The Marvel Cinematic Universe is an employer that guarantees extreme bragging rights. Who wouldn’t want to work with one of the best media franchises and shared universe in the world, centered on a series of superhero movies? Whether you watch the action happen as a cameraman, or are the center of the action as a superhero or villain, working with the MCU is a dream come true for many. This is clear from many Marvel Studio reviews on Indeed, where MCU was termed as a great opportunity with an awesome experience, offering a fun learning environment, and dedicated professionals who foster creativity.
There are also several regrets, some employees complaining of a non-existent work-life balance, a less optimal pay given the hours, complicated tasks whose completion is a total nightmare, and having to deal with lots of last minute changes.
These are reviews from people working for Marvel, behind the scenes, and as we would assume, the actors would have an amazing time given the immense fame the Marvel platform brings about. As it turns out, however, these superheroes are also human beings in essence, and despite the pride of being a Marvel actor or actress and the perks it brings, they regret working there. Some have termed being in MCU as an incredible experience that they would live over and over, while others wished their characters were killed off, almost immediately they began shooting!
Here are 8 Actors Who Regret Being In MCU Movies (And 12 Actors Who Adored It).
Regretted - Gwyneth Paltrow- Iron Man 3
Although it is a high ranked movie, Iron Man seems to get quite a bit of hate from its actors. Paltrow was first introduced to the world of Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man, where she played Stark’s love interest, Pepper Potts. The ginger-headed heroine was also in Iron Man 3, and this seems to be Paltrow’s last encounter with Downey if her sentiments are anything to go by.
During a 2016 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Paltrow admitted that she was sort of done with acting, and didn’t like it anymore. She was not even sure what Marvel movies she was contracted to appear as Pepper Potts. That’s how detached she was.
adored - Michael B Jordan
Black Panther was arguably the best Marvel movie in 2018. As the world enjoyed over 2 hours of action in the Wakanda kingdom, one thing kept us at the edge of the seats, the villain Killmonger, who would bring war into T’Challa’s kingdom. Michael B. Jordan was the actor behind Killmonger’s sterling performance, and he loved it, as much as we did.
Speaking to MTV, Jordan revealed that he loved working with Marvel, and looks forward to working on Black Panther 2. He said that if there was an opportunity to work with the MCU, and people like Kevin Feige, Joe Russo, Victoria (Alonso) and everyone at Marvel, he definitely would.
adored - Brie Larson
Set to be on our screens in March 2019, Captain Marvel is already receiving a lot of love, from one of the actresses, Brie Larson. Larson expressed her satisfaction with the movie franchise, even before production for the upcoming movie began. In her interview with The Hollywood Reporter in September 2017, Larson narrated that she was impressed by how Marvel’s stories were character-driven while caring about the character’s journey. Despite Marvel’s position in the industry, Larson describes that its openness and collaboration was wonderful.
Larson also adored the experience as training for Captain Marvel taught her to love working out, as the experience gave her a greater sense of ownership over her body.
Regretted - Terrence Howard
Although currently popular for his major role in Fox’s Empire as Lucious Lyon, Terrence Howard was once an MCU bigwig, the original actor for Rhodey in 2008’s Iron Man. James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes, was a major comic character and was set to be even bigger in the movies, becoming War Machine in the sequel, Iron Man 2, in 2010. Terrence did not, however, hang around Marvel long enough to take up the role of War Machine, which was instead taken up by Don Cheadle.
Howard, unfortunately, had some sort of beef with Robert Downey Jr. that saw him leave the franchise. He made $4.5 million dollars more than Downey and was to make $8 million more in the sequels, according to the contract. Howard revealed that Downey successfully managed to take most of his paycheck for the sequel, despite helping Downey get the job in the first place, resulting to a seriously offended Howard, who left after Marvel offered him $1 million instead of the $8 million in the contract!
adored - Chris Pratt
The humor in Guardians of the Galaxy was amazing. This was one of the reasons some fans loved the movie, and one of the actors loved the experience too. Chris Pratt took up the role of Peter “Star-Lord” Quill, and loved every bit of it, especially getting to work with Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man.
Pratt sang praises to Downey during an interview with Empire Magazine, stating that Downey set an amazing tone. He added that Downey was a bit like Tony Stark himself, and what makes Stark are the same qualities that make Downey great. He even joked that Downey could be as rich as Stark. In a different interview, Pratt said that he would love to work with Marvel again, whether they liked it or not!
adored - Chris Hemsworth
Thor is undoubtedly one of the best Avengers, and having its own movies makes the character more interesting. The star of the character is Chris Hemsworth, a face that has long been worthy of the hammer that no other Avenger can lift! Chris totally adores being Thor and would love to continue working with MCU, despite his contract ending after Avengers 4.
Speaking to USA Today, Chris confessed that the possibility of never putting Thor’s armor again and stepping into that world was scary. He also confirmed discussing with MCU’s co-president, Kevin Feige, about his future with the universe, aiming at Thor: Ragnarok as a potential reboot.
Regretted - Hugo Weaving
Avengers: Infinity War, was one of the best movies by Marvel in 2018, and fans were especially excited by the return of the villain Red Skull, who was unfortunately not portrayed by the original actor, Hugo Weaving.
While fans were disappointed, Weaving was very okay with the new development, as he had earlier stated that he was not interested in redoing the role, after Captain America: The First Avenger. During an exclusive interview with Collider, Weaving stated that as much as he was glad to play the role of Red Skull, it was not something he would want to do again, as that was not the sort of film he sought out or was excited about.
adored - Tom Holland
For Tom Holland, being Spider-Man was a dream come true, having idolized the character from a very young age. He was elated when the MCU asked him to star as Spider-Man, having a fantastic time on set, to a point he did not want to let go.
He once said that he wanted to play the hero for a couple of decades, citing that Peter Parker is a character we see in the comic books as a 15-year old boy and also as a 35-year old man, hence Holland has an idea of how to pull it off. He had in fact pitched this idea, and it got to the boardroom!
adored - Scarlett Johansson
Black Widow has quite evolved, and her romance with Hulk in Avengers: Age Of Ultron made us see a very rare side of her. On a normal day, she is a ruthless assassin, just like Bucky, and her actor, Scarlett Johansson, loves playing the Black Widow and working with Marvel.
Johansson has portrayed Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in 6 MCU movies since her first appearance Iron Man 2. In 2012, she was the sole female superhero, compared to 5 alpha males in Avengers, and in 2018, 6 years later, she is elated that there is now more diversity and inclusivity at the MCU, something she has been advocating for. What’s even better, is that the audience has also started embracing the diversity.
Regretted - Mickey Rourke
Iron Man 2 had a quite outstanding villain, one who loved birds. The villain was played by Mickey Rourke, who regretted his role. While speaking to ScreenRant’s Ruth Cornet, Rourke revealed that he hated the fact that his character was portrayed as one-dimensional.
Rourke enjoyed playing the bad guy in earlier movies, and this was supposed to be interesting for him. He approached the writer, Jon Favreau, and Justin Theroux to add some color to the character, which they did, but Marvel cut out most of the performance. This caused Rourke to regret his role, adding that if Marvel wanted to make mindless comic movies then he would not be a part of it.
adored - Paul Bettany
Paul Bettany was a guy who rose from being behind the scenes in Marvel movies to being the guy in the action. His stint with the MCU began in 2008 when he voiced J.A.R.V.I.S. in Iron Man. Bettany was so behind the scenes, that he never went on set to work with the actors, and only did voice work for a few hours.
He had his eye on the bull’s eye, and he hit it when Avengers: Age of Ultron came about. The MCU came knocking at his door, and he did not hesitate to grab the chance of being the superhero, Vision. He expressed his excitement in a Business Insider interview, testifying that it was really lovely to finally work with the people he had been working with for 10 years already.
adored - Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton is the second actor in this list to enjoy working with Marvel during Spider-Man: Homecoming. The fans loved his performance as Vulture, and so did he, confirming this in an interview.
Keaton did not just love the movie and the experience of working with Marvel on set. He also had fun with the depth his character had. He specifically said that being vulture was really interesting, more interesting than he thought because there were parts of his character that made him see why he was a villain. Keaton loved being Vulture so much so, that we will see him as Vulture in 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Regretted - Idris Elba
Idris Elba is acting finesse- the ladies love him and he owns his roles, performing his best in all of them. He is probably one of the main reasons why some ladies watched Thor: The Dark World. As it turns out, he did not enjoy his time, stating that his role lacked character depth, so it was rather pointless.
While speaking to The Telegraph, Elba narrated how he felt that the experience was torture, and his agent encouraged him to push on, as it was part of the deal. Seems Marvel listened to his concerns, and his character was given more depth and development in Avengers: Infinity War and Thor: Ragnarok.
adored - sebastian stan
Sebastian Stan blew up in fame once he entered the MCU. He took the role of Bucky Barnes, who later got brainwashed into becoming The Winter Soldier. He has appeared in numerous films, and although his parts are not always massive, he has loved every moment of it.
Stan is ready to continue too, even without Chris Evans. Stan has said numerous times that he would love to become the next Captain America, even though he knows it means creating a very new and very different kind of Captain. Regardless, fans are not ready to let him go, so chances are that he will stick around for a while.
adored - anthony mackie
Anthony Mackie lives and breathes his Falcon role, and even praises the comic books for making Falcon one of the Captain Americas! He has made his way into the hearts of fans everywhere, and with good reason too.
Mackie is ready to live in the franchise for as long as fans want him, and if it was up to him, he would keep the Captain America: The Winter Soldier squad with him at all times. He loves the movies and working with the character, but what seems to make it worthwhile for him is the people, and he is not ready to give that up any time soon.
Regretted - Edward Norton
Edward Norton was not only an actor in Incredible Hulk but also had an unsuccessful attempt to rewrite the script. The movie was one of Marvel’s flops, partly owing to the fact that Norton delivered his script just a few weeks before production. While Marvel complained about how difficult it was working with Norton, Norton also had sentiments of his own.
At the Bruce Willis Roast, Norton threw a jab at Marvel, stating that he was difficult to work with because he wanted a better script, and wanted a say in the film’s final theatrical cut. An unnamed source advised that Marvel sought this trouble, as ‘they let the wolf into the hen house’.
adored - Chris Evans
The Captain America franchise is one of Marvel’s best outputs ever and Chris Evans couldn’t agree more, loving his time on set, working with Marvel. Early 2018, Chris admitted that he was first worried to take up the role of Captain America, fearing that it would be too overwhelming. Fortunately, as he discovered, this was one of the best decisions of his career.
The role has filled his life with so much positive energy, consequently appreciating more of his personal life. Being Captain America has made him compare the experience with his day to day life, and finding circumstances where he can live up to the person (captain) he portrays. I guess when we ask what would Jesus do, Chris asks what would Captain America do!
Regretted - Natalie Portman
Seems a few of the actors in Thor: The Dark World did not like their roles, Natalie Portman being the second on this list! A fan actually said that the movie was Marvel at its worst. So, what did Portman hate or regret?
When Patty Jenkins, her hand-picked director, was fired from the movie, Portman almost lost it. She wanted to quit shooting in protest but was unfortunately contractually bound to complete shooting. Her feelings, however, somewhat changed in 2016 when she spoke to Wall Street Journal. She pointed out she did not rule out making further MCU appearances, although she was done.
adored - Robert Downey Jr.
According to Chris Pratt, as earlier mentioned, Downey has helped make Marvel an ideal work environment. In his statement, Pratt fondly remembers how Downey was kind to him, always checking up on him. But, does Downey enjoy being Tony Stark, especially since he is such an inspiration to fellow actors?
Turns out that Downey also loves the MCU. He is most especially grateful to the Iron Man franchise for saving his career which could have potentially ended before 2008 when the first Iron Man film aired. Despite a few hiccups such as the drama with Terrence Howard, Downey has been Iron Man in 9 different MCU movies in 10 years, choosing to show his appreciation and adoration by regularly posting Marvel GIFs and memes on his social media pages.
Regretted - Jeremy Renner
While most actors are looking for a way into Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jeremy Renner was looking for a way out at the beginning. The first Avengers movie was his opportunity to really shine as Hawkeye, but Renner was frustrated when his character was reduced to a mind-controlled zombie, half the time! He was so discouraged that he hoped the character was killed off.
Renner complained that 90% of the character portrayed by Marvel was not what he had signed up for. The zombie state was somewhat a vacancy because he could not even be a bad guy as he had no consciousness. Being a robot limited him, but at least had fun stunts.
What do you think of these actors who adore and regret being in the MCU? Let us know in the comments!
