25 Actors Wasted in Marvel Movies
What a waste! Here are my top 25 great actors who weren't given enough to do in their Marvel Cinematic Universe roles.
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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is full of acclaimed actors and actresses. There are more than 50 Oscar-nominated performers with on-camera speaking roles in the MCU. The list grows even bigger if you include Oscar nominees who just provide a voice or had their scene cut. Even more if you include those that appear in Marvel TV shows or will upcoming movies. The reality is being a great actor or actress doesn't mean you're too good to appear in a Marvel movie. It’s an honor.
But what we've found is not every amazing thespian is fully utilized when it comes to Marvel movies. In some cases, their gifts have been wasted.
It's not just screen time. Some people—like Alfre Woodard in Captain America: Civil War—killed it in only one scene.
Without further ado, here's my list of the top 25 actors who were wasted in MCU roles.
Honorable mentions: Guy Pearce in Iron Man 3, Carrie Coon (in a small motion capture role) in Avengers: Infinity War, David Dastmalchian in Ant-Man, Adewale Akkinouye-Agbaje in Thor: The Dark World, Hugo Weaving in Captain America: The First Avenger.
25. Zachary Levi – The star of the TV show Chuck and, later, the hit superhero movie Shazam! is given such a small role as a member of Thor's crew. His mustache is also terrible. He was disappointed in the role, saying "I knew when I got cast as Fandral... I knew that the Warriors Three could be really fun characters if they ever developed them – they just didn't.”
24. Corey Stoll – Despite a spectacular performance in the first season House of Cards, Stoll's star power never ignited, and he plays a fairly generic villain in the first Ant-Man, adding nothing original to the role. It does, however, appear Stoll will return to the character.
23. Christopher Eccleston – The ninth incarnation of The Doctor has a cult following, but Marvel wasted his talent's with a face full of prosthetics and a generic fantasy backstory in Thor: The Dark World. Truly forgettable. You could have gotten a random stuntman to play this role. Eccleston hated the role too, saying it was one of his least favorite in his career. “Working on something like GI Joe was horrendous,” he said. “I just wanted to cut my throat every day. And Thor? Just a gun in your mouth. Gone in 60 Seconds was a good experience. Nic Cage is a gentleman and fantastic actor. But GI Joe and Thor were …I really paid for being a whore those times.”
22. Rebecca Hall – One of the most underrated actresses (just watch Christine), Hall plays a scientist (with a twist) in Iron Man 3. She seems to know the role is beneath her, and she doesn't necessarily try in what has become known as one of the MCU’s worst offerings. Apparently, her role was reduced because then-President of Marvel Studios Ike Perlmutter didn’t think a female villain would work for toy sales. "We had finished the script, and we were given a no-holds-barred memo saying that cannot stand and we've changed our minds because, after consulting, we've decided that toy won't sell as well if it's a female," said director Shane Black. "So, we had to change the entire script because of toy-making." Yeah, because people bought a lot of Guy Pearce dolls???
21. Derek Luke – Not the greatest actor in the world, but he shined as Boobie Miles in the film Friday Night Lights and the titular role in Antwon Fisher. He barely gets to talk in the first Captain America movie. Could have easily been played by an extra.
20. John C. Reilly – Yes, it's just a cameo, but John C. Reilly is so damn funny so damn often, it's a shame his role is so diminished in Guardians of the Galaxy.
19. Martin Freeman – While Freeman does a fine job with his enjoyable role in Black Panther, it really doesn't take full advantage of his acting talents. Don't hold The Hobbit movies against him; Freeman is a good actor, as shown by the British version of The Office and the first season of the TV show Fargo. He will return for “Black Panther 2.”
18. Walton Goggins – He can chew scenery like no other and play a villain you love to hate. And yet he plays a low level criminal in the sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp and never really gets to dip into the insanity we saw in Vice Principals, Justified and The Hateful Eight. He might return for a later MCU movie.
17. Bokeem Woodbine – An Emmy nominee for his tremendous performance as Mike Milligan in season two of the series Fargo, Woodbine has yet to become a big name actor. It was exciting when he was cast in Spider-Man: Homecoming, but he was given very little to do as Herman Schultz, "The Shocker.” The ending of Spider-Man: Homecoming does tease the formation of the Sinister Six, which could include The Shocker, but that was never explored in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
16. Elizabeth Debicki – She's the next big name to watch as she's set to play Princess Diana in the next two seasons of The Crown. She was arguably the best part of Widows, a film starring big names like Viola Davis, Robert Duvall, Colin Farrell, Cynthia Ervivo, Liam Neeson, Daniel Kaluuya and Jackie Weaver (wow, that’s a lot). In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Debicki is decked out in all gold and is given robotic alien lines to speak.
15. Glenn Close – One of the most celebrated actresses in movie history is given a small cameo. That's fine but given how fun Guardians of the Galaxy is, it's a shame that Close was given such a boring role. She can play anything. Want a redneck grandma or a Dalmatian-stealing socialite? She can do it!
14. Jude Law – He's really shined in movies like The Talented Mr. Ripley, Road to Perdition, Closer and Sherlock Holmes, but Law gives a rather robotic performance in Captain Marvel, playing a commander with a strict allegiance and no real depth or backstory.
13. Annette Bening – A four-time Oscar nominee, Bening isn't very good as the Supreme Commander in Captain Marvel. Maybe it's writing because I'm not sure how anyone could have delivered those lines credibly. She feels out of place playing this cosmic, other-worldly being.
12. Forest Whitaker – While he does fine with the role, Oscar-winner Whitaker doesn't get much screen time as the elder statesman Zuri in Black Panther. He doesn't really get a chance to flex his acting muscles, which is a shame, because as we saw in The Last King of Scotland, Whitaker can play a deranged madman and would have made a great villain at some point.
11. Anthony Hopkins – He has an important role as Odin, father of Thor and Loki and he gets plenty of screen time but this two-time Oscar winner is one of the best actors of all time and he barely emotes in these films. Honestly, it's not much more than he did in the dreadful Beowulf or Alexander movies. There were rumors that Mel Gibson was originally pursued for the role and I’m not sure he’d be better. Apparently Hopkins usually demands $20 million per movie but settled for just $10 million for the first Thor. Ouch. Not sure that was the best use of studio funds.
10. Rachel McAdams – An Oscar nominee for Spotlight, McAdams oozes charm in every role she plays. She's relegated to romantic interest duty in Doctor Strange and does a very good job – in one scene in particular – but we really know nothing about her character.
9. Michael Stuhlbarg – He has a small role as a surgeon in Doctor Strange, which is a shame given his strong roles in A Serious Man, Call Me By Your Name, The Post and The Shape of Water. We also know he can play a villain after his wonderful turn on the TV series Boardwalk Empire.
8. Frank Grillo – He's been outspoken with his disappointment in his run as Crossbones, which he thought would be a bigger role in the MCU. He's a supporting character in Captain America: Winter Soldier and he's quickly killed off in the opening battle of Captain America: Civil War. He would have been a great Punisher.
7. Bobby Cannavale – He's the kind of actor just pops up in everything and he’s always a delight even in a small role, although unfortunately he keeps getting cast in mobster and Italian stereotype parts. He was at his best as Gyp Rosetti in season three of Boardwalk Empire, a role that won him an Emmy. He's got the swagger and the size to play a hero or a villain – along with the comedic chops – but he's stuck playing the police officer boyfriend to Ant-Man's ex-wife. There’s no spinoff in the future for him.
6. Daniel Kaluuya – Now an Oscar winner for his role in Judas and the Black Messiah, he was already a household name when Black Panther came out due to his Best Actor nomination for Get Out. Want to know how he's wasted? Try to remember his character's name in Black Panther. Give up? He was W'Kabi, the best friend to T'Challa who served on the Border Tribe. Not a big role. With the death of Chadwick Boseman, it’s possible that Kaluuya could get a larger role in the sequel, although he said he isn’t sure he’s returning.
5. Chiwetel Ejiofor – In my mind, he's one of Hollywood's best actors to never have won an Oscar. He should have won for 12 Years A Slave, a starring vehicle of his which took home Best Picture. Ejiofor gets little to do as Baron Mordo, essentially a sidekick to Doctor Strange, but that they did set it up in a post-credits scene for Ejiofor to possibly appear in a sequel as a villain. That would be great, but those plans might have changed with the introduction of the multiverse. Although, Ejiofor says he’s excited for Sam Raimi’s take on the sequel.
4. Lupita Nyong'o – The Oscar-winner from 12 Years A Slave plays T'Challa's love interest in Black Panther and she does a fine job, but she doesn't get to show her acting range like she did in Us. She's capable of a lot more than she was given to do and she was easily upstaged by Letitia Wright and Danai Gurira in the film. My guess is she’ll get much more to do in the upcoming sequel, which has been written but not filmed.
3. Natalie Portman – She gets loads of screen time as scientist Jane Foster in the first two Thor movies but she is mostly relegated to girlfriend status. This was back in the day when Marvel didn’t know how to write female characters, although the studio has improved in that regard in recent years. Screenwriters don't even bring back Jane for the third Thor movie, with Thor making an offhand comment about their relationship ending. That's how unessential she is. This is especially sinful given the fact that Portman won an Oscar for Black Swan and should have won a second for Jackie. Don't let the Star Wars prequels fool you, she can play complex characters (beyond just making for a good meme). Marvel might redeem themselves with Thor: Love and Thunder, the fourth entry featuring Jane taking on the powers of Thor. “They came to me with the fourth idea and said, you know, ‘We have this idea, that was a storyline in some of the comics, where Jane becomes Lady Thor,” Portman said. “And I was like, this is very exciting… So it’s exciting to get to work with them again. And yeah, I’m very excited to wield the hammer.”
2. Idris Elba – One of the biggest missed opportunities, Elba was not a huge star yet when she signed on to be in the first Thor movie. He had done The Wire and some BBC work, but he wasn't in the stratosphere of the A-List actors. He was years away from being “considered” to play James Bond. Not only has Elba proved his dramatic ability in films like Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and Beasts of No Nation, but he's a true action star, as shown by The Suicide Squad and Hobbs & Shaw. In the MCU, he plays a truly boring part as Heimdall. He hated the role, saying: "Then there I was, in this stupid harness, with this wig and this sword and these contact lenses. It ripped my heart out." Here's hoping he can play another role in the MCU, as other actors have, such as Gemma Chan (small role in Captain Marvel and now the lead in The Eternals.)
1. Mads Mikkelson –This is the biggest waste. He's so terrific in the TV series Hannibal and the movies Another Round and The Hunt. But in Doctor Strange he's hidden behind ridiculous face paint and barely has any lines (even though he's the villain). He's mostly just running around and jumping into portals.
In my mind, he would be the perfect Doctor Doom in a later phase of Marvel with him appearing in multiple movies. They messed up the character so bad with the first two Fantastic Four movies produced by FOX. Imagine it: Doom is first introduced as a shadowy ruler of Latveria when Secretary Ross has to deal with an international incident. He could try to negotiate deals with the nations of Wakanda or Sokovia but eventually tries to invade their lands. We’ve already had so many cosmic or god-like super villains in the MCU. We need an evil genius instead. A geopolitical strategist who could pull the strings of the World Security Council.
(Some Oscar nominees in the MCU include: Robert Downey Jr , Terrence Howard, Samuel Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Ed Norton, Tim Roth, Mark Ruffalo, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johnasson, Mickey Rourke, Jeremy Renner, Stanley Tucci, Mark Ruffalo, Djimon Hounsou, Bradley Cooper, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Alfre Woodard, Chadwick Boseman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Keaton, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jude Law, Annette Bening, Jake Gyllenhaal, Florence Pugh, Matt Damon, William Hurt, Sam Rockwell, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Tommy Lee Jones, Ben Kingsley, Benicio Del Toro, Robert Redford, Michael Douglas, Maria Tomei, Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett, Lupita Nyong'o, Daniel Kaluuya, Forest Whitaker, Brie Larson, J.K. Simmons, Rachel Weisz, Angela Bassett and more!)