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- Paramount Pictures/Captain America: The First Avenger, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Ant-Man and the Wasp
- Paramount Pictures/Captain America: The First Avenger
16 Famous Actors You Might've Forgotten Are In The MCU
Vote up the performers you just straight up forgot were part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is easily one of the biggest media franchises around, spanning movies, TV series, and special features. With so many projects over so many years, it can be hard to keep track of all the Hollywood stars who have been in the MCU. This is especially true for the actors that have very small parts.
Some actors have appeared in the MCU more than once, and Marvel was confident enough that fans would forget their original appearance to recast them as another character. The MCU has also been going on for so long that certain actors weren't actually well-known when they originally appeared. So, let's run through some you might've forgotten about, and don't forget to vote up your favorites!
Jenna Ortega is probably most well-known for her role as Wednesday Addams in the Netflix series Wednesday. That being said, she has also been around for quite a bit. Ortega was in all five seasons of Jane the Virgin, had leading roles in two Disney Channel series in the late 2010s, and starred in several horror movies like the Scream films and X.
Before Ortega was widely recognized, she appeared in the MCU when she was only 11. Ortega's appearance is brief, and her character doesn't even have a name. She plays the daughter of the US vice president who has lost her leg. She serves as partial motivation for the VP to work with Aldrich Killian as he hopes it can help regrow her lost limb.
Did you forget?Though he had been acting for a short time before becoming a cast member, Pete Davidson is likely best known for being on Saturday Night Live. Since gaining attention from SNL, Davidson has gone on to star in films such as Bodies Bodies Bodies and The King of Staten Island. Weirdly enough, his dating life has been a constant source of media speculation and attention for years now.
James Gunn is well-known for including actors he likes in multiple projects, even if they're just in minor roles. Davidson - along with several other actors from Gunn's movie The Suicide Squad - shows up in Guardians 3 in bit parts. Davidson's is perhaps the easiest to miss, as he plays an alien with only one line. Originally, the character had a comedic back-and-forth with Peter Quill, which may have made it easier to remember the character and recognize Davidson in the role.
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Bill Skarsgård In ‘Eternals’
Bill Skarsgård started his acting career when he was only 10, appearing in the Swedish thriller White Water Fury. He has since become somewhat of a horror icon thanks to his role as Pennywise in the It movies and his starring role in Hemlock Grove. Skarsgård has also appeared in Deadpool 2, where he played the vomiting hero Zeitgeist.
Skarsgård also appeared as one of the main antagonists of Eternals, the Deviant Kro. Although Kro has several big scenes in the movie, the blue multi-eyed CGI creature doesn't really look like Skarsgård. Though his voice is definitely recognizable if audiences know to listen for it, with so many other huge names in the cast of Eternals, it isn't surprising that fans may have missed Skarsgård's inclusion. Eternals is also one of the least popular MCU films, so there is probably a lot about it that has been forgotten.
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Jenna Coleman has had several significant roles in British TV shows, including the soap opera Emmerdale, Victoria, and Doctor Who. Most recently, Coleman appeared as Johanna Constantine in The Sandman. She did such a great job portraying the character that creator Neil Gaiman has expressed interest in giving her a spinoff.
Coleman is yet another talented actress who was unfortunately relegated to the role of a pointless love interest in Captain America: The First Avenger. She is Bucky's date at the World Expo and mainly exists to show how much more successful Bucky is with women than Steve.
Did you forget?Tim Heidecker is a comedian who initially gained attention through his Adult Swim series like Tom Goes to the Mayor and Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!. He has appeared in several big comedy movies like Bridesmaids and also showed off his more serious acting chops in Us. He also continues to make unique projects like his satirical comedy special An Evening With Tim Heidecker or his urine-obsessed folk band The Yellow River Boys.
Ant-Man and the Wasp had the unfortunate luck of following Avengers: Infinity War, so fans weren't as invested in it as other MCU projects. This, coupled with Heidecker's minimal cameo role as a whaleboat captain, makes it unlikely most viewers even remember him being in the movie. Despite being a cameo, his character has a name, and it is appropriately off-beat for the comedian: Captain Daniel Gooobler.
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Ty Burrell has had a lengthy career in television, but he is most likely recognized for his lead role in the sitcom megahit Modern Family as Phil Dunphy. He's still found time to appear in plenty of movies, though, including Black Hawk Down and Dawn of the Dead. Burrell also has some notable voice acting roles, starring in Mr. Peabody & Sherman and Finding Dory.
Shortly before his 11-year run on Modern Family began, Burrell appeared in The Incredible Hulk as Doc Samson after Bruce Banner's disappearance. There are a lot of reasons why Burrell's character may be forgotten. He isn't a major character and never returns later in the MCU like William Hurt and Tim Roth did. There is also the fact that fans sometimes forget about The Incredible Hulk entirely because of how disconnected it feels from the rest of the franchise, despite contributing several characters to the canon.
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Kate Mara has had a long career in Hollywood, appearing in major films like Brokeback Mountain and The Martian. She has also had several prominent TV roles, including her Emmy-nominated performance in House of Cards. She does have some superhero experience outside of the MCU, appearing in the much-maligned Fantastic Four film from 2015 as Sue Storm. It's better if we don't talk about that, though.
Mara appeared only briefly in Iron Man 2 to subpoena Tony Stark. The fact that fans probably don't remember this brief cameo is exactly the opposite of how the role was initially pitched to Mara. Apparently, it had been hinted that if she made this brief appearance, there was a possibility she would be brought back into the MCU later. This never happened, but Mara says she didn't mind because she still enjoyed working with Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau.
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Lake Bell started her career with main roles on several TV shows, including Miss Match and Boston Legal. Since then, she has continued to have a successful career in both TV and film, appearing in both Wet Hot American Summer sequel series, Bless This Mess, Million Dollar Arm, and even another MCU project, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Bell also has an impressive voice acting resume, including her series regular role as Poison Ivy on Harley Quinn. Funnily enough, she had also played Poison Ivy previously in an episode of Robot Chicken.
When Marvel made the What If…? animated series, they did manage to get a good amount of the MCU actors to reprise their roles, but not all of them. Bell joined the cast, replacing Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow. She does such a good job that fans might think it is Johansson if they don't check the credits. Coincidentally, Bell had also played Black Widow in Robot Chicken as well.
Did you forget?Adam Pally is a comedic actor who is probably best known for his sitcom roles on The Mindy Project and Happy Endings. Of course, a character actor of his stature will always find work. He's in the Sonic the Hedgehog movies, had a regular role on Crossing Swords, played a comedic scout trooper in The Mandalorian, and had a one-off role as Judas in History of the World: Part II.
Pally made a quick appearance in Iron Man 3 as Gary, a cameraman for a local news channel. Gary is a major Tony Stark fanboy who has crafted his facial hair to reflect Tony's and even has a tattoo of Stark on his arm. Gary is only in one scene, so fans would be forgiven if they forgot him altogether, even if he is quite a big personality.
Did you forget?Arianna Greenblatt''s biggest role to date was probably in the Barbie movie as Sasha, the young girl Barbie initially believes is responsible for her cellulite and irrepressible thoughts of death. Greenblatt has also been chosen to play the young version of many characters throughout her career, including young Velma in Scoob!, young Nina in In the Heights, and young Ahsoka Tano in Ahsoka.
Greenblatt's appearance in the MCU also fits this trend, as she played the young Gamora in Infinity War. While fans definitely remember the scene where Thanos first meets Gamora, they may not recognize Greenblatt under the heavy makeup effects used to turn her into the young Guardian.
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Christopher McDonald has appeared in many well-known films dating back to the '80s, including Grease 2, Thelma & Louise, and Fatal Instinct. There are also many who probably still think of him as Shooter McGavin from Happy Gilmore. He also has countless TV credits, including a long-running role on Family Law.
McDonald had a minor role in Secret Invasion as a news anchor who gets replaced by a Skrull. In a series that already felt largely inconsequential, McDonald's role was even less so, meaning fans could easily overlook it. Marvel may have future plans for the character, as it seems strange to get an accomplished actor only to sideline them so heavily.
Did you forget?Trevor Noah is a comedian probably best known for taking over The Daily Show after Jon Stewart stepped down. Apart from his many stand-up specials, Noah has appeared in several films and TV shows, though often playing the role of himself as seen in American Vandal and Nashville.
MCU fans might not know that Noah has actually appeared in both Black Panther films in the MCU, mainly because he has never appeared on-screen. Instead, he has provided the voice of the AI program Griot in both films. Although, if Paul Bettany's time playing JARVIS is any indication, Noah might still appear in person in a Marvel movie someday.
Did you forget?Nathan Fillion came to prominence - and won over the hearts of nerds everywhere - with his starring role in the short-lived series Firefly. Since then, he has played the lead in TV shows Castle and The Rookie and has regularly voiced Green Lantern in animated DC projects. He has also appeared in The Suicide Squad and will apparently be playing a live-action Green Lantern in upcoming DC films.
Fillion is good friends with director James Gunn, so it's no surprise that he turned up in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but what fans might not know is that he was meant to be in every Guardians movie to some degree. Although his cameo as Wonder Man was cut from Vol. 2, Fillion did appear in the first Guardians movie as the voice of the blue alien prisoner that threatens Peter Quill. Fillion's voice is pitch-shifted, so it might be hard to recognize him in the role.
Did you forget?Patton Oswalt is quite the prolific comedic actor. His early role on King of Queens helped make him more recognizable, and he has since appeared in countless films and TV shows in small and large roles alike. He also has an equally impressive voice-acting resume, starring in films like Ratatouille and The Secret Life of Pets 2 and TV shows like M.O.D.O.K. and The Sandman.
Despite his recognizable voice, Oswalt's brief appearance as Pip the Troll in Eternals was somewhat overshadowed. This is because he appeared alongside Harry Styles's introduction as Eros AKA Starfox. With most of the attention going to the pop star's debut in the MCU or the voice cameo by Blade in the film's second teaser, Oswalt's inclusion wasn't the main topic of discussion amongst fans.
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Natalie Dormer is probably best known for her roles in The Tudors as Anne Boleyn and Game of Thrones as Margery Tyrell. Dormer also appeared in the last two original Hunger Games films and even had a voice role in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
Dormer seems to work well in period pieces and fantasy worlds, making Captain America: The First Avenger a good fit for her. Dormer has a minor role as Private Lorraine, a soldier who works with Colonel Phillips and shows romantic interest in Steve Rogers. Dormer's character is pretty underdeveloped, serving mainly as a prop to make Peggy Carter jealous, which does seem like a waste of her talents. Perhaps this is why her role in the MCU is sometimes forgotten.
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Dermot Mulroney has been acting consistently since the late-‘80s, appearing in a variety of films and TV shows. He’s had roles in Angels in the Outfield, My Best Friend's Wedding, and more recently in Scream VI. He has also had some major TV appearances, like his recurring roles on Shameless and New Girl.
Mulroney plays the President of the United States in Secret Invasion, which is a pretty significant role. However, the series has had such negative word of mouth that it wouldn't be a big surprise if many MCU fans skipped it entirely.
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