With a seemingly never-ending stream of exciting projects featuring new characters, including the recent Moon Knight and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, there's never a shortage of new actors and actresses entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whether actors have no prior knowledge of the franchise or are die-hard fans, a Marvel role is certainly life-changing.
While some Marvel actors appear to be less knowledgable about their characters and Marvel in general, there is a select handful who were huge fans long before they were cast, including Tom Holland and recent additions Iman Vellani and Xochitl Gomez.
Tom Holland
Tom Holland immediately captured the hearts of Marvel fans around the world with his first appearance as Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War. His enthusiasm on the press tour made him stand out immediately among veteran Marvel actors.
Holland has been a Spider-Man fan since he was a child, taking to his Instagram to post photos of him holding his very first Spider-Man costume. He has also said in interviews that he remembers going to the movie theaters to see the first Avengers movie, and he couldn't have imagined that he would be in one, let alone take on the role of one of the most beloved superheroes of all time.
Simu Liu
One of the newest actors to enter the MCU and delivering one of the best performances in Phase 4 so far, Simu Liu might take the cake for the biggest Marvel fan before he was cast as the titular character in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Liu has been an active fan for a long time, turning to Twitter to gush about various projects, most recently tweeting about how much he loves the newest Marvel show, Moon Knight. In Marvel's "Ready To Rise" featurette, Liu calls himself "the biggest Marvel fan you could possibly imagine."
On his Instagram, Liu has posted several pictures of himself at Marvel Studios, holding a signed Captain America shield, and wearing clothes with niche Marvel references on them. Even though he is a part of the MCU now, he is still not afraid to hide his inner fanboy.
Iman Vellani
Iman Vellani will be making her MCU debut in the summer of 2022, with Ms. Marvel. The 19-year-old will be playing the titular character, and she is more than thrilled to be joining the MCU. Marvel president Kevin Feige says that Vellani had a lot of ideas and energy on set. Feige told Empire, “Iman is a much bigger Marvel fan than we realized. [On set] she carries this Unabomber notebook with her everywhere, with her scribbles and ideas. And why wouldn’t we want to hear them?”
Sana Amanat, the co-creator of Ms. Marvel, told Empire that in her Zoom interview with Vellani, she showed herself to be a true Marvel fangirl. “She showed me every corner of her room, and it was covered with Avengers,” Amanat recalls, “Then she said, ‘Oh wait, I’m not done,’ opened up her closet, and there was more Marvel everywhere.”
Xochitl Gomez
As the newest addition to the MCU, Xochitl Gomez has skyrocketed to fame. The 16-year-old made her Marvel debut in Multiverse of Madness as one of the film's best characters, America Chavez, and she has been the perfect blend of professional and wildly enthusiastic throughout this entire journey.
At the premiere of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Gomez fangirled unashamedly, saying excitedly, "I'm just excited to be here, number one! And I'm such a fan of Marvel in general so being here is just like...I'm just shaking being here and being invited, ah!" (via YouTube). Gomez is certainly grateful beyond measure for the chance to star in a Marvel film, and it clearly means so much to her.
Clark Gregg
Clark Gregg was one of the very first Marvel actors, first appearing in Iron Man way back in 2008. After his character, Phil Coulson's death in The Avengers, Gregg went on to star in the show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Gregg recalls first learning about his character's true identity, and how he reacted as a longtime comics fan. He tells Buzzfeed, "In the original script of Iron Man, I'm not even sure his name is Coulson — I think it was just 'Agent.' And then he had a name and seven or eight lines. And then all of a sudden, there's a scene at the end where Pepper Potts and Tony Stark are saying 'Thank you, Agent Coulson.' As a fan of the comics, I nearly died on the spot." Gregg received the opportunity to portray one of the most interesting comic book characters, and as someone who has read the comics, he was absolutely blown away by the sheer "wow factor."
Andrew Garfield
Andrew Garfield recently reprised his role as the Amazing Spider-Man in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Before this movie came out in July of 2021, Garfield hadn't been Peter Parker since 2014. Despite the fact that Garfield hasn't been in a Marvel project in a long time, he has still been a fan of Marvel and Spider-Man ever since he was a child.
Garfield tells GQ, "I think I watched that first Spider-Man film back-to-back like three times with my friend Terry McGinnis and we were just incredibly high and we would, like, do the lines to each other." He grew up watching the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies, so when he received the opportunity to play Spider-Man, he was more than ecstatic, and he continues to be a huge Marvel fan, expressing his love for Tom Holland's version of the character.
Michael B. Jordan
Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger may be a villain, but he certainly has no shortage of fans. Jordan co-starred in Ryan Coogler's Black Panther, which came out in 2018. Jordan said in interviews that he is immensely excited to be a part of the MCU, especially since he read comics as a child.
Jordan is not only a huge Marvel fan, but he is just a superhero fan in general. According to Collider, he is producing (and possibly even starring in) a Black Superman series for HBO Max. He may even reappear in Black Panther 2, but he has refused to say anything definitive about the matter.
Winston Duke
Winston Duke also made his MCU debut in Black Panther, something he never thought would happen. He grew up reading comic books, finding comfort and joy in superhero stories, and he couldn't believe it when he was cast as M'Baku, one of Black Panther's best friends, by Ryan Coogler.
Duke tells okayplayer, “I never thought that one day I could play these kinds of characters...What I loved about all these stories is that they were about people who were discovering that they were special and were discovering that they had special abilities that would put them in a position in life to fully realize their complete self.” Comics helped Duke cope with difficulty as a child, and he channeled that love into his adult life.
Tony Revolori
Tony Revolori has been a Marvel superfan since he was a child. Growing up watching X-Men, Spider-Man, and Fantastic Four, he also immersed himself in the comics, soaking up every word enthusiastically. Revolori reflects in an autobiographical article on Fandom about watching Spider-Man in the theaters for the first time: "I experienced something magical in that theater. For the first time, I felt like I could relate to the main character in a movie. I felt like Peter Parker, a nerd who gets bullied, who wants the girl, who just needs a little help to get out of the shadows of his peers."
Revolori goes on to write that he was beyond thrilled to get the role of Flash Thompson in Tom Holland's Spider-Man trilogy, saying that he never would have imagined that he would go "from fan to Flash."
Laurence Fishburne
Laurence Fishburne only has a small role in the MCU, but it still meant a lot to him, since he grew up reading comics. He made his MCU debut as Bill Foster in Ant-Man and the Wasp in 2018, and while it is unsure whether he will return or not, fans were excited to see the beloved actor in the MCU.
Fishburne tells JAMonkey about his childhood comics obsession. "I started reading comic books when I was very young. Probably like eight or nine years old. And I always read DC and Marvel. I love them both," he says, "I’m grateful and happy to be a part of that small group of actors who’ve been in both universes."