Fresh Prince got his start rockin' the house in one corner of his homebase back in the late 1980s before getting his own TV show (styled, of course, after his stage name); he also showed up on the ABC Afterschool Special and - believe it or not - hosted a 1990 documentary about Alvin and the Chipmunks.

So Will Smith isn't the type of guy you expect to go two-fisted, with guns blazing against a backdrop of explosions and mayhem. But then 1995 rolled around and he linked up with Michael Bay for the first time with Bad Boys - and in every subsequent year up to 1999, Smith used his considerable star power and charm to nail down leading parts in everything from Independence Day to Wild, Wild West.

He's kept up his action chops to this very day. Maybe he still shows up in a Winter's Tale or a The Pursuit of Happyness every once in a while -  and no matter what, he'll always be Uncle Phil's troublemaker nephew. But to this day, Smith insists on padding his filmography with the likes of Men in Black 3 and I Am Legend. Bad boy for life.

Kate Beckinsale

Unlikely Action Movie Stars Kate Beckinsale

After making her bones in the early 1990s by taking parts in ITV shows, Hallmark films, and various shorts, Kate Beckinsale landed the part of Hero in Kenneth Branagh's 1993 adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. It's quite the leap to go from obscurity to attending a premiere at Cannes, but Beckinsale managed to leverage her exposure into roles in films like Cold Comfort Farm, The Last Days of Disco, and 2001's Pearl Harbor.

But then an odd thing happened in 2003: Beckinsale, seemingly out of nowhere, did away with her cultivated celebrity persona to star as a gun-wielding vampire in Underworld, a slick Gothic actioner that ballooned into a four-film franchise. In between Underworld pictures, she took the opportunity to appear in Van Helsing alongside Hugh Jackman and a host of CGI monsters.

Beckinsale hasn't made a habit of showing up in action movies, so much; she's in the Total Recall remake, which came out around the same time as Underworld: Awakening, but she mostly relegates herself to dramas and occasional psychological thrillers (like the upcoming Stonehearst Asylum). But her flirtations with action always come as a jolt.

Keanu Reeves

John Wick banner

Whoa! Starring in SpeedThe Matrix and its subsequent follow ups made Keanu a fixture in action iconography forevermore; try thinking of him as anyone other than Neo, and you might be surprised at how hard it is to break away from that image, even years after those films had their heydays.

Before all that, though, we knew Reeves for his laid back surfer dude persona, and his early history with teen films, dark comedies (like Lawrence Kasdan's I Love You to Death) - and perhaps most famous of all, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. This was not a guy who looked, acted, or sounded like an action hero - and yet after Speed in 1993, he wound up assuming that mantle anyways, expectations be damned.

To this day, Reeves continues taking on decidedly non-action oriented projects - from rom coms like The Lake House, to the documentary Side by Side, to A Scanner Darkly - but he has remained thoroughly invested in the genre. (See last year's Man of Tai Chi, which he made with his good buddy, mentor, and former Matrix choreographer/stuntman, Tiger Chen.)

Matt Damon

Bourne 5 with Matt Damon - Pre-production update

Damon blew up 1997 with Good Will Hunting, a movie that immediately crystallized him as awards-level talent and made him into a big star overnight. That Oscar win overshadowed his roles in Chasing Amy (arguably Kevin Smith's most accomplished film), and The Rainmaker (arguably Francis Ford Coppola's last great film), in the same year.

So 1997 treated Damon well, and he parlayed his success into roles in high-profile movies like Saving Private Ryan and The Talented Mr. Ripley. But then a funny thing happened: 2002 rolled around, and Damon decided to try something outside his comfort zone. Thus did Jason Bourne arrive at the multiplex, kicking butt with gusto.

Seeing Damon play the amnesiac super-spy worked; his newness to action complimented the film's basic conceit nicely. Today, Damon A-lists with the best of them, but when he's not starring in pictures like True Grit, Behind the Candelabra, and Invictus, he's more than happy to sling guns in films like Green Zone or Elysium.

Scarlett Johansson

Black Widow Marvel Movie Netflix Series

Funny enough, the once and future Black Widow first drew wide notice for her talents in another comic book movie: the low-scale indie film Ghost World. Years later, after being menaced by giant arachnids in Eight Legged Freaks, she earned even more praise for her performances in Lost in Translation as well as The Girl with the Pearl Earring.

Somehow, her visibility only got her so far as a couple of Woody Allen movies midway through the aughts; after 2003, Johansson popped up in more support-focused roles, and in films that (with exceptions) never quite drew the same love for her that she became so accustomed to so quickly. She all but stole The Other Boleyn Girl, and she did well in Nolan's The Prestige, but something was missing. Maybe all she needed was a reinvention?

Johansson had dabble with action in Michael Bay's 2005 film The Island, but in 2010, she became part of the Marvel family with Iron Man 2, going from middling projects to blockbusting notoriety. Now, she's making a name for herself as a legit action heroine - not just thanks to The Avengers and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but side efforts like Luc Besson's Lucy.

NEXT PAGE: Final 5 Unlikely Action Stars...

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Liam Neeson

A Willing Patriot Movie Starring Liam Neeson
© 2012 EUROPACORP – M6 FILMS - GRIVE PRODUCTIONS. All rights reserved. Not for sale or duplication.

A Willing Patriot Movie Starring Liam Neeson
© 2012 EUROPACORP – M6 FILMS - GRIVE PRODUCTIONS. All rights reserved. Not for sale or duplication.

Irish maestro Liam Neeson busted a skull or two in his day before ever bringing his particular set of skills to the Taken series; he got his start playing Sir Gawain in Excalibur, and had a bit part in Krull, to boot. But Neeson defined himself as a dramatic actor through his work in projects like The Mission, Michael Collins, and Schindler's List. He had gravitas.

Now, he has a chip on his shoulder that he can only exercise by pummeling Euro thugs and parachuting a tank out of an airplane. Not that he doesn't have the odd Love Actually or Kinsey on his more recent filmography - but Rob Roy has gone from fighting English aristocrats to wrestling wolves. What gives?

Maybe it doesn't matter. Neeson still has time to lend his dulcet tones to The LEGO Movie, but more often  he's up to his elbows in action fare, including Non Stop to A Walk Among the Tombstones. Whatever issues he's working out by participating in these movies, it's working; that rumbling Irish brogue makes him a fearsome action presence.

Uma Thurman

Uma Thurman in 'Kill Bill'

Remember when Uma Thurman first began her professional career as a model? No? That's probably because she cut the indelible image of Beatrix Kiddo into audiences' brains at the end of a Hanzo sword with both of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films. Hard to imagine her on the catwalk when she seemed so at ease lopping off limbs and plucking out eyeballs.

Yet there was once a time when Thurman wasn't a vengeance-fueled martial arts master. Once upon a time, she played Venus in Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, starred in Dangerous Liaisons with John Malkovich (and the aforementioned Keanu Reeves!), and helped Timothy Hutton get his life back on track in Beautiful Girls.

Admittedly, she also took a needle full of adrenaline to the chest in Pulp Fiction, and she appeared in both Batman & Robin and the The Avengers film inspired by the UK series, so she never let herself be pigeonholed into one niche or another. But none of that prepared viewers for her transformation into a hardened killer (and desperate mother) for Tarantino's violent homage to kung fu and Western cinema.

Bruce Willis

Unbreakable Shyamalan Bruce Willis

You may be given pause at seeing Willis' name here; the man is practically the definition of "action hero," having established himself as one of the biggest action stars of all time through the Die Hard franchise and a slew of films ranging from The Fifth Element to The Last Boy Scout to Last Man Standing (to say nothing of The Expendables and Red).

But when the first Die Hard film came out, Willis had credits on comedies like Look Who's Talking and Blind Date; TV shows like Moonlighting; and dramas like In Country. Even after Die Hard 2 hit theaters, Bruno starred in comedies like Death Becomes Her, Look Who's Talking Too, and Bonfire of the Vanities.

It's wasn't until the mid to late 90s that Willis really came into his own as a big-screen tough guy - not just in generic action films but also in films like Pulp Fiction. Today, it's almost impossible to distinguish him from his action persona, but there was a time when the very idea of putting Willis in such a film would have been laughable.

Nicolas Cage

The Runner Nicolas Cage First Trailer and Poster

It's easy to imagine an alternative timeline where Nicholas Cage never stars in The Rock and devotes his whole career to making comedies like Raising Arizona, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Guarding Tess, Peggy Sue Got Married, and Vampire's Kiss (among many, many others); he's probably closer to Chris Pratt than anyone else on this list, just for sheer volume of comic titles on his resume.

But The Rock secured Cage's name in action annals, along with his follow ups, Con Air and Face/Off. Even today, he'll still show up in the odd Kick-Ass, Ghost Rider or Drive Angry; action films don't make up the bulk of his work, but considering where he got his start, the final tally is surprisingly high.

Of course, he still makes every effort to star in quieter indie films like Joe, eclectic offerings like Adaptation, thrillers like Matchstick Men, and oddball efforts like the very underrated Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. But forget about designations like "action star" or "comic actor": truth is, Cage is an enigma, hard to nail down.

Zoe Saldana

Guardians of the Galaxy - Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Chris Pratt

This list is about Chris Pratt and his Guardians fame, so putting him here would reek of being a cheap shortcut - but that doesn't mean we can't point to one of his many Guardians co-stars as a reference point. Zoe Saldana practically has the market cornered on mainstream sci-fi these days - chalk that up to her turns in Avatar and J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboots. She also happens to be quite handy in an action capacity, too.

The Losers and Colombiana didn't set the movie world on fire, but in each Saldana shows how capable she is doing action; as Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy, she just reaffirms her penchant for instilling her often morally grey anti-heroines with a mix of fiery energy and vulnerability.

However, her early filmography betrays her contemporary badassery. Drumline, Center Stage, Britney Spears' Crossroads... these aren't early indicators of a late-stage turn toward swordplay and hand to hand combat. And yet, here we are...

Conclusion

Jurassic World Chris Pratt tooth

There are a few honorable mentions worth bringing up to top off a list like this; after Zombieland Jesse Eisenberg's American Ultra (2015) will put him into an action mold, while Dan Stevens sheds his Downton Abbey persona in The Guest. Plus, guys like Adrian Brody will occasionally take part in films like Predators - movies far beyond their expected boundaries.

But even this list just scratches the surface. So when you're not lining up to see Guardians of the Galaxy this weekend, take a moment to think about your favorite unlikely action heroes and drop us a line in the comments!

Guardians of the Galaxy opens in theaters today. Be sure to Read our Official Review. For a more in-depth review, listen to our Guardians episode of the  Screen Rant Underground Podcast.