There are some truly talented actors backing up Oscar winner Brie Larson as Carol Danvers,
most of whom you've probably seen on several occasions without even knowing it.
From her allies in Starforce to the villains of the piece, here's why you recognize the
cast of Captain Marvel.
Gemma Chan joins the Captain Marvel cast as Minn-Erva, a Kree scientist and loyalist.
In the comics, she was part of a plot to eliminate 90 percent of the Kree empire, which would
have forced the remaining 10 percent to evolve at a quicker rate.
Chan turned down a job with an international law firm to pursue a career in acting, which
began in earnest when she was cast in the critically acclaimed sci-fi series Humans.
She then scored a variety of minor roles in Hollywood, but Tinseltown didn't really start
paying attention to Chan until 2018's Crazy Rich Asians blew up.
In the comics, Minn-Erva worked closely with fellow Starforce member Att-Lass.
When he discovered that she wanted to eradicate the vast majority of their race, he intentionally
made his suit self destruct, taking Minn-Erva with him.
Att-Lass is played by Algenis Pérez Soto, a relatively inexperienced actor with only
a few film credits to his name.
One of those films was helmed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, co-directors of Captain Marvel.
They've known Soto for a long time, having plucked him from obscurity to star in their
2008 baseball drama, Sugar.
He fell off the radar following Sugar, but in 2017 Soto made an unexpected return to
film with Dominican boxing drama Samba.
When Rune Temte confirmed that he was going to be appearing in Captain Marvel, he could
barely contain his excitement.
The actor was quite clearly fired up for his Marvel debut, but what does his character
have to offer?
Well, he's fairly minor.
You can count Bron-Char's total comics appearances on one hand, though he belongs to a small
group of Marvel characters who've been able to destroy one of Captain America's shields
in battle, so he's no pushover.
If you've ever watched Temte in The Last Kingdom, you'll know that the big Norwegian is already
well-versed in battle sequences.
He's best known for playing bearded warlord Ubba in the historical fiction series, for
which he trained in ancient viking martial arts.
Temte has also been seen in Sky Atlantic's Fortitude and sports biopic Eddie The Eagle.
Marvel fans will no doubt recognize Djimon Hounsou from his supporting role in 2014's
Guardians of the Galaxy.
He plays the MCU incarnation of Korath-Thak, also known as Korath the Pursuer.
In the comics, he was a cyber-geneticist charged with engineering cybernetic warriors for the
Kree military.
He wound up using the tech that he invented on himself, gaining powers in the process.
Hounsou made his breakthrough in Steven Spielberg's Amistad, but he's perhaps best known for his
turn as Juba in Ridley Scott's Gladiator, providing a foil for leading man Russell Crowe.
The Benin-born actor went on to work with some of the industry's biggest names, including
Angelina Jolie in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life, Leonardo DiCaprio
in Blood Diamond, and Keanu Reeves in Constantine.
What many people don't know is that he actually beat Chadwick Boseman to the part of King
T'Challa — Hounsou voiced the Wakandan leader in BET's six-part animated Black Panther series.
When he spoke to Slashfilm at a February 2019 presser, Hounsou revealed that Captain Marvel
isn't closely connected to Guardians of the Galaxy, saying:
"This is a completely separate story, standalone story, nothing to do with Guardians other
than the fact that some of those characters interact with each other later."
Speaking of some of those characters...
Another dead Guardians of the Galaxy character who pops up in the '90s-set Captain Marvel
is Kree zealot Ronan the Accuser, played by Lee Pace.
"WHAT are you doing?!"
"I’m distracting you, ya big turd blossom!”
According to Pace, we're going to see a slightly more chilled-out version of Ronan.
The actor explained:
"This isn't the same Ronan that we saw in Guardians of the Galaxy, this is before he's
become a fundamentalist about the Kree way of living.
But he's still true Kree."
The opportunity to reprise the role of Ronan was welcomed by Pace, who thoroughly enjoyed
working on Guardians.
He told IGN:
"I loved that film.
I found the character very, very interesting… this kind of charismatic space terrorist."
For most actors, "space terrorist" would be the weirdest role on their résumé by some
distance, but Pace was both a vampire and an elf before he was a Kree — the actor
played Garrett in the final installment of the Twilight franchise and appeared in every
film in Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy as Thranduil, the Elven king of the Woodland
Realm.
"Why did you do that?
You promised to set him free.”
“… And I did."
The identity of Jude Law's character was one of the biggest mysteries surrounding Captain
Marvel during its production.
The studio seemingly confirmed that the British actor was playing Mar-Vell, the original Captain
Marvel in the comics, in December 2018, but a few months later it was revealed that Law
was actually playing Yon-Rogg.
He had to wear colored contact lenses to play the Kree commander, but most film fans will
still have recognized Law from his many Hollywood roles over the years.
He came to the attention of international audiences at the turn of millennium the when
he starred alongside Matt Damon and a number of other big names in The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Law went on to work with many of the industry's top directors, and in 2018, he took on the
iconic role of Albus Dumbledore in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, playing
a younger version of the future Hogwarts headmaster.
It appears as though Captain Marvel was the most physically demanding role that Law has
taken in a long while.
When Slashfilm asked him how many action sequences he had in the movie, the actor confirmed that
there were three in total, saying:
"One of them's been really fun, which we already shot.
There are some other fantastic battle sequences."
Brie Larson officially arrived on the Hollywood A-list with 2015's Room, putting in an Oscar-winning
performance as a woman held captive for seven years.
Everyone knew her name after the Academy named her Best Actress, but people already knew
her face.
Before her star-making turn as Joy Newsome, Larson was becoming one of those actors that
you're sure you've seen somewhere before, even if you can't put your finger on it.
After some scene-stealing roles in comedy hits like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and
the reboot of 21 Jump Street, she made waves on the indie scene with a powerful performance
in Short Term 12.
She worked with Mark Wahlberg in The Gambler and supported Amy Schumer in Trainwreck, but
as soon as she laid her hands on that coveted statuette, bigger offers started to come her
way.
After Room, Larson booked the co-lead in Kong: Skull Island, playing an anti-war photojournalist.
In Kong, she got to work with Marvel veteran Samuel L. Jackson, who plays a major role
in Captain Marvel.
Larson also cast Jackson in her feature directorial debut, Unicorn Store.
After their years of collaborating, Jackson has confirmed that Larson's fitness regimen
for Skull Island was nowhere near as strenuous as what she's been doing to get in shape for
her big MCU debut.
Jackson told Collider:
"The girl that I did Kong and Unicorn Store with is not this person.
She's like five percent body fat now."
The supremely talented Ben Mendelsohn seemed to appear from out of nowhere, but the Australian
has quietly been putting in outstanding performances for years now.
He came to the attention of international audiences with his starring role in the Aussie
drama Animal Kingdom, a Melbourne-set crime flick that wowed critics the world over.
The movie was his Hollywood calling card, and in recent years the character actor has
become Tinseltown's new go-to villain.
You'll probably recognize Mendelsohn from his turn as Imperial Military director Orson
Krennic in 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, or perhaps you’ve seen him in 2018's Ready
Player One.
He played Nolan Sorrento, CEO of the shady company seeking full control over the movie's
virtual reality haven, the OASIS.
He's gained a reputation as something of a chameleon, a description that just so happens
to fit his Captain Marvel character perfectly.
The Emmy-winner plays shape-shifting villain Talos in the twenty-first MCU movie.
Mendelsohn explained a little about the Skrulls in typical comical fashion when he spoke to
reporters during a set visit.
“Space pigs, you know what I mean.
Like, tough, tough.
Big sort of *snort*...
Big tough Skrulls."
Captain Marvel is undoubtedly the biggest gig of Lashana Lynch's career to date, but
the English actress isn't exactly a newcomer.
If you watch a lot of British TV, there's a good chance you've seen Lynch before.
She appeared in everything from police procedurals and crime dramas to murder mysteries and adventure
fantasies while earning her stripes in the UK.
In 2016, her hard work was rewarded when she won the lead role in ABC's Still Star-Crossed.
The show is a sequel to Romeo & Juliet, taking place after the events of Shakespeare's tragedy.
Sadly for Lynch, it wasn't well-received.
Still Star-Crossed received middling reviews, and the ratings were not good.
ABC shifted the show from its primetime slot and later canceled it altogether, scrapping
a planned second season.
Lynch was given the chance to bounce back with Captain Marvel, in which she plays Carol
Danvers' Air Force buddy, Maria Rambeau.
She was a minor character in the comics, but the MCU version will be far more important
to the titular hero.
If you don't recognize Samuel L. Jackson, you must have avoided movies your entire life.
From cult classics to tentpole blockbusters, Jackson has been around the block more than
a few times, becoming Hollywood's most bankable star in the process.
"Ahhhh."
His face is one that the majority of Americans would know in an instant, but his physical
appearance in Captain Marvel is likely to confuse anyone unfamiliar with the setting
of the movie.
Of course, since Captain Marvel is set in the 1990s, Jackson has been de-aged a few
decades by the special effects wizards at Lola VFX.
It's a technique that Marvel has been experimenting with in recent years, but Captain Marvel is
the first time it's been used for the entirety of a movie.
Jackson gave the technique his full approval on his official Instagram account, posting
a photo of himself as the young Nick Fury along with the caption:
"Wow, this Marvel de-aging thing is doper than I thought!"
The '90s setting means fans will get to see the S.H.I.E.L.D.
boss minus his famous eye patch, though judging from some of Jackson's recent comments, he'll
be down to one eye again by the time the credits roll.
"How does Fury even see these?”
“He turns.”
“Sounds exhausting."
Clark Gregg's Phil Coulson is a rookie agent during the time Captain Marvel is set.
Speaking to Den of Geek, Gregg revealed that the S.H.I.E.L.D stalwart will be a total newbie
when he meets Carol Danvers, saying:
"He's a bit of a new guy in S.H.I.E.L.D.
He's a lot younger.
It's the earliest we will have seen him, so when he says, 'Mr. Stark, this isn't my first
rodeo' in Iron Man, this is maybe the rodeo he's talking about."
Gregg managed to book minor movie parts throughout the '90s, later finding a home on TV.
After landing one-off parts in Sex and the City and other shows, Gregg joined the cast
of The West Wing, sporadically appearing as FBI Special Agent Michael Casper between 2001
and 2004.
In 2008, he directed and acted in Choke, an adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's book of the
same name.
Ancient, all-knowing, and a big green floating head, the Supreme Intelligence is a collection
of the smartest Kree minds, merged over a million years in the past to create the ultimate
weapon to defeat the Skrulls.
Who better to step into that role than acclaimed actress Annette Bening?
Bening has been acting steadily since the late '80s, appearing in everything from American
Beauty to Tim Burton's cult classic comedy Mars Attacks.
More recently, she was nominated for an Oscar for her leading role in The Kids Are Alright.
Fans got a glimpse of Bening as the ancient megamind in a recent Captain Marvel trailer.
Although there are some differences in her appearance -- she has a body, for one -- it's
clear that this acting powerhouse is a good fit for the role.
But even the Supreme Intelligence needs a little help from time to time, and Bening
had to turn to an unlikely source to explain some of the more convoluted aspects of Captain
Marvel to her.
"My kids, whom I then told the story to and asked them to please explain to me what the
hell was going on!”
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