Actors and actresses in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have a history of getting into the action and showing up in a big way. Scarlett Johansson is known for plenty of roles, but her most well-known is probably that of the Russian assassin Natasha Romanoff, also known as Black Widow.
Her combat and infiltration skills are legendary, but people who were wowed by the Black Widow might be surprised to learn Johanssen dove, leaped, launched, and fought without the help of a stuntwoman. It adds a whole new level to her cool factor and gets us even more excited for the Black Widow film that will, hopefully, come out at some point.
Jean-Paul Belmondo
Jean-Paul Belmondo may not ring a bell, but as far as actors and filmmaking go, he's one of France's best. Whether it's arthouse classics or high-octane action, Belmondo seemed to have a death wish when it came to doing his own stunts.
From exploding cars and assassins to navigating precarious high-rise construction sites and – we kid you not – huddling inside a phone booth when a helicopter picks it up and drops into an ocean with a man-eating shark, these were just some of his moves. To call Belmondo an adrenaline junkie is to do the term a disservice. Belmondo never said no – not even to falling down an enormous rock quarry. Whoever said the French were wimps?
Mariska Hargitay
She's been in a few movies here and there, but Mariska Hargitay's most popular role is on Law and Order SVU, where she gets into plenty of action. So much, in fact, that she's actually suffered a partially-collapsed lung while performing a stunt fall in 2009. Luckily she was no worse for wear and was fully recovered after a few weeks.
Since then, she's let a few different stuntwomen take her place in order to stay healthy, but she still has skin in the game when it comes to filming fights and some other scenes. Doing stunts is a young actress's game.
Bruce Lee
Despite appearing in fewer movies than many other classic actors, Bruce Lee was instrumental in bringing the martial arts out of Asia. While he passed away in 1973 due to a freak cerebral edema, his movies (such as Enter the Dragon or Fist of Fury) broke new ground in filmmaking, and are still wowing audiences to this day.
It's no surprise Lee did his own stunts since few people could recreate the high-flying skills and acting chops of everyone's favorite warrior. Looking for some direction in your life? Throw on a Bruce Lee flick and not only will the action entertain you, but you might pick up some classic wisdom from the man himself.
Josh Hutcherson
Jennifer Lawrence isn't the only member of The Hunger Games cast that does her own stunts. Josh Hutcherson, who plays Katniss's love interest throughout the series, engages in combat on multiple occasions, does plenty of acrobatic acts, and, after four films, does plenty of other fun stunts.
While Hutcherson has appeared in a number of other films (such as Bridge to Terabithia and Zathura: A Space Adventure), his first time doing most of his own stunts came from Hunger Games. It's possible producers wanted their principal actors to do their own stunts for more authenticity because both of the main actors of this action series do their own – a rarity.