27 Facts About Marvel Actors That'll Make You Do A Double Take

    I had no idea so many of them had singing careers before joining the MCU!

    Angelica Martinez
    by Angelica Martinez

    BuzzFeed Staff

    1. Mark Ruffalo’s first-ever role was in a Clearasil commercial when he was about 20 years old.

    Clearasil

    In a Rolling Stone interview, Ruffalo admitted that he got a little too excited after making money from the gig and quit his day job at Freedom Guitar in LA.

    2. Brie Larson’s first job was on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, where she appeared in commercial-parody sketches.

    NBC

    She was 7 or 8 at the time and was a recurring actor in the sketches. You can watch part of her “Road Kill Easy-Bake Oven” sketch here.

    3. Robert Downey Jr.’s first acting gig was in the movie Pound, which was written and directed by his father.

    Floyd L. Peterson Productions

    He was only 5 years old at the time.

    4. Chris Evans’ first acting credit was in the 1997 video Biodiversity: Wild About Life!, but his first official movie didn’t actually come until three years later when he appeared in The Newcomers.

    Conoco Phillips Norge

    5. He also appeared in music videos, like Marilyn Manson’s "Tainted Love" in 2001.

    UMG

    You can watch the whole music video here.

    6. You might also recognize a young Larson from the 2003 Disney Channel Original Movie Right on Track, where she played Courtney Enders.

    7. She was also a member of the Six Chicks in 13 Going on 30, which Ruffalo starred in. Ruffalo, however, didn’t learn about her role until just last year.

    Revolution Studios

    8. Before acting, Chris Hemsworth’s first job was cleaning and repairing breast pumps.

    Patrick Riviere / Getty Images

    He explained that he was only 14 at the time during a game of True Confessions on The Tonight Show.

    9. Ruffalo grew up wrestling in middle and high school but gave it up his senior year to pursue acting instead.

    Annapurna Pictures

    This experience came in handy for his role in Foxcatcher, where he played former professional wrestler Dave Schultz.

    10. Before she was an Oscar-winning actress, Larson had a music career! She released her EP, Finally out of P.E., in 2005 and even toured with Jesse McCartney in his Beautiful Soul tour.

    Casablanca Music, LLC

    You can watch the music video for her song “She Said” here.

    11. Scarlett Johansson also had a music career! She has four EPs and two studio albums: a Tom Waits cover album called Anywhere I Lay My Head and a collab album with Pete Yorn called Break Up.

    RHINO

    You can watch her “Falling Down” music video here.

    12. Let’s not forget RDJ has an album too! He released a jazz album in 2004 called The Futurist.

    2004 Sony Music Entertainment Inc

    You can listen to the title track, “The Futurist,” here.

    13. Evans might not have an album himself, but he did grow up performing a lot of musical theater.

    14. While Evans hasn’t (yet) graced Broadway in a musical, he did make his Broadway debut last year in the play Lobby Hero with Michael Cera.

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    15. Ruffalo, Johansson, and Tom Hiddleston have also had their own Broadway runs.

    Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images

    Ruffalo originated the roles of Moe in Awake and Sing! (2006) and Victor in The Price (2017). Johansson originated the roles of Catherine in A View From the Bridge (2010) and Margaret in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2013). Hiddleston has appeared in many productions in the UK — even winning an Olivier Award in 2008 — but made his official Broadway debut last year in Betrayal.

    16. Although she’s currently engaged to Colin Jost, ScarJo was previously married to Ryan Reynolds.

    Kevin Mazur / WireImage

    17. French was actually Larson's first language, not English.

    18. Before he started getting bigger roles, Jeremy Renner made ends meet as a makeup artist.

    19. In his free time, RDJ practices martial arts — more specially, Wing Chun. On Oprah, he cited it as a major help in fighting his drug addiction.

    OWN

    20. Hemsworth was a contestant on Dancing With the Stars Australia way back in 2006 — and it almost cost him the role of Thor.

    Seven Network

    In a BBC One interview, Hemsworth explained that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige’s reaction hadn’t been great. Feige told him, "We all saw your audition. We were passing it around the office and everyone was, you know, really into it. And then a few of the girls started googling your name and up came this dancing video and I thought, Oh no. Thor dancing? I don’t know, the fans are gonna eat us alive.’”

    21. Ruffalo is dyslexic and is a strong voice for dyslexia awareness.

    Mark Ruffalo @MarkRuffalo

    October is #DyslexiaAwarenessMonth. Millions of people, myself included, have dyslexia, but very few understand it. #SayDyslexia

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    22. In 2001 Ruffalo discovered he had a brain tumor behind his left ear. Fortunately they were able to remove it, but as a result he lost hearing in one ear.

    23. ScarJo is a twin! She’s three minutes older than her twin brother, Hunter.

    Jamie Mccarthy / Getty Images

    24. RDJ was an SNL cast member for one year in 1985.

    NBC

    You can watch some of his sketches here.

    25. Before he started getting cast in big movies like Star Trek and Cabin in the Woods, Hemsworth said his biggest gig was an Australian TV show called Home and Away.

    Seven Network

    26. Hiddleston originally auditioned for the role of Thor, not Loki.

    Marvel Studios / NBC

    You can watch part of the audition here.

    27. And finally, Tom Holland learned that he booked the role of Spider-Man from a Marvel post on Instagram. Classic Holland!

    Wow, I didn't think I could love these talented humans any more than I already did. Avengers, assemble!

    Marvel