With the new season of Daredevil, actor Wilson Bethel is set to make his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the classic villain Bullseye. But he almost had a different role entirely, and was very close to being the leader of the Avengers.
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Bethel auditioned to play Captain Americanearly a decade ago, and made it very far in the process to the point that it was down to him and one other person. As every Marvel fan knows, that other person was Chris Evans, who ultimately took the job.
ComicBook.com had the chance to speak with Bethel ahead of Daredevil‘s Season 3 debut on Netflix, where he reflected on the audition process and how it affected his career.
“I mean that was both, probably the single most exciting time of my life and also the single most devastating when it didn’t happen. But, yeah, that was eight years ago now,” Bethel said. “They put me in the Cap suit and did everything. So, I screen tested it at Marvel with a number of other guys. They ended up releasing all the other guys… I was meeting with Joe Johnson to discuss the role and see story boards. So, it was this insane period where during that time I kind of thought that maybe I was going to actually get the role. I actually screen tested again a second time a month later on my birthday.”
Everything was going well for Bethel, on his birthday no less, and then Marvel Studios announced who was playing Captain America.
“And then, I think it was like one or two days later that they made the announcement that Chris Evans got the part,” Bethel said. “So, to be perfectly honest, that was one of the hardest moments in my professional career. And it spun me out for a while to be honest with you. But I’m also a firm believer that things happen as they’re supposed to, and obviously, Chris did an incredible job in that role. And my life, while it hasn’t brought me to lead the Avengers, has been really rich and rewarding in other ways. So, I can’t spend too much time lamenting it. And honestly, just the fact that things have kind of come full circle in a way, and I still get to be a dude in a suit, is pretty exciting.”
Bethel might wonder ‘what if’ from time to time, but now he has the opportunity to make a major impact on Marvel Television’s most popular series. Daredevil has been the flagship series on Netflix and among the most critically acclaimed of all the serialized shows.
And with the rise of Bullseye in Season 3, Bethel’s career is about to get a lot more interesting.
Daredevil Season 3 debuts on Netflix on October 19th.
