UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is breaking out of the fighting cage and onto the big screen in her role in "The Expendables 3." The 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in judo, Rousey is portraying a tough female lead after she said she is sick of seeing the same archetype of female characters in superhero and comic-book movies.

"I'm tired of watching this thing where the woman's superpower is dumbed down," Rousey said. "In 'The Fantastic Four,' the woman is the invisible one. In 'X-Men, [telekinetic] Jean Grey gets tired all the time. Wonder Woman is cool, but she has bulletproof bracelets, while Superman is a bulletproof dude. It's like she has really cool accessories. I think about that a lot."

The 27-year-old was noticed by screenwriter and star of the "Expendables" franchise, Sylvester Stallone. In this installment of the series, Stallone was also considering actresses Milla Jovovich and Gina Carano before meeting Rousey.

"I wanted someone beautiful and tough, and in walks this girl," Stallone said. "Talk about a one-off."

Beauty and toughness are not always easily intertwined, but Rousey attempted both in "The Expendables 3" scenes.

She recalled one fight in the movie in which she had to wear a tight red dress with 6-inch stilettos. While the stunt coordinator thought it was crazy, Rousey still wore the high heels during the scene. During the second take, her heel snapped, while Rousey was supposed to smash beer bottle on a guy.

"It was broken, unsalvageable," Rousey said. "Someone had to go out and buy shorter heels to do the scene."

Rousey said in USA Today she likes being both rugged and glamorous but not necessarily at the same time.

"I try not to look my best every day," Rousey said. "If you are designered up every day, you cannot step it up. I'm all about flipping switches. I can go from jock to red carpet. It takes a little more to get glamorous than it does to get into killer mode. But I like to have that ace to pull out."