You would be surprised just how many acting roles were originally written for men, but once pondered over a little more, were ultimately given to women. It’s definitely something to look, considering how women get frequently cast as side characters whose only role is to look pretty and get objectified. Instances like these are a major proof that women are more than capable of playing on both sides of the picture.

That is not to say that in order to look powerful on screen, women need to radiate masculine energy. It is simply to point out that gender fluidity of roles is often needed for Hollywood to break out of its constrained labeled boxes. Take a look at these eight roles that were originally writtten for men, but became better when given to women.

Related: Best Movies Featuring an Ensemble Cast of Women Characters

8 Zula in Conan The Destroyer (Grace Jones)

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Conan The Destroyer was the movie that finally helped Arnold Schwarzenegger to gain his American citizenship, after the film's undeniable popularity. Although this movie may not have the charms of its predecessor, it certainly does bring back nostalgia. What you may have not known, if you aren't aware of the original comics the movie was based on, is that Zula (Grace Jones) was originally a man warrior, the last of his tribe. Instead, in the movie, we got a beautiful androgynous character, who is capable of fighting for herself and is responsible for one of the most quoted scenes in the movie, where she gives a dating advice to the princess.

7 Paula in The 40-Year-Old-Virgin (Jane Lynch)

Paula-singing-to-Andy-in-The-40-Year-Old-Virgin

The 40-Year-Old-Virgin is one of those movies where you have almost every comedian in it, and it somehow works perfectly. It has Steve Carell as the main lead, so it's surely guaranteed to be hilarious. What the movie lacked wasn't humor, but the actresses in the cast. Indeed, Andy's (Carell) boss was originally written as a man named Paul. After realizing that the movie was heavily male-dominated, they decided to recast Jane Lynch as Paula into the role of the boss. It definitely helped it to become more memorable.

6 Kyle Pratt in Flight Plan (Jodie Foster)

Jodie-Foster-As-Kyle-Pratt-In-Flight-Plan

Can you honestly imagine Flight Plan without Jodie Foster as the main lead? After taking one shot of an actor playing the role, they instantly knew it was missing something. They realized that a mother desperately looking for her presumably dead daughter was a much stronger concept than a father doing the same thing. And they were right. Fortunately, Foster agreed to play the role and later explained her perspective to MTV: "That just didn't ring true with a man. It is true that women tend to typically have a problem differentiating between themselves and their children; they kind of don't know where their kids stop and where they start, and it's hard to explain that to people."

5 Calamity in Our Brand Is Crisis (Sandra Bullock)

Sandra-Bullock-As-Calamity-In-Our-Brand-Is-Crisis

Not only is the character of Jane "Calamity" Bodine loosely based on a real-life campaigner James Carville, it was also originally written for a man — nd not just for any man, but Sandra Bullock's close friend George Clooney. The plot follows a campaigner Jane Bodine, who makes it her mission to get the Bolivian president Castillo reelected. It was Bullock herself who suggested the gender swap of the character after reading the script and feeling strongly connected to Bodine. During her appearance at The Today Show, she explained: "It was a human role, and it was one that I was very familiar with because I know some people that are like that, in that struggle — that are complex and irritating and aggressive and just powerful yet incredibly broken.”

4 M in James Bond (Dame Judi Dench)

Dame-Judi-Dench-As-M-Quantum-In-James-Bond

James Bond's boss has always been played by a male actor throughout the different adaptations, at least until Dame Judi Dench was cast in the 1995's Goldeneye and altogether lasted whole eight movies. Aside from how fantastic she is in her role, it's important to note that director Martin Campbell used the character as a commentator on the franchise's criticism. Although Dench wrapped up her role after Skyfall (2012), we at least got to hear her call Bond "a sexist, misogynist dinosaur."

Related: The Best James Bond Movies, Ranked

3 Ellen Ripley in Alien (Sigourney Weaver)

Sigourney-Weaver-As-Ellen-Ripley-In-The-Alien
20th Century Fox

Ridley Scott's decision to cast Sigourney Weaver as the main heroine in Alien, instead of a man like it was originally planned, was arguably one of the best decisions in the sci-fi genre. Everyone who has watched Alien can agree that everything, from the camera angles, to the acting and the set designs, is just perfect. Having a woman lead fighting off alien creatures on her own in the late 70s, was not only revolutionary for women, but for Hollywood in its entirety as well. No wonder she got deservedly nominated at the 1986 Academy Awards for Best Actress in Aliens.

2 Karsi in Game of Thrones (Birgitte Hjort Sørensen)

Birgitte-Hjort-Sørensen-As-Karsi-In-Game-Of-Thrones

Although Karsi's appearance as a headstrong Wilding Mother was ephemeral, it was certainly unforgettable. She didn't last long, even by Game of Thrones standards — only for one episode — but, despite the momentary appearance, we have to note the interesting fact that Karsi's character was written for a man. Even Sørensen herself said for Vanity Fair, “I never thought of Karsi in terms of gender." According to Sapochnik, "She was a guy originally, and then somewhere in the process we thought it might be cool if she were a mother, and show her sending off her own kids to make that moment with the corpse children really resonate emotionally" It's disappointing that out 158 actors who made main or supporting cast over the eight-season run of the series, there are only seven surviving women at the end of Game of Thrones.

1 Evelyn Salt in Salt (Angelina Jolie)

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Say what you want to say, but Angelina Jolie was born to play spy/special agent roles. She definitely needs to get back to doing more action movies. Even though she has done many of these, Salt is one of the least recognized ones, and we have no idea why (probably because it was way ahead of its time). Jolie plays the role of a CIA agent, who gets accused of being a Russian spy, therefore making her a fugitive. Interestingly, the role was originally written as Edwin Salt for none other than Tom Cruise. But, as the producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura told the Los Angeles Times, "When you look at it from a dispassionate business point of view, it’s a better way to do the genre. With Mission [Impossible] and Bourne and Bond, you’re going to be the fourth spy guy. We thought, ‘Let’s be the first spy girl.’”