Years before the MCU began, Heroes built a fun universe of superpowered characters. And much like the MCU, the charm of Heroes came from its ensemble cast who helped bring humanity to these characters who could do amazing things.
The show helped to launch the careers of actors like Hayden Panettiere and Zachary Quinto, but what actors might fill the roles of Claire and Sylar had Heroes been made today? While the cast of this show were instrumental to the series' success, it's fun to imagine who else could have played the parts.
Noah Bennet: Patrick Wilson
Noah Bennett (Jack Coleman) appears to be a normal family man, living in the suburbs with his family and working a typical job. But he harbors a secret life, tracking down superpowered people. While he is a morally gray man, he is shown to genuinely care about his family.
Patrick Wilson is the perfect actor to play someone who can seem like a normal guy only to be hiding some nefarious intentions. He is great at playing both the heroic and loving father characters as well as the threatening villains, like he does in Aquaman.
Hiro Nakamura: Awkwafina
Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) is definitely one of the greatest characters in Heroes. He is a hero who has the ability to manipulate time, teleport, and time travel. He becomes one of the most important heroes in the story. He is also one of the most entertaining, as he is genuinely excited to have superpowers.
The multi-talented Awkwafina is known for her scene-stealing work in his short yet impressive character. Awkwafina's roles in movies and television prove she can be the hero, like in Jumanji, while also bringing comedic relief to the project with her fun energy.
Mohinder Suresh: Mena Massoud
Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is one of the few non-superpowered characters who made a big impact on the show. He is a researcher trying to discover the source of these superpowers. He continues to prove himself to be a brave hero even though he is just an ordinary man.
Mena Massoud impressed many fans with his titular role in the live-action Disney remake of Aladdin. In that role, Massoud displayed his ability to play someone from humble beginnings, thrust into a world of incredible powers, who proves he was a hero all along.
Niki Sanders: Emma Roberts
Niki Sanders (Ali Larter) was never a fan-favorite character, but she was a big part of the first few seasons of the show. Though she was a seemingly ordinary wife and mother, she could gain superstrength whenever her darker alter ego "Jessica" took over.
Emma Roberts has always been impressive with her ability to bounce between sweet rom-com roles and much darker dramatic characters. Her performance in Scream 4 is a particularly good example of how she can play a seemingly good person with a dark side.
Matt Parkman: Sam Richardson
Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg) is one of the noblest heroes on the show. He is a police officer who learns he has the ability to read people's minds. Immediately, Matt sets out to use his powers to help people and he is always a gentle, kind person.
Sam Richardson would bring a nice comedic energy to the character while also capturing Matt's charm as a hero. Richardson is very effective at playing those sweet, soft characters who can still be heroes even when they're in over their heads, including in his recent turn in The Tomorrow War.
Nathan Petrelli: Sterling K. Brown
Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar) is one of the most important characters in Heroes as well as one of the most complex. He is a politician hiding his ability to fly while also dealing with his troubled relationship with his brother. He is ambitious, which eventually drives him to become a villain.
Sterling K. Brown carries that same authoritative and ambitious attitude in many of his roles. He can be a heroic and caring person, but he also has an intensity to him. His hilarious guest-starring role on Brooklyn Nine-Nine also proves he would make a great arrogant villain.
Peter Petrelli: Leslie Odom Jr.
Though Heroes is very much an ensemble show, Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) is probably the closest thing to a main character. He is introduced in the show as a troubled man trying to understand his powers, only to learn he can absorb the powers of others. He is someone who is always faced with difficult decisions required to save the day.
Leslie Odom Jr. is quickly becoming one of the most interesting actors in Hollywood. He excels at playing similar characters faced with understanding their place in the world and the difficult choices they face, and his natural charm would lend itself to playing arguably the best character in Heroes.
Claire Bennet: Dafne Keen
Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere) quickly became one of the most important characters on Heroes when it first aired. She was a popular high school cheerleader who realizes she has the ability to heal from virtually any injury. She is a tough and brave heroine who never backs down from a dangerous situation.
Dafne Keen played another superhero with similar powers when she appeared as Laura in Logan. Though a small child at the time, she did a terrific job coming off as a fierce and fearless warrior. She could bring that same intensity yet young innocence to the role of Claire.
Sylar: Barry Keoghan
The main villain of the first season was Sylar (Zachary Quinto), who was a serial killer that harvested the powers of other superpowered people. Sylar made for a terrific antagonist due to his grisly powers and his creepy nature.
Barry Keoghan is a very interesting young actor soon to be seen in the MCU movie Eternals. Keoghan has a compelling energy to his performances, especially when playing a villain. He was very effective and creepy in the dark thriller Killing of a Sacred Deer.