![20 Marvel Actors Who Were Completely Wasted In Their MCU Roles](https://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2022/07/attachment-actors-marvel-wasted.jpg?w=980&q=75)
20 Marvel Actors Who Were Completely Wasted In Their MCU Roles
Everyone loves a paycheck. I don’t begrudge any actor who looks at the film landscape (and their bank account) and says “Yes, I will show up for two minor scenes in the next Marvel movie. I really need to remodel my kitchen in my house.”
Still, it’s hard sometimes not to get a little frustrated with the way the Marvel Cinematic Universe has squandered some of the best performers of this era in nothing roles. While some actors flourished in the MCU — Robert Downey Jr. owes the entire second act of his career to Tony Stark, and Chris Hemsworth became a beefy comic leading man thanks to his hilarious work in Thor and The Avengers — many well-known stars have been brought in for some marquee value, a handful of scenes, and little else.
The list below collects 20 of the most notable and disappointing examples. It does not include anyone introduced in Phase 4 of the MCU, because we’re going to give the company the benefit of the doubt and assume that even if someone made a brief and unsatisfying appearance somewhere recently, they could show up in a much larger and more meaningful way down the line.
The actors below have generally already come and gone from the MCU — although is anyone ever truly dead in comics? There’s always a chance these performers could get a second shot at Marvel stardom. Until then, they remain MCU what-ifs — and not the good kind of MCU What If...?s that star Jeffrey Wright as Uatu the Watcher.
Great Actors Who Were Wasted in Their MCU Roles
![Sasquatch 92.1 FM logo](https://townsquare.media/site/165/files/2020/02/512.jpg?w=100)
More From Sasquatch 92.1 FM
![‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Review: Tom Cruise on a Mission to Save the Movies](http://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2022/05/attachment-tgm59453r2.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![The ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ TV Series Has Its Cast](http://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2022/04/attachment-Screencrush-22.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![10 Famous Actors Who Lied To Get Movie And TV Roles](http://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2021/12/attachment-attachment-Actors-Who-Lied-For-Roles.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![‘Winning Time’ Trailer Turns the Showtime Lakers Into an HBO Series](http://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2021/12/attachment-john-c-reilly-quincy-isaiah-jason-clarke.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ Review: A Beloved Franchise Goes Bust](http://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2021/11/attachment-afterlife-111.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![First ‘Shazam 2’ Teaser Gives First Look at Zachary Levi’s New Costume](http://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2019/04/shazam-1.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Let’s Give ‘Shazam’ Credit For Keeping Its Best Action Sequence Totally Secret](http://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2019/04/shazam-111.jpeg?w=980&q=75)
![‘Shazam’: Who’s That Strange New Character in the Post-Credits Scene?](http://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2019/04/shazam-21.jpeg?w=980&q=75)
![‘Shazam’ Review: A Delicious Slice of Big Red Cheese](http://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2019/03/shazam-movie.jpeg?w=980&q=75)