In Hollywood, romantic comedies or rom-coms are, undoubtedly, a big business. Sure, they don’t haul in as much as action flicks, sci-fi, or fantasy films, but the genre boasts of a sizable market, as evidenced by the box office performance of the best rom-coms of the last decade. Over the years, rom-coms have also launched several actors into true Hollywood stars. This may explain the motivation behind several action stars giving rom-coms a shot.

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In some cases, the gamble paid off handsomely. Meanwhile, there were also instances where the rom-coms (and the action star’s performance) were regarded as major fails.

Great: Liam Neeson

We get it. It’s hard to imagine Neeson taking on a less intense or less physical role. But it did happen. At least one time. Even more amazing, it involved the film Love Actually, which also happens to be one of the most romantic holiday movies of all time. Of course, there may be similar movies, but we are quite certain that nothing can rival the star power that this movie boasts of too. Aside from Neeson, the movie also stars Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Keira Knightley, and many others.

Terrible: Jeremy Renner

Renner may be associated with films from the Mission: Impossible franchise and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). At some point in this career though, Renner also starred in the 2002 rom-com Monkey Love about a young woman who ends up in a love triangle with her two closest male friends (one of them being Renner). Admittedly, this is not one of the Marvel actor’s best roles. Nonetheless, it can be refreshing to see a different side of Renner. Also, it would be interesting to see him take on another rom-com role in the future.

Great: Jennifer Garner

Garner rose to fame after taking on the role of Sydney Bristow in J.J. Abrams hit series, Alias. Not soon after, she also starred as Elektra in the 2003 film Daredevil, later reprising the role in the 2005 movie Elektra. For Garner, it seems action just comes naturally. Nonetheless, that didn’t stop the actress from also doing the 2004 rom-com 13 Going on 30 where Garner stars as a 30-year-old woman who somehow goes back to her 13-year-old self. In the film, Mark Ruffalo plays Garner’s old friend and love interest. Meanwhile, they are also joined by Judy Greer.

Terrible: Charlize Theron

We know what everyone’s thinking. It’s simply not possible for Theron to have a bad movie. The good news is she only has one and that just happens to be the rom-com Long Shot.

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The 2019 movie stars Theron as the U.S. Secretary of State who reunites and hooks up with a journalist (Seth Rogen) that she babysat as a child. In the end, the film was a major flop. Estimates indicate that Long Shot only earned $53.9 million at the box office against a budget of $40 million.

Great: Will Smith

Smith may has not done a rom-com in a long time. Back in 2005, however, the actor starred in Hitch. In the movie, Smith plays the titular character, Alex "Hitch" Hitchens, a dating expert who encounters a gossip columnist (Eva Mendes) as he tries to help an accountant get the attention of an heiress. Admittedly, Smith decided to do the film because it was fresh. “You know, it was the first script I read in a long time that didn't have a robot or an alien…,” Smith said while on The Oprah Show. “It was such a departure for me.”

Terrible: Arnold Schwarzenegger

Years after Schwarzenegger rose to fame following his performance in The Terminator, the German-born actor decided to venture into rom-coms, specifically with the movie Junior. In the film, the former California governor plays a scientist who agrees to carry a pregnancy as part of an experiment. Junior’s premise may have been amusing but critics were generally unimpressed. Some have even claimed that it’s not funny enough. Meanwhile, the movie only had a modest performance at the box office, earning an estimated $108.4 million against a reported budget of $60 million.

Great: Kate Beckinsale

In recent years, Beckinsale has been involved in several movies from the Underworld franchise where she plays Selene, a formidable vampire death dealer with incredible fighting skills. Earlier on in her career though, the actress also starred in the 2001 classic rom-com Serendipity opposite John Cusack.

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Production of the film proved to be challenging for Beckinsale since she was also working on Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor around the same time. She told BBC, “Both films overlapped a little bit which was a bit tricky because I had to flit between New York to do "Serendipity and LA for Pearl Harbor.

Terrible: Angelina Jolie

Especially at the beginning of her career, Jolie was known for taking risks. Usually, they paid off. Such was the case when starring in the biographic film Gia and won critical praise. Soon after, she took on the role of Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider movies. Afterward, she followed this up with several action flicks, most notable of which is Wanted. Meanwhile, Jolie also starred in the rom-com Life or Something Like It where she played reporter Lanie Kerrigan, a character unlike her typical badass roles. Unfortunately, the movie just fell flat too.

Great: Tom Cruise

Today, we’ve come to associate Cruise with action-heavy, big-budget films. That said, people must be reminded that his talents go way beyond the Mission: Impossible franchise. In fact, aside from these movies, Cruise also scored critical acclaim for his performance in the hit rom-com Jerry Maguire. In the movie, Cruise stars as the titular character, a sports agent who decides to go independent after being fired from his job. Interestingly, the film’s writer and director, Cameron Crowe, originally had actor Tom Hanks in mind for the part. However, over time, Crowe told Deadline that the role eventually felt perfect for Cruise.

Terrible: Gerard Butler

We may associate Butler with big action films such as the ones from the Has Fallen franchise and of course, 300. Earlier in his career though, Butler also starred in rom-coms such as P.S. I Love You, The Ugly Truth, and Playing for Keeps. Unfortunately, these films only received a lukewarm reception. Moreover, since appearing in these movies, Butler has said that he has deliberately avoided doing more rom-coms, telling The Irish News that “you kind of feel you lose your edge a bit” when you work on these.

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