5 movies that turned famous figures into action stars

No, your English teacher didn't leave out the part of Edgar Allan Poe's life when he was forced to hunt down a murderer, as seen in the April 27 movie 'The Raven.' In the movie, John Cusack plays the author, who finds himself in the middle of a dangerous mystery and is apparently quite handy with fighting and gunplay. The film is, of course, merely inspired by Poe's life, with no known basis in actual events. But the movie isn't the first to give historical figures or famous literary characters action hero upgrades. Here are five other movies that took famous historical or literary figures and made them action stars, from Mina Harker to Abraham Lincoln.

Relativity Media/Intrepid Pictures/YouTube screenshot

1. 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'

Jurgen Vollmer/Twentieth Century Fox

The 2003 movie, which is based on the Alan Moore comic series, depicts various literary characters in Victorian England who agree to help the British government stave off plots against the country. 'King Solomon's Mines' protagonist Allan Quatermain, 'Dracula' heroine Mina Harker (now a vampire), 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea' protagonist Captain Nemo, and Tom Sawyer, who has grown up to be a Secret Service agent, are among those who fight off villains in the action film.

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