Believe it or not, the stars we know and love as Marvel's mightiest heroes weren't always
the studio's first choice.
Assembling the right cast for the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a Nick Fury-sized task that took
years, and still Marvel couldn't get their top picks all of the time.
Here are some actors who were almost cast as an Avenger.
Sam Rockwell as Iron Man
Iron Man director Jon Favreau has publicly acknowledged that the quirky character actor
was someone he seriously considered for Tony Stark.
Favreau told Hero Complex,
"He was one of the actors I was looking at for Tony Stark.
Of course, when I met with Robert [Downey Jr.] there was nobody else on my mind."
Favreau liked Rockwell so much that he cast him in Iron Man 2 as Justin Hammer, a guy
who really, really wishes he was Tony Stark.
"This Iron Man doll, it's my nephew Timmy's.
Timmy looks up to you, he wants to be you.
Don't disappoint him."
Timothy Olyphant as Iron Man
Olyphant has headlined both Deadwood and Justified, two beloved, critically acclaimed TV series.
But he was looking to take his film career up a notch.
His management team was able to get him onto Jon Favreau's short list for Iron Man.
His auditions went well, and he even filmed a screen test, but due to poor timing, it
didn't work out in his favor.
"Wonderful actor, Robert Downey Jr. and I, we screen tested on the same day.
And I'm still waiting to hear back."
Eliza Dushku as Black Widow
Best known for her roles on cult TV shows like Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer
and Dollhouse, Dushku publicly campaigned for the role of Black Widow in Iron Man 2.
She appeared on The Howard Stern Show to specify exactly why she wanted the role.
"I just watched Iron Man recently.
Robert Downey Jr.'s so hot.
And they're doing Iron Man 2, and I am so perfect for the Black Widow character.
I just need to get into it, they need to understand."
She also added that she'd learned a lot of Russian for an episode of Dollhouse, which
would come in handy playing the Russian character.
Even though she was a Joss Whedon favorite, the role went to Scarlett Johansson.
Emily Blunt as Black Widow
The British star of The Devil Wears Prada was also one of Marvel's top choices to play
Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The studio was reportedly very close to signing her, until everyone realized a scheduling
conflict couldn't be overcome: her starring role in the 2010 adaptation of Gulliver's
Travels with Jack Black, which was a critical disaster.
John Krasinski as Captain America
Coincidentally, Emily Blunt's husband, John Krasinski of The Office, was very close to
portraying squeaky-clean, all-American good guy Steve Rogers and his alter ego, Captain
America.
In 2010, news outlets reported that he was very close to signing on the dotted line,
but that wasn't quite true, as Krasinski relayed on Conan in 2016.
"I was putting on the suit just watching it, I was like 'This is so amazing' and I got
about right to my waist, I was still shirtless, feeling pretty good about myself, it wasn't
13 hours yet, but I felt pretty good.
And all the sudden Chris Hemsworth walked by as Thor and he's like 'Hey mate.'
And I went 'I'm good.
This is stupid.'"
Still, it seems like he settled for the next best thing.
"Look everyone it's not Spider-Man, it's John Krasinski.
Alright?
Great, now let's go inside."
"Can't believe you did that."
David Duchovny as The Hulk
Over the past decade or so, three different actors have played the iconic angry green
guy.
Eric Bana landed the role in Ang Lee's brainy 2003 Hulk, but opted not to return for a sequel,
possibly because there were rumors it would be released direct-to-video.
When Marvel decided to reboot the Hulk, David Duchovny reportedly had the part locked up,
according to an AOL interview with Marvel's then-vice chairman Peter Cuneo.
Ultimately, Ed Norton aggressively lobbied for the part and won.
Norton left after one Hulk film to avoid being typecast, according to an interview with NPR.
Marvel replaced him with Mark Ruffalo, again leaving the terminally-chill David Duchovny
out of the equation.
Tom Hiddleston as Thor
Before Tom Hiddleston brought the villainous Loki to life, Marvel was interested in him
for the role of Thor himself, according to an interview on Chelsea Lately.
"You auditioned for Thor, the actual Thor the character, and you didn't get it, you
built, you worked out you got yourself beefed up and then you were rejected?"
"Coldly.
Blindly."
After his screen test, filmmakers realized he was better suited for the role of Loki,
Thor's manipulative half-brother.
Fortunately, fans can still check out his audition tape, which appears as a bonus feature
on the Thor: The Dark World Blu-ray.
Alexander Skarsgard as Thor
The Scandinavian star of True Blood definitely looked the part of the ancient Norse god of
thunder.
Alexander Skarsgard made it all the way to the final round of casting for Thor, even
filming a screen test in costume, complete with helmet and hammer.
He really wanted the part, but Marvel went with Australian hunk Chris Hemsworth instead.
Jensen Ackles as Hawkeye
Even Hawkeye, the least famous, least popular, and least super-powered of all of the Avengers
was the subject of a casting battle.
That was harsh, poor Hawkeye.
As it went down, the role of Hawkeye was nearly offered up as a kind of consolation prize
to Supernatural star Jensen Ackles, who had auditioned to play Captain America.
Marvel executives liked him, though, and invited him to consider playing Hawkeye.
Ackles passed because he couldn't get out of his arduous Supernatural shooting schedule,
which is now in its twelfth season and has recently became the longest-running sci-fi
show in the US.
Sorry, Smallville.
Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch more videos like the one you just saw.
And leave us a comment to let us know who you think should've been considered for Avengers
membership...