LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com)- Fame hasn’t necessarily changed Dax Shepard, but the "Punk’d" and "Without a Paddle" star has noticed a large change in the ways that people describe him.

"I’m going through the cute factory that Jimmy Fallon did," the 30-year-old comic observes. "All of a sudden everyone’s like, ’Yeah, he’s cute.’ And you’re like, ’Oh, really? When did that happen? Because he was just kinda a little guy before and now he’s cute? OK.’"

Only barely removed from his time suckering celebrities with Ashton Kutcher and just one year after he scored an unexpected hit cracking not-so-wise with Seth Green and Matthew Lillard, Shepard is taking advantage of the most unusual of career opportunities. With only a hint of humor, he’s playing Astronaut, the adult hero of Jon Favreau’s family-friendly "Zathura."

"Favreau called me," he recalls. "I was in Austin doing a movie and he called me. I didn’t know him and he said, ’I want you to play the astronaut in this movie I’m doing’ and I was blown away that he knew who I was or had gotten my number. It was creepy and flattering."

He continues, "We had a meeting in his office and I said, ’Well, you know, I’m not really comfortable playing a hero and it’s not funny at all. I just want to make sure you’re getting someone that’s gonna carry this movie and do everything you need them to do.’ And he had no fear whatsoever. He’s like, ’You can do this’ and because he had such faith in me, then that kinda gave me faith in myself."

Shepard’s lack of previously displayed dramatic chops aren’t an obstacle in "Zathura," a "Jumanji"-esque fantasy that also comes from the mind of Chris Van Allsburg. Acting opposite pint-sized co-stars Josh Hutcherson and Jonah Bobo, Shepard gets to zoom around on a jet-pack, battle aliens and occasionally save the day. An improv veteran from his days with the Groundlings, Shepard hopes he was able to insert personal touches here and there.

"Look, I’m not Nicolas Cage, but I do know when I was a kid, I worshipped Nicolas Cage and if he was in this movie and still behaved like Nicolas Cage in certain scenes, I would go see it," he says. "I think that although I’m doing something different, I’m still giving you a bit of what I think the five fans I have do like about me. I’m a little bit rough around the edges, even as an astronaut."

After taken the road less traveled for "Zathura," an effects-laden fantasy, Shepard is returning to familiar ground for a series of upcoming comedies. He’s a co-star in Mike Judge’s "Idiocracy," in which he plays "the dumbest man in the world," and then he’s teaming up with "Arrested Development" star Will Arnett on "You Are Going to Prison," a project that went so well they’re planning to reunite on at least one future script. He expects that "Zathura" is about as serious as viewers are likely to see him for a while.

"Am I one of those comedians that has to prove to the world I’m a great actor? No, I don’t need to do that," he claims. "It’s, in my opinion, harder to prove you’re a great comedian than to prove you’re a great dramatic actor. So I don’t have that hang-up, I think, that some people do. But I will do any work that is fun or exciting or challenging, including, f***ing tilling your garden. I’m saying it. Yes. I will do it."

"Zathura," more family-friendly than its star, hits theaters this Friday (Nov. 11).