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Before they were Avengers: Check out the stars' earlier films

Captain America, Bruce Banner and friends begin the summer movie season this weekend with "Avengers: Age of Ultron," the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe packed with big action and bigger stars.

If their comic-book heroics have made you fall in love with Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo and the rest of the gang, you should check out some of their earlier, lesser-known work. For instance:

Robert Downey Jr. - Sure, RDJ was a bona fide star before taking the role of Tony Stark in 2008's "Iron Man." A fallen star, perhaps, but a star nonetheless. Three years before donning the red and gold suit, Downey starred in a caper that fell through the cracks named "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang," alongside Val Kilmer and Michelle Monaghan. The adults-only comedy was written and directed by future "Iron Man 3" skipper Shane Black, and puts Downey in the role of a thief who stumbles into a movie role with help from Kilmer's private investigator-turned-technical adviser. (Rent/purchase from Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, vudu)

Chris Evans - The all-American hero starred as one member of a multinational team of astronauts in Danny Boyle's 2007 stunner, "Sunshine." Evans joins Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"), Rose Byrne ("Neighbors") and the great character actor Cliff Curtis ("Three Kings") on a mission to "reignite" the sun with a nuclear bomb. Thrilling, thought-provoking and more satisfying than "Interstellar." (Rent/purchase from Amazon, iTunes, Google Play)

Chris Hemsworth - The awesome Australian who plays the Norse thunder god Thor hasn't had a long career, but it started with a bang - that was Hemsworth as George Kirk, father to Capt. James T. Kirk, in the spectacular opening scene of 2009's "Star Trek." (Rent/purchase from Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, vudu)

Mark Ruffalo - Before he was the big green guy, Ruffalo turned critics' heads in the 2000 drama "You Can Count on Me," in which he plays a drifter who comes back home to the small New York town where his sister (a tremendous Laura Linney) still lives with her young son (Rory Culkin). Written and directed by playwright Kenneth Lonergan, "You Can Count on Me" is a gem of a character study with real people and real problems. (Stream on Epix, rent/purchase from Amazon, Google Play, vudu)

Scarlett Johansson - All the cool kids know about the erstwhile Black Widow's first big role in 2001's "Ghost World," directed by Terry Zwigoff, but even the most ardent fans of the Coen brothers may have forgotten about that same year's bonkers black-and-white offering, "The Man Who Wasn't There." ScarJo plays a teenager who catches the eye of dead-serious barber Billy Bob Thornton, who gets caught in a web of murder and blackmail with wife Frances McDormand and her boss, James Gandolfini. And then a UFO shows up. (Rent/purchase from Amazon, iTunes)

Jeremy Renner - Hawkeye's real-life counterpart played you-know-who in the 2002 movie "Dahmer." Watch at your own risk! (Streaming on HuluPlus, rent/purchase from iTunes and vudu)

<i>Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald copy editor and a tireless consumer of pop culture. Follow him on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.</i>

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