Amanda Seyfried reveals she turned down the chance to play Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting with Guardians of the Galaxy. The actress has been starring in movies and television shows for years, breaking out as the ditzy Karen Smith in Mean Girls and playing a key part in Veronica Mars, but it’s interesting to think of how different things would have been if Seyfried accepted the offer.

The franchise that began with Iron Man has changed the course of moviegoing in the last 11 years, revitalizing comic book adaptations across several mediums and adding up to billions of dollars at the box office. The Marvel movies have also provided a boost, financially and professionally, for the actors involved. Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson have both been acting for a long time, even acting in a few films together, but it wasn’t until they were known as Captain America and Black Widow that they ascended to superstardom. At one point, due to her regular appearances as Black Widow in several movies, Johansson was even ranked as the highest grossing actress in history. The career and legacy of Robert Downey Jr. was forever altered by his decision to play Iron Man. Even for a supporting player like Dave Bautista, his comedic turns as the brutish Drax has led to many other opportunities. In a new interview, Seyfried admitted that she could have been acting alongside Bautista and the rest of the galaxy-saving Guardians.

Related: Will GAMORA Be Guardians of The Galaxy 3's Real Villain?

While promoting her new movie, The Art of Racing in the Rain, the actress was asked by MTV International if she would ever want to appear in a superhero movie. Answering honestly, Seyfried said that she had been contacted for a role. Upon deciding against it, she says, they didn’t call back. While she never namedrops Gamora specifically, Seyfried does mention that the role was big and would have involved her putting on green makeup for six months out of the year. Those details seem to indicate that Seyfried would have had the part that eventually went to Zoe Saldana. Elaborating further, the actress stressed that her decision wasn’t motivated by any distaste for the genre.

Zoe Saldana as Gamora in the MCU

I turned down [a superhero movie] once and they haven’t called back since. And it was a big’un. I don’t regret it because I didn’t want to be green for six months out of every year. They tell beautiful stories through superheroes, and my daughter’s now really obsessed with superheroes now, and part of me wishes I’d done it, but the other part of me is like ‘I had a life to live’ and I don’t think I would’ve been happy.

Seyfried is hardly the only notable name to reject appearing in a comic book franchise. The list is considerable, reportedly including Oscar winners and others that would have agreed if not for scheduling conflicts. One of Marvel’s strongest assets in particular, one of the things that it tends to get right, is casting the correct person for each part.

And it would've been interesting to see certain casting decisions go another way, like who would've ended up as Captain America if Evans had turned down the role, as he came close to doing. Superhero roles, especially in the MCU, tend to come with lengthy contracts - and others, like Gamora, with extensive makeup processes - so it's understandable for actors to be hesitant or turn down the roles entirely. Still, it’s always a little fun to imagine Emily Blunt as Black Widow. Or, in this case, Seyfried as Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy.

More: Why Thanos Saved Gamora Finally Explained By Marvel

Source: MTV International