- Tom Welling, Smallville, TV, 2001-2011. The pitch from Tollin/Robbins Productions was a series about the pre-Batman Bruce Wayne. Oh, no you don’t, said the Warner suits, we’re keeping Batman for the movies. “OK, how about the young Clark Kent?” Ya got jt! And it ran twice as many years as Lois & Clark in the 90s… after Ackles, Brandon Routh and Milo Ventimilglia were swept aside by Welling. Ackles joined the show in the fourth season as the high school football coach Jason Teague, the love interest for Clark’s ex, Lana Lang. The role was shortened Ackles won the co-lead of Supernatural in 2005 – where his brother was Jared Pedalecki, who came close to being a Superman in director McG’s aborted movie. Welling’s fans petitioned for Tom to star in Superman Returns – won by Routh! So it goes…
- Eric Christian Olsen, Tru Calling, TV, 2003. Refused to be Eliza Dushku’s love interest when asked to be Lana Lang’s in Smallville. (His rejected character was then re-named… Jensen).
- Jared Padalecki, Supernatural, TV, 2005-2009. Ackles had won the role of Sam Winchester – until a taller Texan blew him out. The producers suggested that Ackles play Sam’s brother, Dean – saying he was the Han Solo type and what kid didn’t grow up wanting to be Han Solo? Sure, said Ackles, that was the role he’d actually wanted. Because it was funny.The guys figured, four, maybe five seasons. D’oh October 2018 saw the start of… Season 14.
- Brandon Routh, Superman Returns, 2005.
- Chris Evans, Captain America: The First Avenger, 2010.
The first screen version of the WWII propaganda comicbook hero – Defender of the Defenceless – since Republic’s 1944 serial (with Dick Purcell), two 1979 tele-quickies (Rep Brown) and the 1989 movie (Matt Salinger, son of the monumental JD, no less). A 1981 Universal plan for Jeff Bridges never flew. Nor did Cannon’s 1984 take which UK director Michael Winner never got around to casting (well, not out loud). In 2010, Ackles’ Supernatural TV series could hardly encompass Marvel’s nine-picture deal for sequels, Avengersmovies and cross-overs. Also examined: Michael Cassidy, Dane Cook, Chace Crawford, Garrett Hedlund, Kellan Lutz, Ryan, McPartlin, Johnny Pacar, Ryan Phillippe, Scott Porter, Alexander Skarsgård, Will Smith, Sebastian Stan (chosen for Bucky Barnes), Channing Tatum (in last three), Mike Vogel, Sam Worthington. Plus two of the Jonas brothers band (Joe and Kevin), three of the TV-Marvelverse: Wilson Bethel (Daredevil), Chad Michael Murray (Agent Carter), Derek Theler (New Warriors). And John Krasinski. “This is stupid,” he yelled during his costumed test, “I’m not Captain America!” And he wasn’t. But he was Amazon’s TV’s surprise Jack Ryan in 2018. - Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy, 2013. The most Lucasian of the Marvel films… Inthe (crowded) battle of new Hollywood guys for Peter Quill/Star Lord were all the usual prerequisites… Six TV finds (Cam Gigandet, Jack Huston, John Krasinski, James Marsden, Lee Pace, Aaron Paul), three science fiction favourites (Ackles, Garrett Hedlund, Michael Rosenbaum), a couple of triples (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Logan Marshall-Green), two hot Brits (Eddie Redmayne, Jim Sturgess), two Aussies (Joel Edgerton, Sullivan Stapleton), two total outsiders (Glenn Howerton, Chris Lowell). And an ex-hottie on the comeback trail (Wes Bentley). The unfortunately named Pratt was a surprising Disney choice given that in his previous far-from-family-film, Movie 43 (“the Citizen Kaneof awful”), the tragically-named Pratt defecated on his (real) wife, Anna Faris, during sex.
- Ben Affleck, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, 2015.
- Jeremy Renner, Thor, 2011. When Marvel was still planning the arc for Hawkeye, Jensen Ackles was The Guy. He had auditioned for Captain America and was quickly listed as “Very much OK. Not this time. Next time!” However, his Supernatural series, 2005-2020, got in the way, opening the door for Renner as the super archer created by Stan Lee and Don Heck in 1964. Renner first played Cliff Barton, aka Hawkeye, in Thor, The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Endgame during 2010-2018, before winning not his own movies as had been the idea, but a 2021 mini-series. Rest of the castg is almost entirely from Transformers country!
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 8