15 Marvel Actors Before They Joined The MCU

we might be able to imagine a time before Mark Ruffalo was the Incredible Hulk or Josh Brolin was Thanos but those are extenuating circumstances for pretty much everyone else it's hard to picture what it would be like if they hadn't taken their rightful places among the cast of the MCU we'll talk about how our favorite heroes ended up landing these roles and what adventures they had prior to joining the Marvel family will reveal which movie experience was so horrible it nearly caused Zoe Saldana to quit acting what special skill Tom Hollands showed off that during his audition and much more it's probably no surprise that there was plenty of interest in playing super spy natasha romanoff a role which ended up going to actress Scarlett Johansson but before she landed the role another actress Emily Blunt was cast as Black Widow thanks to a scheduling conflicts Blount had to pass on the part and Johansson jumped at the chance to become a part of the MCU not that she really wanted the part or anything she just dyed her hair red in anticipation of her audition to prove how serious she was about it little did she know this would be the first of many times she'd need a cut in color in order to portray Natasha although she started acting when she was young Johansson was often praised for conveying a maturity far beyond her years she appeared in movies like Ghost World the man who wasn't there and girl with a Pearl Earring the character of Natasha really resonated with Johansson who related to her sense of humanity and her determination but getting into shape for the role wasn't easy and in the very beginning of her training she climbed a rope for the first time promptly kneeing her instructor in the face hard enough to hurt his nose ouch [Music] everyone knows that the ebb and flow of the career is a pretty normal part of acting but to be flat-out told that your careers over has to hurt even for a talented guy like Paul Bettany his life hasn't been an easy one so far and he has a tragic backstory befitting a Marvel hero when he was 16 years old he lost his younger brother in a tragic accident Bettany dropped out of school left home and started busking although he'd later returned to school for acting this too was made difficult due to his dyslexia soon Bettany was appearing in movies like a Beautiful Mind Master and Commander and The Da Vinci Code but it turns out not everyone was a fan according to Bettany a producer who he declined to name gave him a stern talking-to and declared that Bettany was quote done in this town apparently there was a lot of yelling involved and a defeat bet he sat on the sidewalk outside to mope afterward but then fate intervened in by fate we mean joss whedon who I'll bet need to offer him the role of vision in Avengers age of Ultron sitting on a sidewalk after getting chewed out by a producer is a pretty low point but now we're gonna talk about the king of comebacks Robert Downey jr. this star was acting since he was 5 years old and his work received critical acclaim over the years he appeared in projects like less than zero Chaplin US Marshals in Air America there was no denying this guy was talented but sadly his diction issues made him impossible to work with it got to the point where nobody wanted to hire him and because companies wouldn't insure him they couldn't hire him even if they wanted to his friend Mel Gibson actually stepped up and paid his bond so he could appear in the movie The Singing Detective which helped in revitalizing his career but in order to get him into the MCU he needed another hero namely Iron Man director Jon Favreau he knew Downey was perfect for the role of Tony Stark and refused to take no for an answer from RDJ or marvel studios considering the I am Iron Man line was his idea it's safe to say he's had an incredible impact on the MCU Chris Hemsworth is the first to admit that his pre MCU career isn't the most fascinating topic in fact he says whether or not he even had an acting career at that point is it quote debatable although we're not sure how he can say that considering he appeared in an episode of The Saddle Club so clearly he was doing just fine Hemsworth also appeared in movies like Star Trek and a perfect getaway and the series Home & Away while he was filming cabin in the woods he made some important connections namely Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon who encouraged him to try out for the part of Thor Hemsworth audition was filmed in a hotel room with his mother reading the parts of Thor's father Odin the studio had even been considering his younger brother Liam Hemsworth for the role but in the end Chris was the member of his family who made it into the MCU MCU alum Chris Evans also appeared on something pandering towards young women but in his case it was a board game called mystery date yes if you ever went on a date with Tyler did you know you were swooning over Steve Rogers he also appeared in movies including Not Another Teen Movie Sun shinin Scott Pilgrim vs. the world even before he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe Captain America was one of the most well known and beloved superheroes of all time well at least to most of us since actor Chris Evans wasn't a fan he actually turned down the role several times before finally agreeing to appear as Steve Rogers he admits he wasn't a fan of comic books growing up and the looming six movie contract was enough to intimidate this anxious actor the studio wanted him so badly he even got to skip the audition process although they also looked at other stars including Channing Tatum and John Krasinski thankfully Evans ultimately decided to take the plunge and try his hand at portraying the famous Captain America if you've ever seen his epic lip-sync to Rihanna's Umbrella then you know Tom Holland has some excellent moves she started out as a dancer but sadly many of his peers failed to recognize his talent she started acting in Billy Elliot the Musical and appeared in movies like the impossible and how I live now it's safe to say most of us would flip if we found ourselves in a room with Robert Downey jr. and Chris Evans and Tom Holland did just that only he did so literally during a screen test the script called for spider-man to do a flip end because Holland is proficient in dancing gymnastics he did one much to the surprise of everyone around him director Joe Russo was impressed and realized Holland's physical attributes and flexibility would be helpful when portraying the iconic Peter Parker not only did Holland managed to impress Marvel Studios but he also won the admiration of his fellow actors according to actress Elizabeth Olsen she pretty much grew up on set although she was in the one in the spotlight she's the younger sister of famous twins mary-kate and Ashley Olsen who shared the part of Michelle Tanner on the show full house Olsen took minor roles in her siblings projects like How the West was fun and The Adventures of mary-kate and Ashley seeing how critical the media was about her sister Mary Kate's eating disorder almost caused Elizabeth to leave acting for good thankfully she decided to stick it out appearing in movies like Silent House liberal arts and very good girls making the leap into the MCU was a big transition for Olsen who had learned to keep her private life well private but she was drawn to the quote emotional depth of Wanda Maximoff and was willing to give the role to try while she admits the rabid Marvel fan base can be a quote distraction she's also thankful for the communities surrounding the franchise the one thing about Scarlett which she'd like to change definitely the costume hey at least is an improvement from the comic book costume Chris Pratt dropped out of his first semester of Community College and found himself homeless yeah he was living in a van but thankfully it was in beautiful Hawaii instead of down by a river he worked in restaurants just enough to keep himself fed and spent most of his time at the beach one day he was discovered by actress and director Rae dawn Chong who cast him in her short horror film cursed part 3 the move to Los Angeles opened doors for Pratt who appeared in Everwood in the OC but his big role was that of lovable oaf Andy Dwyer in the series Parks and Recreation even though Pratt was known for being a side character guarding to the galaxy director James Gunn saw something special in him he wanted to hire him for the role of Peter quill but Pratt wasn't interested and flat-out refused to audition when Pratt finally relented it was done who said it was too late thankfully casting director Sarah Finn managed to get them together and Gunn knew Pratt was perfect for the part Wow Mark Ruffalo has definitely changed a lot since he first portrayed Bruce Banner in the Incredible Hulk oh whoa wait no that's not Mark Ruffalo that's Ed Norton Ruffalo didn't join the MCU until 2012 The Avengers but he since become an important part of the franchise even though he's constantly trying to spoil it prior to his big break Ruffalo struggled in school due to his dyslexia and a DD but says his childhood was an overall pleasant one in addition to acting writing and directing plays he also worked as a bartender for nearly a decade he appeared in movies like 13 going on 30 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and shudder Island although the Avengers was a big break Ruffalo admits to being nervous about stepping in the Norton shoes however the two actors are friends behind the scene to know Norton was okay with it made it easier to accept now it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role especially since most of us prefer to pretend the Incredible Hulk never happened Jeremy Renner's film maybe wasn't exactly a smash hit he appeared in National Lampoon's senior trip which didn't go over well with critics still Renner wasn't discouraged and went on to make a name for himself by appearing in movies like a little trip to heaven and neo Ned but when Renner first had the opportunity to portray a super hero he turned it down and that's saying something since the very first time he appeared as Hawkeye it was during an uncredited cameo at the end of Thor so what role was less exciting than that Renner was up for the part of Hellboy in the 2004 movie but ended up declining the role which eventually went to Ron Perlman according to Renner he just didn't connect with the script or relate to the character so he felt it would be better to pass on the project entirely but at first Renner didn't like playing Hawkeye either since he spent most of the Avengers undermine control she even tried to encourage Marvel to end his character's life in the movie so he wouldn't have to keep working with the franchise thankfully things quickly improved and Renner and Clint Barton have a much better relationship today before you was cast as the ultimate petulant younger brother of Thor Tom Hilson excelled in classical studies and often showed off his talents on stage even while he was still appearing in student plays he began working on television including shows like Nicholas Nickleby conspiracy in the Gathering Storm he appeared in a production of Ivanov where he worked with Kenneth Branagh who go on to direct the first Thor movie brought out new Hilson was talented and invited him to try out for the film but not for the part of Loki instead Hiddleston auditioned for the part of Thor and gained 20 pounds of muscle for the part she was a classically trained actor who was tall blond and handsome so it sounded like a perfect fit at first but ultimately he was cast as Thor's brother Loki instead although it may not have been the part he originally wanted he made it his own and it made him a household name before he would go on to play one of the greatest villains in the MCU Josh Brolin had a rather rough-and-tumble life in the real world he's admitted to stealing cars in order to obtain money for he and his friends to further engage in illicit activities he started acting in movies like The Goonies and soon became known for playing the villain in films like Planet Terror American Gangster and milk there was a period of time when he was in the running to portray a hero when he was in contention for the role of Bruce Wayne in the DC extended universe instead Ben Affleck took the role for Batman V Superman and we all know how that ended Rowland was apprehensive of taking on the role of the mad Titan Thanos a received inspiration from a surprising source Doctor Strange Brolin found a YouTube video of Benedict Cumberbatch wearing a motion capture suit and acting out scene to smog from The Hobbit this made him realize the effort that goes into such a role and how it's so much more than hiding behind special effects there was a time when guardians of the galaxy actresses always Saldana was determined to make it not as an actress but as a ballet dancer it was her first passion but eventually she found her body struggling to keep up with the demands of the art she also wanted to pursue something that allowed her to use her voice so she decided to get off her feet and try her hand at acting Saldana went on to appear in center stage drumline and crossroads featuring Britney Spears but movie was such an awful experience that she considered turning away from acting for good and no it wasn't crossroads we were surprised too according to Saldana working on Pirates of the Caribbean the curse of the Black Pearl was an awful experience behind the scenes while she absolved her fellow cast members of any blame she claims there's a lot going on behind closed doors and she was exposed to an ugly side of the entertainment industry thankfully Saldana kept her head high and stuck with it going on to appear in James Cameron's Avatar and eventually in garden to the galaxy as Gamora we're not exactly sure how big the overlap is between fans of Marvel and fans of Doctor Who but we're willing to bet it's pretty substantial in which case we're sure you've recognized actress Karen Gillan who became famous for playing Amy Pond the companion of the eleventh Doctor interestingly enough Gillan says her exposure to all the time II whiny stuff helped prepare her for filming Avengers end game since she was no stranger to time travel before she was starring in our favorite Fantasy franchises Gillan was working as a model but she admits it wasn't her true calling and she always saw as a means to an end and a way to get her foot in the door with acting in addition to Doctor Who she's also been on shows like selfie and a touch of cloth Dylan said that when she auditioned for the part of nebula she fell in love with the character immediately and although she started out as a villain she knew the audience would come to love her as well although she was forced to shave her head for the role her hair didn't go to waste it was made into a wig used during the production of selfie before she starred as Carol Danvers in the billion-dollar movie Captain Marvel actress brie Larson was struggling after her parents divorce she ended up living in a one-bedroom apartment with her mother and sister and only had three articles of clothing to her name from a young age she was interested in acting and decided to take the stage name Larson since it was easier to pronounce than Brienne Sedona del Sol mares like her MCU co-star Chris Evans she also appeared in Scott Pilgrim vs. the world as well as other films including the spectacular now and trainwreck when she was offered the chance to play Captain Marvel brie nearly turned it down because she wasn't sure becoming involved with an institution like the MCU but ultimately she hoped to serve as a role model for other women and this convinced her to take the part [Music] what do you think about the paths that led these stars to the MCU are they all perfect fits or would another actor have been a better match share your thoughts with us in the comment section and don't forget to subscribe for more from CB our thanks for watching and we'll see you next time [Music]

Channel: CBR

Views: 1,158,001

Rating: 4.9043851 out of 5

Keywords: MCU actors before they joined, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Holland, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johansson, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Zoe Saldana, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Marvel Cinematic Universe, MCU Films, CBR

Id: 48Y-511R6AI

Length: 15min 29sec (929 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 20 2019