Jennifer Garner: A Jen of All Trades

When Jennifer Garner signed on with ABC to play CIA agent Sydney Bristow on the hit series Alias, she broke into celebrity status and gained a steady flow of fans. The series ran from 2001-2006, and often featured Garner in thrilling action packed scenes. She played a graduate student studying English who worked undercover as a CIA operative. Her character later learned that the organization she was working for was a rogue terrorist organization so she became a double agent on the inside. The series, from creator J.J. Abrams, ran for five seasons and helped the slouching ABC to recover from past losses in the rating wars with other networks. Alias's success was highly due not only to its clever plot lines, but also to the performance of its lead actor.

Alias Creator J.J. Abrams was not unfamiliar with Garner before signing her on to play Bristow. Garner was a recurring character in another of J.J. Abrams' hit shows, Felicity. She'd been in a few other movies for the silver screen, including a made for TV movie "Zoya," based off a Danielle Steel novel. She'd also starred in movies like "Dude, Where's My Car?" And she had a small part as a nurse in the epic blockbuster "Pearl Harbor." But Jennifer Garner had no martial arts experience when she auditioned for the role of secret agent Bristow. She had taken a private month-long Taekwondo class to help prepare, but even still, both she and Abrams had doubts she could pull off the role. But not one to disappoint, Garner won the audition, and even went on to do a lot of her own action sequences in the show. Of course she had a stunt double, Shauna Duggins, for explosion scenes and complex fighting sequences, but for a girl who could barely throw a punch, Jennifer Garner's 'Sydney Bristow' was not anyone to tangle with. According to the Internet Movie Database, in her Alias career, Jennifer Garner earned four Emmy nominations, and four consecutive Golden Globe nominations, one of which she won in 2002 for "Best Actress in a Television Series -- Drama." She also won a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2005 for "Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series."

When Alias ended in 2006, Garner turned to the big screen. It was then she found herself in romantic comedies like "13 Going on 30" and "Ghosts of Girlfriend's Past," not to mention dramas like "Catch and Release," "Catch Me If You Can," and in action movies like "Daredevil," and "Elektra." It was on the set of "Daredevil" where Jennifer Garner starred with her current husband, Ben Affleck. It was on the big screen where Garner developed into an actor with wide range. Her acting was superb no matter what the role.

In an interview with about.com, Garner expressed relief that her Alias role didn't pigeon-hole her for action roles down the road. "I've been lucky to be able to change," she said, "because I did become known out of the gate so much for action that I'm really happy that I didn't get stuck there. But yeah, you guys have probably heard me say before, the whole point to me being an actor is to get to do different things or else you might as well go to an office and show up every day. Of course, you're always looking for how to flip it for yourself, as well as how can I surprise people. That's the fun."

Not only is Jennifer happy that she didn't stick with just action, but her fan base is as well. Her drama and comedy roles show us that there's more to her acting resume than physical agility. She doesn't need to be doing stunts to impress a viewing audience. Of course, we're happy to watch her, no matter the role.