Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3is almost here, so it’s the perfect time to look at the cast’s careers before they appeared in the MCU, and what kind of roles and genres they were working in before James Gunn cast them in this trilogy full of great jokes, a lot of heart, and incredible soundtracks. Here are some roles where you’ve seen the actors before they were part of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
10Sean Gunn
For many,Sean Gunnis Ravager leader Kraglin, body double and mocap actor for Rocket Raccoon, and director James Gunn’s brother. For others, Gunn will always be Stars Hollow resident weirdo Kirk inThe Gilmore Girls.At his start, Gunn’s career was full of guest starring roles in comedy series likeAndy Richter Controls the Universe, orGoing to California, but it was as Kirk in the story of this mother and daughter that the actor finally found a steady job, as the town crazy character, making him always useful for the last weird scheme and story the unique town was having.
9Maria Bakalova
Maria Bakalova’s career is gaining steam with every new movie she’s in. In this film, she’ll be voicing Cosmo the dog (as she already did inThe Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special), and it’s one of her biggest roles yet after being discovered by everyone inBorat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan(also known asBorat 2).
In the mockumentary, she plays Borat’s daughter showing she’s as good at improvising and making everyone around her demonstrate their true colors as Sacha Baron Cohen (and that’s not an easy feat, as Baron Cohen has been doing it for decades). After her role as Borat’s daughter, she has started getting more opportunities to show her talents in films likeBodies Bodies Bodies,and the last entry of theGuardianstrilogy.
8Will Poulter
Will Poulteris one of the new faces inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3as he’s going to play Adam Warlock. Poulter’s career to get to play an MCU character has been like no other, ashe’s had great performances before, in both comedy and drama. Most people first met him as the awkward virgin inWe’re the Millers, but since then, he’s had an eclectic career playing intense despicable bad guys (Detroit), teenage villains (The Maze Runnerfranchise), morally truthfully grey characters (The Revenant), and a supporting player in the interactive experiment inDark Mirror’s latest season.
Related:Guardians of the Galaxy: Who Is Adam Warlock
7Pom Klementieff
Pom Klementieff’s Mantis was one of the best things aboutGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, with her childlike wonder and great chemistry with the team, especially Drax (Dave Bautista). The actress started her career in France, with movies likeUne pure affaireorNuit Blanche,before her role in Spike Lee’s remake of the Korean masterpiece,Oldboy,where she played Haeng-bok, the bodyguard of bad guy Adrian (Sharlto Copley). After that, her role as Mantis made her known worldwide.
About the difference between working in France and Hollywood films,Klementieff told Numero Magazine: “The movies I worked on in France were such smaller budgets, the crew has less people. Each adventure is different, and I love each adventure for different reasons. So I’m not gonna say that one is better than the other.”
6Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper’s role in the MCU is voicing the fan-favorite, sarcastic Rocket Raccoon, wherehe’s had some incredible moments. When he’s not doing that, he’s acting and directing prestigious movies that get nominated for Academy Awards. It wasn’t always so easy, as Cooper took his time to become an A-lister, appearing in supporting roles in TV series likeAlias, orJack & Bobby,and being the worst person ever in films likeWedding Crashers.Everything changed withThe Hangover, where he proved he could be a lead actor in a box-office success.
About his period of movies beforeThe Hangover,Cooper told GQ: “I was doing these movies, and I got to meet Sandra Bullock and meet these people and work with them. And I’m sober, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m actually myself. And I don’t have to put on this air to be somebody else, and this person still wants to work with me? Oh, what the f*ck is that about?’ I was rediscovering myself in this workplace, and it was wonderful.”
5Vin Diesel
Even before voicing Groot,Vin Dieselwas already known in Hollywood and had his own franchise, withThe Fast and The Furiousuniverse. He has been an action hero since he started racing cars as Dom Toretto, but he also had other action roles inRiddickandxXx.Before theFastfranchise, he was still a supporting character in incredible movies like Steven Spielberg’sSaving Private Ryan, Knockaround Guys,and in his first voice acting role, The Iron Giant.
4Karen Gillan
Even before seeingGuardians of the Galaxy Vol.3,it looks likeKaren Gillan’s Nebula is going to have one of the biggest and better character arcs in the whole franchise. She started as a bad guy, and through some bad experiences in the films, likeThe Blib, she has become someone with friends, who can be trusted and knows her value. The Scottish Gillanhas done some great movies, but where most people first saw her acting was as Doctor Who’s companion, Amy Pond, in the famous BBC showDoctor Who, where she acted along withHouse of the Dragon’s Matt Smith as The Doctor.
3Dave Bautista
15 years ago,Dave Bautistamight’ve been more recognized in a WWE ring than in a movie set, as he was known in that world as Batista, one of the bad guys. He started looking for acting work in 2010, appearing in small roles as a tough enforcer inChuck(a great comedy about a nerdy guy who starts working for the CIA because all the knowledge of the agency is in his head),Riddick(along his Guardians' colleague, Vin Diesel), and RZA’sThe Man with the Iron Fists.Guardians of the Galaxywas his big Hollywood break, where he showed he could be as funny as imposing.
Since the first film, he’s gotten better and better acting opportunities, and now is a leading man in an M. Night Shyamalan film (Knock at the Cabin), and was lauded for his performance inGlass Onion.
2Zoe Saldaña
Zoe Saldaña’s Gamora is the best fighter of the guardians and has a conflicting relationship with his adopted father, Thanos (Josh Brolin). Before she was the green-skinned warrior, Saldaña had been a ballet dancer inCenter Stage, ablue-skinned Na’vi fighter, aStar Trekcrew member, a pirate inPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,Nina Simone,and an assassin inColombiana.It looks like when Hollywood is looking for a charismatic, able to handle fighting, and being the coolest doing it, Saldaña is always their first call, making all those roles the perfect preparation for her getting cast as Gamora.
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1Chris Pratt
Chris Pratt’s role as Star-Lord is what made him a (no pun intended) star, but it wasn’t his first role at all. Before he was the leader of this rag-tag group of weird characters, he was known as a teenage heartthrob in the TV seriesEverwood, and showed his comedic side inThe O.C.After that, he disappeared for a bit, until he was cast inParks and Recreationas goofball Andy Dwyer.
His physique there was the least superhero one possible, but he showed how much he could improv and be funny on a sitcom, qualities that Star-Lord also has. Once he became lead role material in the MCU, his career changed, andhe’s done some fun and action movies, since.
