The Marvel Cinematic Universe currently consists of 24 films, with three more set to be released this year and several more in various stages of development. There are also three released Disney Plus television series, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki, that are considered part of the MCU, with many more to come.
With such a large number of projects, countless actors have played roles both large and small in the MCU over the years. Some of these actors were fairly well known before appearing in a Marvel project, while others were catapulted into stardom due to their role in the MCU. Regardless, a major role in a Marvel film or television show can introduce an actor to a massive audience of Marvel fans who may not have known their name before.
Many actors in the MCU were acting for years before getting their big break--whether in Marvel or elsewhere--and so many have early projects that fans aren't even aware of, or maybe have forgotten about. Not all of the roles are big, and not all of the projects are good, but everyone has to start somewhere. Here are just a few of the early acting roles by MCU actors that most fans may not know about.
Chris Evans in Opposite Sex
Chris Evans was already pretty well known before debuting as Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011. He had already been a superhero, starring as the Human Torch in Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and he had high-profile roles in movies such as Not Another Teen Movie, Cellular, The Losers, and Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. He even acted alongside Scarlett Johansson twice before either of them appeared in the MCU, in both The Perfect Score and The Nanny Diaries.
However, fans may be less familiar with Opposite Sex, the Fox comedy series that Evans starred in when he was only nineteen years old. Airing in the summer of 2000, Opposite Sex starred Evans, Milo Ventimiglia, and comedic actor Kyle Howard as the only three boys at the newly co-ed Evergreen Academy. The boys aren't as welcomed by most of the female students as they were hoping to be, and encounter lots of girl trouble and comedic hijinks. The show got mostly mild to positive reviews at the time, but found itself lost in the sea of teen comedies and dramas that ruled television in this era. It was canceled after only eight episodes, but the three main stars have all gone on to find success.
Scarlett Johansson in The Horse Whisperer
Johansson was another actor who was already fairly popular before she became Black Widow in the MCU. She made her film debut at nine years old, and was successfully able to transition from child actor to teen actor to adult actor. The 2001 black comedy Ghost World is often considered to be her breakthrough role as an older teen, remaining a cult classic to this day. As an adult, she made waves with her major roles in movies such as Lost in Translation, Girl With A Pearl Earring, Matchpoint and The Prestige.
In 1998, a few years before Ghost World, Johansson starred in the American Western drama The Horse Whisperer. The movie starred and was directed by legendary film actor Robert Redford, a big deal for an upcoming child star like Johansson. Redford plays a talented horse trainer who is hired to help Grace, played by Johansson, and her horse recover from the trauma of a tragic accident. Johansson was praised for her work on the film and for the level of talent and maturity she displayed at the age of thirteen. She was even nominated for a Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress.
Benedict Cumberbatch in Fortysomething
A relatively recent addition to the MCU compared to Evans and Johansson, Cumberbatch was already a well-known and celebrated actor before he played the titular character in 2016's Doctor Strange. He was known to many fans for playing Sherlock Holmes in BBC's Sherlock television series, for his role as Khan in Star Trek: Into Darkness, and for voicing the dragon Smaug in The Hobbit films. He also starred in such award-winning films as The Imitation Game, The Fifth Estate, 12 Years A Slave, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Before any of these roles, Cumberbatch played Hugh Laurie's son in the British comedy-drama series Fortysomething. Cumberbatch played a university student angry at his younger brother for stealing his girlfriend while his father Paul goes through a midlife crisis. The show ran for one six-episode season, doing poorly in the ratings despite extremely positive reviews for the hilarious cast and odd humor by critics and those who watched. The show found a second audience when it was released on DVD in 2008, especially with the success of Laurie's show House in the United States at the time. Perhaps it could find another resurgence with Cumberbatch's growing audience.
Brie Larson And Kat Dennings in Raising Dad
These two MCU stars have yet to star in a Marvel project together, but they starred in this television series years before the MCU began. Larson, of course, stars as Captain Marvel herself, Carol Danvers. She was known previously for her award-winning performance in Room as well as roles in Scott Pilgrim Vs The World and United States of Tara. Kat Dennings has played the brilliant scientist Darcy Lewis in Thor, Thor: The Dark World, and most recently WandaVision. Before Thor, she starred in the popular teen movies Charlie Bartlett and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.
Larson and Dennings starred together in Raising Dad, a sitcom that aired on the WB between 2001 and 2002. Full House's Bob Saget played a widower struggling to raise his two daughters, played by Larson and Dennings, while also working at his older daughter's school. Larson was only twelve years old at the time, while Dennings was fifteen. Reviews from the time do consider the cast talented, but otherwise are mostly negative, calling the sitcom bland and nothing new. Raising Dad was canceled after one season of 22 episodes, many of which can now be found in full on YouTube.