Picture this: Jim from ‘The Office’ in red and blue spandex fighting off the villains as Captain America. Well, believe it or not, John Krasinski has broken away from his funny guy typecasting to take on more serious roles lately, such as his part in Michael Bay’s ’13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi’. So, he decided to try his hand and audition for the role of America’s favorite captain.
While Chris Evans ultimately walked away with the part, Krasinski says he’s got no regrets for taking the chance. Plus, he was a good sport when he got the rejection (on his wife’s birthday, no less), laughed it off and said he could see why they cast Evans.
Leonardo DiCaprio Turned Down Many Superhero Roles
'Titanic' star Leonardo DiCaprio has been contacted by Marvel on more than one occasion to play the role of a superhero. The first was when he was invited to play Batman’s sidekick, Robin, in the 1995 film 'Batman Forever'. Years after he declined that role, they called him up again to ask him if he was interested in starring as Peter Parker in 'Spider-Man'. But once again, the A-lister turned down the chance to join the Marvel family.
When he was asked why later on, DiCaprio said he felt that, at the time, they weren’t “complex characters.”
Dougray Scott: Wolverine
Ah, 1999: the year when everyone was quite certain that the world was going to plunge into chaos after every machine on the face of the Earth crashed, along with planes, trains and automobiles, as soon as the computers hit quadruple 0’s. Luckily, the world is still standing, but something exciting did happen that year – Dougray Scott was asked to play Wolverine in 'X-Men', and he said yes.
So why is it that no one’s seen Dougray Scott rocking the Wolverine claws? Around the same time, Tom Cruise had personally chosen him to play the bad guy in 'Mission Impossible 2'. So, Scott let go of the role which led to it being filled by Hugh Jackman. And hey, who’s complaining?
Brie Larson’s Suave Modesty
You probably recognize Brie Larson from playing the title role in Marvel’s new 'Captain Marvel' movies. But she had her reservations about accepting the part – mainly because she knew what entering the Marvel franchise meant: there wouldn’t be very many people in the world who wouldn’t recognize her…as Captain Marvel, anyways. Larson has always gravitated towards more serious roles and wasn’t exactly excited about rising to the top via MU.
Fortunately, she reconsidered and wound up taking the role, which she’s reportedly thankful for, these days. Well yeah, who wouldn’t be thankful for landing a role that pays around $5 million per film? Don’t worry, Brie, everyone can still see the (more) serious side of you in your other films, like 'Room'.
MMA Star Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
Rampage Johnson is a familiar face in the world of mixed martial arts. And, ever since he played the role of B.A Baracus in the hit movie, 'The A-Team', he’s a recognizable character in Hollywood, too. With his bulging muscles and aggressive fighting style, he sure seems like a worthy candidate to join the Marvel Universe. So why is it that you haven’t seen him in one of their movies yet?
Jackson was given the opportunity to play the role of John Wraith (Sabretooth) in 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' in 2009 but had to turn it down. The MMA fighter was still on contract with the UFC and had a big fight coming up that he had to train for. Since the filming would’ve conflicted with his training, he had to say no. But later that year, he appeared on 'Miss March', and the year following was when he landed his first major role, alongside Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper.