In just a few short years, brothers Anthony and Joe Russo have accomplished something that’s completely unheard of in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) or any other film franchise for that matter. They directed three successive films that earned over $1 billion at the box office. One can even say they are responsible for breaking some of the most impressive box office records.
That said, these aren't the only movies the Russo brothers have worked on. In fact, they were probably able to make the movies such a huge success because they could recognize the talents of several MCU actors they worked with before Marvel.
Updated on July 29th, 2022 by Colin McCormick: With news of Avengers: Secret Wars coming to the MCU, fans have speculated about the Russo brothers possibly making a return to the cinematic universe in the near future. However, in the meantime, the Russos have reunited with some of the Marvel actors on other projects including their new Netflix movie The Gray Man.
Owen Wilson
Owen Wilson is most known for fun and wacky comedies before he stepped into the MCU with his fan-favorite role as Mobius M. Mobius in Loki. It was in the comedy You, Me and Dupree in which Wilson collaborated with the Russos.
Wilson plays the titular Dupree, a well-meaning but somewhat oblivious man who is invited to stay with his newlywed friends after he loses his home only to quickly overstay his welcome and annoy the couple.
Sam Rockwell
Given the massive blockbuster movies they now direct, it is easy to forget that the Russos began their directing career with some very small projects. Welcome to Collinwood was a small-crime comedy with a big cast including Sam Rockwell who would later go on to star in the MCU as the Iron Man villain Justin Hammer.
Rockwell plays one of several hapless low-level criminals who get involved with a big score that involves finding a patsy to take the fall for a crime. These small quirky roles are what Rockwell seems to gravitate toward and he even brought some of that to his scene-stealing role as Hammer in Iron Man 2.
Judy Greer
Judy Greer has not had a very significant role in the MCU thus far, playing Scott Lang's ex-wife Maggie in the Ant-Man movies. However, she is one of those actors who is always a treat to see pop up in any project, including her hilarious recurring role in Arrested Development.
Greer played Kitty Sanchez, George Bluth's former assistant, and mistress. Greer ended up appearing in one episode that was directed by Anthony. Overall, Anthony directed five episodes for the show while Joe directed 10.
Michael Douglas
Aside from working on tv shows, such as Arrested Development and Community, Joe and Anthony also directed the 2006 rom-com You, Me, and Dupree. Among its stars are Kate Hudson, Owen Wilson, Matt Dillon, and Douglas, who played the role of Kate’s father.
The supporting role in this comedy was just one role in Douglas' long career as a Hollywood icon. But there are many fans who still know his best as Hank Pym in the Ant-Man movies, one of the smartest characters in the MCU. Douglas is set to return to the role for Ant-Man: Quantumania.
Cobie Smulders
In the MCU, Smulders portrays the role of Maria Hill, Nick Fury's loyal right-hand soldier. Over the years, having first appeared in The Avengers Smulders has had a long career in the MCU and will reprise the role in the Disney+ series Secret Invasion.
Meanwhile, outside the MCU, Smulders together with the Russos for an episode of The Simpsons entitled "Bart the Bad Guy." In the episode, Bart exploits spoilers from a superhero film to get what he wants. Fortunately, two movie executives (played by the Russo brothers) are determined to stop him. Smulders went on to voice the superhero Hydrangea.
Michelle Yeoh
Michelle Yeoh has the rare distinction of playing two different and unconnected characters in the MCU as Aleta Ogord in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and as Ying Nan in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Interestingly, while the MCU is currently in the midst of the Multiverse Saga, Yeoh and the Russos teamed up to explore the idea of the multiverse outside of Marvel. Everything Everywhere All at Once stars Yeoh as a small business owner attempting to revolve a tax issue when she is dragged into a multiverse war. The inventive and critically acclaimed movie was directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert with the Russos producing.
Richard Madden
Richard Madden is a relatively new addition to the MCU as Ikaris in Eternals. While it remains to be seen if the character will make a return someday, Madden also has a busy television career with roles on Game of Thrones, Bodyguard, and the upcoming Citadel, produced by the Russos.
The spy series is still shrouded in mystery, but Madden plays operative with amnesia who finds his new world clashing with the one that he cannot remember.
Chadwick Boseman
Black Panther was one of the characters the Russos introduced in the MCU in Captain America: Civil War. Chadwick Boseman helped to make the character an icon in his several MCU appearances and his legacy in the role lives on following Boseman's tragic passing in 2020.
After working together on a few MCU projects, Boseman collaborated with the Russos on the crime thriller 21 Bridges. Boseman plays a New York detective who orders the city to be locked down as he hunts down a pair of killers at the center of a larger conspiracy. The Russos produced the movie with Brian Kirk directing.
Benedict Wong
From 2018 to 2019, Wong was also working on the tv series Deadly Class, which the Russo brothers executive produced. The show is a fun twist on the coming-of-age story centering around a young man navigating his way through his new private school which is exclusive to the children of the world's top crime families. Wong's plays the no-nonsense headmaster.
Though the show only lastest one season, Wong has kept plenty busy in the MCU playing the character of Wong. Though he originated in the Doctor Strange movies, fans have found that Wong can show up anywhere in the MCU.
Chris Hemsworth
Following the release of Avengers: Endgame, the Russo brothers decided to work on the action film, Extraction. For the brothers, the project is very personal since Joe had written the story himself. When choosing the leading man for the movie, they zeroed in on Hemsworth.
Having already worked with Hemsworth as Thor in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the Russos surely knew the actor could handle the heroic role of Tyler Rake. But this was a more grounded action hero for Hemsworth as an operative sent into a mob-controlled city to extract a young boy being held hostage.
Tom Holland
Bringing Spider-Man into the MCU was a thrilling moment for fans and it didn't take Tom Holland long to establish that he was born to play the role. Though there is still debate as to whether Holland is the best Spider-Man, the actor impressed the Russo brothers enough to cast him in their first movies after stepping away from the MCU.
Cherry is based on a true story and stars Holland as an army medic who returns home from the war and finds his life spiraling into drugs and crime. It is a hard-hitting role that is far different than Holland's lovable role as Peter Parker.
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal was already a hugely successful actor when he joined the MCU. Gyllenhaal had a stand-out role as Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home, bringing one of the oldest Spider-Man villains to the big-screen. But his collaboration with the Russos was actually behind the scenes.
Gyllenhaal and the Russos produced the horror film Relic starring Emily Mortimer. The disturbing and terrifying story follows a daughter, mother, and grandmother who are haunted by a grim entity.
Chris Evans
The Russos helped to redefine the character of Captain America in the MCU with Captain America: The Winter Soldier which also gave Chris Evans some great opportunities to explore the character. Evans went on to collaborate with the Russos several more times in the MCU and their relationship continues now that Steve Rogers is no longer in the cinematic universe.
Evans stars in the Russo Brothers' new Netflix action movie The Gray Man. Stepping away from his Steve Rogers role, Evans gets to play the villain as a ruthless operative hunting down a spy in this big-budget manhunt movie.
Jon Favreau
One of the episodes of Jon Favreau’s The Chef Show is called "Avengers Atlanta" and features Robert Downey Jr., Tom Holland, the Russo brothers, and even Marvel boss, Kevin Feige. As it turns out, the episode came together quite quickly while production on Spider-Man: Homecoming was underway.
Given that Favreau was the director who brought Iron Man into the MCU and the Russos are the directors who ended the hero's time in the cinematic universe, it is interesting to hang out with them together as they discuss various things with other key Marvel players.
Robert Downey Jr.
Long before fans learned of Iron Man’s fate in Avengers: Endgame, Robert Downey Jr. was already collaborating with the Russo brothers behind the scenes. The project they worked on together is a comedy called Dizzy Pursuit. Both Joe and Anthony serve as executive producers of the film and they funded this project through Marvel set visits.
As for Downey, he helped director Jay Alvarez raise money for the film by promoting his crowdfunding efforts. Because of this, Alvarez decided to give Downey a special thank you credit at the end of the movie.