Famous Actors Fans Forget Appeared In Marvel Studios Movies

Virtually everybody wants to be in a Marvel movie or TV show these days; it's the most [...]

By Russ Burlingame

Virtually everybody wants to be in a Marvel movie or TV show these days; it's the most consistently successful franchise in Hollywood right now, and has been for most of the last decade. The fact that it's also a giant, interconnected universe with a lot of different characters featured in movies that have their own tones and styles makes it harder to completely divorce yourself from than most other franchises. After all, if you aren't into chase scenes, Fast and Furious probably isn't for you. Not a sci-fi person? Star Wars and Star Trek are probably not going to be a fit.

Not every big star gets a big role (and it's likely not everybody wants one to begin with). But it's fun to look back and say "holy cow, Matt Damon was in a Marvel movie?" or something like that. And the more movies we get, and the more interconnected everything becomes, the harder it is to keep track of every minor part in every movie.

You can see some of our favorite choices below.

Garry Shandling

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Recently, we wrote a story about It's Garry Shandling's Show, and the tie between that wildly inventive meta sitcom and Marvel's WandaVision. That's not Shandling's only tie to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though; he played Senator Stern in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (you might remember him as the guy who famously whispered "Hail HYDRA" to Jasper Sitwell in Captain America: The Winter Soldier).

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Sam Neil

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He won't be the only Thor: Ragnarok actor you see on this list. As Odin in Loki's fanciful dramatization of the family's relationship, Neil became one of two Jurassic Park actors -- along with Jeff Goldblum, who plays The Grandmaster in the film -- to appear in Taika Waitti's first Thor movie.

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Liv Tyler

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(Photo: Marvel Studios)

It's hard to keep track of all the actors from the Hulk and Incredible Hulk movies, which might have had a shared continuity -- or not -- and which might be part of the MCU proper -- or not. Of course, it now appears that the upcoming She-Hulk series on Disney+ might be bringing back Liv Tyler as Betty Ross.

We guess that makes sense. It isn't like Bruce Banner has another love interest at the moment.

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Matt Damon

Another Thor: Ragnarok choice, Matt Damon played Loki within Loki's play.

This got kind of meta, since Damon had played a different Loki (a fallen, Christian angel) in Kevin Smith's Dogma in 1999. Then, the year after Ragnarok, Damon reprised the role of Kevin Smith's Loki in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. In that scene, seen above, Damon poked fun at the idea that he didn't look anything like Marvel's Loki actor, Tom Hiddleston.

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Julie Delpy

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There's a rumor that Ethan Hawke might be playing a pretty significant role in Moon Knight -- but before that, his frequent co-star Julie Delpy (the pair played Jesse and Celine in Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight, and Waking Life) popped up briefly as part of the Black Widow flashbacks in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

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Luke Hemsworth

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Luke Hemsworth rounds out our Thor: Ragnarok trio. The Hemsworth brother plays Thor, the character played by Chris Hemsworth the rest of the time, in Loki's play. That whole play was so meta, we have to feel like Garry Shandling himself would approve.

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Kate Mara

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Remember that US Marshal who showed up to serve Tony Stark with a subpoena in Iron Man 2? Well, that was House of Cards (and later Fantastic Four) actress Kate Mara.

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Chris O'Dowd

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Another Thor movie, but this time not Ragnarok. Chris O'Dowd, best known for his role in Bridesmaids, appeared in Thor: The Dark World as Richard Madison, who had a crush on Jane Foster but ultimately didn't get very far with it, since he had to try and compete with a thunder god for her attention.

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