The casting director behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sarah Finn, has an impeccable eye for which actor is right for which part. For example, when she first suggested Chris Pratt for the role of Peter Quill, director James Gunn dismissed the idea, but Pratt ended up landing the role and proving himself as the ideal choice.
Occasionally, Finn has cast actors who have appeared in previous Marvel roles outside the MCU. At first glance, you’d think that the actors being known as other superheroes would be distracting, but it’s always worked out. So, here are 10 MCU actors that previously appeared in non-MCU Marvel movies.
Jon Favreau
Alongside Kevin Feige and Robert Downey, Jr., Jon Favreau is one of the people who can take responsibility for the MCU’s success. As the director of 2008’s Iron Man, Favreau set the basic template for the 22 movies that would follow, and more importantly, made a movie that was strong enough for 22 sequels to follow.
Although he stopped directing MCU films after 2010’s Iron Man 2, Favreau has continued to appear as Happy Hogan in increasingly larger roles. He previously played Matt Murdock’s legal partner Foggy Nelson opposite Ben Affleck in the critically despised 2003 Daredevil movie.
Idris Elba
Although Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance hit theaters later than the first Thor movie, Idris Elba shot his role as Moreau in Spirit of Vengeance before he was immortalized as Heimdall in the MCU.
The actor actually enjoyed performing Heimdall’s eyes so much that he applied the same technique to his performance as Moreau. Moreau was a French liaison who teamed up with Johnny Blaze. He was an original character, not based on anyone from the comics.
Ray Stevenson
As Zachary Levi attested to during his press tour for Shazam!, the Warriors Three got the short end of the stick in the MCU’s Thor trilogy. Levi played Fandral, Tadanobu Asano played Hogun, and Ray Stevenson played Volstagg.
Long before he was disregarded by the Thor movies, Stevenson starred in Punisher: War Zone as bloodthirsty vigilante Frank Castle, better known as the Punisher.
David Hasselhoff
Samuel L. Jackson’s casting as Nick Fury was a unique process. When Marvel retooled the character for the “Ultimate” line, they asked Jackson for permission to use his likeness, which he was happy to give them. So, when Fury was brought to the screen in the MCU, choosing an actor to play him was easy.
But long before Fury was redesigned, David Hasselhoff played him in the made-for-TV movie, Nick Fury: Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Then, in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Hasselhoff played himself in a cameo appearance as one of Ego’s transformations.
Michael B. Jordan
Although it’ll be a long time before Thanos is toppled as the MCU’s most memorable villain, Erik Killmonger is a very close second. Michael B. Jordan brought a real humanity to Killmonger, to the point that the audience can actually sympathize with his side. Before collaborating with Ryan Coogler for the third time on Black Panther, Jordan played Johnny Storm, a.k.a. the Human Torch, in Josh Trank’s unusually gritty Fantastic Four reboot, dubbed Fant4stic.
Fant4stic was panned as one of the worst superhero movies ever made, but Jordan was redeemed when, three years later, Black Panther was praised as one of the best superhero movies ever, and received the MCU’s first nod for Best Picture.
Jennifer Connelly
Jennifer Connelly provided the voice of Karen, the A.I. in Peter’s hi-tech suit, in Spider-Man: Homecoming. She had previously played the love interest Betty Ross alongside Eric Bana’s Bruce Banner in Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk movie. Coincidentally, in real life, Connelly is married to Paul Bettany, who plays Vision in the MCU.
Ray Wise
Ray Wise’s most iconic role will always be that of Leland Palmer in David Lynch’s surreal soap opera Twin Peaks, but he’s also played two supporting characters in Marvel projects. He was first wasted as a personality-free Secretary of State in Matthew Vaughn’s 2011 prequel X-Men: First Class.
Then, a few years later, he appeared on ABC’s airwaves as Hugh Jones in the MCU TV series Agent Carter. Wise’s arc on the series carried across the short-lived show's two seasons.
Lou Ferrigno
In The Incredible Hulk TV series from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Bill Bixby starred in the lead role of David Banner. The character was renamed from Bruce due to TV executives strangely deciding that David was a more relatable name. At the time, CGI didn’t exist, so the Hulk was created by painting a bodybuilder green.
That bodybuilder was Lou Ferrigno, who has been forever immortalized as Marvel’s green meanie. Although Mark Ruffalo plays the MCU’s Hulk via performance capture, Ferrigno has contributed vocal effects to the character. He also cameoed as a security guard in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.
Laurence Fishburne
With roles in Apocalypse Now, Boyz n the Hood, and The Matrix trilogy, Laurence Fishburne is one of the most iconic actors in Hollywood. Before playing Bill Foster, the original Giant-Man (or Goliath), in the MCU’s Ant-Man and the Wasp, Fishburne played the titular cosmic villain in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
The physical appearance of the Silver Surfer was played by Doug Jones (who was similarly unrecognizable in roles in Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth, and The Shape of Water), but Fishburne provided his voice.
Chris Evans
The most obvious example of an MCU actor who previously played another Marvel character is Chris Evans, who played Johnny Storm in two Fantastic Four movies before taking the role of Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger and six subsequent films (not including his four cameo appearances).
In 2017, Evans jokingly tweeted a pitch for a crossover involving his two superpowered roles: “So, who do I talk to about a Cap/Human Torch buddy comedy spin-off? I’m thinking Planes, Trains, and Automobiles meets Parent Trap.”