10 Weirdest Demands Marvel Actors Made For Their MCU Roles (& What Happened)

Summary

• Some MCU actors have made unusual demands before making their first appearances in the MCU.
• Marvel Studios has accommodated some of these requests, but others have been ignored, often benefiting the story or characters of the MCU’s projects.
• Mickey Rourke wanted a bird in
  Iron Man 2
  , Simu Liu didn’t want to wear Air Jordans in
  Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
  , Samuel L. Jackson didn’t want Nick Fury to run, and Jeremy Renner wanted to be killed off early, to name a few.

Some actors have made weird demands and requests when joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and while Marvel Studios implemented some of them, things haven’t always gone their way. Since the very beginning of the MCU in 2008’s Iron Man, Marvel Studios has given roles to some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, but some have had strange conditions for joining the superhero franchise. Marvel Studios has relented on several occasions, giving actors what they want, but some of the most out-there demands haven’t been included.

Some of these demands have been relatively easy for Marvel Studios to include in the MCU, such as Mickey Rourke wanting a bird in Iron Man 2 and David Harbour wanting to sing “American Pie” in Black Widow. However, others have been much less easy to accomplish, or would have ruined Marvel Studios’ own vision for its stories and characters, and this overruling has often been for the better. This surely won’t stop upcoming MCU actors from making demands of their own, and Marvel Studios may accommodate these requests, too.

10 Mickey Rourke Insisted Whiplash Should Have A Pet Bird

Mickey Rourke Debuted As Ivan Vanko’s Whiplash In 2010’s Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 saw Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark battle the son of his father’s former business partner, Ivan Vanko. Played by Mickey Rourke of Barfly and The Wrestler fame, Vanko’s electrical whips made him a formidable, if minor and somewhat wasted, villain. However, according to a 2022 exposé by Vulture, Rourke had some strict demands for his performance in Iron Man 2. Rourke reportedly demanded that his character have a Russian accent, wear his hair in a samurai bun, and have a pet bird that would sit on his shoulder.

[Mickey] Rourke showed up at a meeting with [Kevin] Feige and [Jon] Favreau at Beverly Hills’ Four Seasons Hotel to lay out his demands. “I’ll do it,” this source recalls Rourke saying. “But I have to have my hair in a samurai bun. I have to speak in a Russian accent. And I have to have a bird on my shoulder.” (All three demands were met.)

In April 2022, Rourke’s manager told Insider that these claims were false, and that Rourke had never demanded these things. Nevertheless, all three of these traits were included in Iron Man 2, and Ivan Vanko’s bird even became an important element of Justin Hammer’s abuse against the villain when confiscated. Whether Rourke actually delivered these demands or not will likely never be confirmed, but it goes to show that Marvel Studios may have been more accommodating to actors while the MCU was still finding its feet.

9 Willem Dafoe Wanted To Do His Own Stunts In Spider-Man: No Way Home

Willem Dafoe Returned As Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin In 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home

After previously portraying the iconic Spider-Man villain in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy between 2002 and 2007, Willem Dafoe was one of the classic villains to return in the MCU’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin presented a significant threat to Peter Parker, most notably in his ability to literally fly away from a situation, and it seems these exciting stunts were pulled off by Dafoe himself. Speaking to GQ Magazine in 2022, Dafoe reasoned that it was “fun to do the action sequences,” prompting him to take them on himself.

It’s fun to do the action sequences, it’s fun to have resources. I make a lot of budget-challenged movies. So it’s nice to have all the technical stuff to work with. It’s really fun to do those things because they’re pure. They’re pure because what you’re doing is what you’re doing. And your heart and mind follow.

Granted, Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin isn’t a massively action-based character, as most of his villainy is contained in his psychological attacks. Dafoe is expert at delivering these sinister and haunting moments, but as an actor who usually takes on roles in smaller-scale projects that keep his feet firmly on the ground, it was surely a thrill to pull off some of the Green Goblin’s more impressive feats. This presumably means it was Dafoe himself in the first fight against Spider-Man on the bridge, during the battle which ended in Aunt May’s death, and in the intense final spar.

8 Simu Liu Really Didn’t Want To Wear Air Jordans

Simu Liu Debuted As Shang-Chi In 2021’s Shang-Chi & The Legend Of The Ten Rings

Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi is one of the most exciting new additions to the MCU. However, Liu himself wasn’t as confident in the character’s potential, even after being cast as the “Master of Kung-Fu” in 2019. Simu Liu revealed to Inverse in February that he constantly second-guessed the character, particularly because of Shang-Chi’s overtly racist depiction in Marvel Comics. On top of this, Liu also had a problem with Shang-Chi’s footwear, as he didn’t believe that Shang-Chi would wear Air Jordan sneakers as a superhero.

I fought against it initially. I remember doing the costume fitting and being like, “Is he the first superhero to wear running shoes?” He should be wearing, like, battle boots or something. I didn’t see it the way they saw it. As we got into production, I was like, “Oh, it’s actually really cool.” It makes him relatable.

Evidently, despite Simu Liu’s worries, Marvel Studios ignored him and included the Air Jordans in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings anyway. This was the best choice for the character, and even Liu has stressed that his casual footwear helps to make him such a relatable hero. Shang-Chi was trying to just be a regular guy until he finds himself thrust back into his father’s world and across dimensions, so it makes sense that he’d want to keep some semblance of normalcy. He is also very action-based, and casual sneakers will surely aid in his adventures.

7 Robert Downey Jr. Wanted Snack Food Hidden Around Sets

Robert Downey Jr. Debuted As Tony Stark’s Iron Man In 2008’s Iron Man

These unorthodox demands date back to the very first MCU movie and its lead star, Robert Downey Jr., who became the face of the MCU as Tony Stark’s Iron Man after his debut. Many will have spotted Stark snacking on various foods throughout his MCU career, and, much to the chagrin of Marvel Studios, these moments were seldom in the script. In fact, Downey Jr. hid food around the sets of his MCU movies, allowing him to snack at any given opportunity, which actually helped with the grueling filming schedule for many of those projects.

This is a habit not confined to the MCU, as Kingpin star Vincent D’Onofrio revealed to The Huffington Post that Downey Jr. also hid food on the set of their 2014 movie, The Judge. This has contributed to many brilliant moments in the MCU, but perhaps most notably a scene in The Avengers, during which Tony Stark offered Steve Rogers a blueberry – entirely unscripted. He eats a pizza slice and a cheeseburger in Iron Man, a donut in Iron Man 2, and finishes off Morgan Stark’s lollipop in Avengers: Endgame, proving Marvel simply can’t stop him.

[Robert] Downey [Jr.] does hide food all over set. I’m not going to tell you why. But he does. It makes perfect sense.

6 David Harbour Came Up With Black Widow’s American Pie Scenes

David Harbour Debuted As Alexei Shostakov’s Red Guardian In 2021’s Black Widow

Sometimes, actors’ ideas and requests actually end up benefiting the MCU’s movies more than the original, scripted plans. This was the case in 2021’s Black Widow, which debuted Stranger Things star David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov’s Red Guardian, Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova’s father-figure. Throughout the movie, Don McLean’s “American Pie” plays an important role in their dysfunctional family structure, but this wouldn’t have occurred had it not been for Harbour’s own suggestion, as he revealed to Insider in 2021.

We were sitting around talking about the family structure and in the bedroom scene with Red Guardian and Yelena Belova, my character is fumbling trying to be a father and in the end, he fails. She tells him to get out. In the script, he says something and leaves. I felt there’s gotta be something a little more profound and I said, “Wouldn’t it be interesting if back in America when she was little and was terrified having been taken from her family the Red Guardian would put her in the car and drive around and play ‘American Pie’? So from then on, she tells daddy to put in the tape.” So for this bedroom scene, I’m thinking, he’s a failure as a father what can he do at the end of this scene? This narcissist who also has a big heart. And so he brings up the song, basically as him saying, “I tried.”

While Black Widow had its issues, the family dynamic between Romanoff, Belova, Shostakov, and Rachel Weisz’s Melina Vostokoff was excellent to see on-screen. Their bond over “American Pie” was a huge part of this, so it was great that Marvel Studios listened to David Harbour and included the iconic song in the movie. It’s very possible this song could be heard again and again in the MCU, as both David Harbour and Florence Pugh are returning in 2025’s upcoming Thunderbolts*​​​​​​​.

5 Marisa Tomei Wanted Amy Pascal To Be Aunt May’s Girlfriend

Marisa Tomei Debuted As Aunt May In 2016’s Captain America: Civil War

In a divergence from the typical Spider-Man story, Marvel Studios introduced Peter Parker’s Aunt May as a younger woman in Spider-Man: Homecoming, played by Marisa Tomei. Since Homecoming didn’t explore Spider-Man’s origin story, Uncle Ben hasn’t made an appearance in the MCU, leaving his existence up to interpretation. Tomei revealed to Geeks of Color in 2021 that she had offered an idea before Aunt May began her on-again, off-again relationship with Happy Hogan, suggesting that Sony producer Amy Pascal could be Aunt May’s girlfriend in the MCU.

This was before even the idea of Happy [Hogan] showed up, there was a moment where I felt that May was maybe, I was like, “Maybe she should just be with a woman because Ben is gone and who should she be with?” And we were kind of talking about it. And so, I actually really wanted Amy Pascal from Sony to be my girlfriend. [Laughs] I know. I was like, “No-one even has to know, Amy. I’ll just, I’ll just, like, be in a scene, and you’ll be over there, and I’ll just be like, “Hey,” y’know? It’ll just be a subtle thing.” But no-one went for it at the time.

Of course, this never came to fruition in the MCU, which left space for Aunt May and Happy Hogan’s entertaining relationship to blossom in Spider-Man: Far From Home. However, this would have introduced the MCU’s first confirmed LGBTQ+ characters, which would have been a landmark moment for the franchise. Die-hard Marvel fans surely would have found this change controversial, which perhaps informed Marvel Studios’ decision not to take on Marisa Tomei’s idea.

4 Chris Hemsworth Demanded A New Tone After 2 Thor Movies

Chris Hemsworth Debuted As Thor In 2011’s Thor

Chris Hemsworth’s lengthy tenure as the MCU’s Thor has had its ups and downs, and this has never been denied by Marvel Studios or Hemsworth himself. In fact, following the questionable performance of both Thor and Thor: The Dark World, Hemsworth demanded that 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok take on a completely different tone for the God of Thunder. He revealed exactly why during a conversation with Jimmy Fallon in 2017, noting that he’d become “sick of [himself] as that character,” prompting a head-to-toe reinvention.

Look, I’d done it a few times, this character, and kind of got very sick of myself as that character, and I called up our director [Taika Waititi] and I said, “Look, I’m sick of myself,” and he said, “So am I.” We basically decided just to kind of reinvent the character and the world and do something completely different, and a lot of the film is highly improvised. It’s a lot more comedy. It’s a lot more crazy action. It’s a lot more kind of unpredictable and — there’s a great sense of pride I think with all of us, because we did want to do something different and we did, and people responded to it.

This massive change in style allowed Thor: Ragnarok to become one of the MCU’s most popular installments. However, this comedy and wackiness was a major point of contention when repeated in 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder. It seems Thor can’t stay in one genre for too long, as Chris Hemsworth has more recently expressed his wishes for a new change in tone for the as-yet-unconfirmed Thor 5. It seems Hemsworth no longer wants Thor to be funny, and this sentiment is shared by another long-running MCU actor.

3 Chris Evans Wanted Steve Rogers’ Captain America To Be Less Funny

Chris Evans Debuted As Steve Rogers’ Captain America In 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger

Chris Hemsworth was joined in the original Avengers team by Chris Evans, who played Steve Rogers’ Captain America for eight years between Captain America: The First Avenger and Avengers: Endgame. Rogers was always the steadfast leader of the Avengers, and, according to a Yahoo! Entertainment interview with The First Avenger writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely in 2021, this was the case from the beginning. Chris Evans even took jokes out of The First Avenger’s script in an effort to give Steve Rogers more gravitas.

[Chris Evans] was very conscious of not wanting snark. It was a very good understanding of Captain America, which is that if this guy’s going to fly as a character and as an authority figure, eventually, he’s got to have the gravity right away, no matter what the situation. Which is what we all came to realize, that Steve Rogers was born Captain America, he just didn’t have the body for it. And Evans got that. I think he may have taken a joke or two out is what I remember.

Markus and McFeely’s comments seem to suggest that they, as writers, or director Joe Johnston, had no in this matter, as Chris Evans was adamant about who he wanted Steve Rogers’ Captain America to be. The fact that creating this character for the big-screen was a collaborative effort that involved the actor is fantastic to hear, however, as actors so rarely have a hand in shaping their character. Evans’ decision was seemingly loosened over time, as Captain America did have some brilliant quips in the MCU, but he certainly had a huge amount of gravitas, too.

2 Samuel L. Jackson Didn’t Want Nick Fury To Run

Samuel L. Jackson Debuted As Nick Fury In 2008’s Iron Man

Hollywood superstar Samuel L. Jackson was one of the biggest draws to the MCU in the franchise’s very first project, with the actor coming on board as the depiction of Nick Fury in Marvel Comics’ Ultimate Universe was based on his own likeness. However, Jackson had some requests when joining the MCU, particularly when taking part in the franchise’s first crossover event, The Avengers. As revealed by controversial director Joss Whedon in his 2014 autobiography and later reiterated in the MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios book, Samuel L. Jackson didn’t want to run in The Avengers​​​​​​​.

When Whedon had consulted with Jackson before writing the screenplay, the then-sixty-two-year-old actor had made only one request about Nick Fury: he didn’t want to run. But now he pulled out his script and pointed to a stage direction where Fury ran onto the deck of the Helicarrier with a rocket launcher. “What’s this say here? It says I run!” “Just that once,” Whedon assured him. “You only run once.”

Nick Fury does, indeed, run onto the deck of the SHIELD Helicarrier in The Avengers, hoping to stop the World Security Council’s attack on New York City with a nuclear missile. Fury has also taken to running on numerous other occasions in more recent MCU projects, such as when he collected Captain Marvel’s pager from his car before being blipped away in Avengers: Infinity War, and during his lengthy spar with Gravik in Phase 5’s Secret Invasion. He is far from the MCU’s most active hero, however, so perhaps his request was taken on board eventually.

1 Jeremy Renner Wanted Hawkeye To Be Killed Off

Jeremy Renner Debuted As Clint Barton’s Hawkeye In 2011’s Thor

Perhaps the most ridiculous request from a high-profile actor and founding Avengers member in the MCU was to not be in the MCU anymore. This was the case for Jeremy Renner back in 2012’s The Avengers, as he revealed at 2016’s London Film and Comic Con (via RadioTimes) that he wanted Clint Barton’s Hawkeye to be killed off in the MCU’s first crossover movie. Noting his frustration about immediately becoming a zombie-like minion to Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, Renner revealed that he would act out heart attacks to give Marvel Studios the option to remove him.

I never really told anybody this​​​​​​​, but in the first
Avengers
, I was just getting to know who Hawkeye was, and then zap, I go round like a zombie, I’m like Loki’s minion. And I’m still not even sure who Hawkeye was at that point. So I’m a little frustrated, because I was so excited to figure out who Hawkeye was.​​​​​​​ I just had a heart attack in every scene – I’d just be walking with Scarlett Johansson, and just like be, “Ugh.” And they said, “What are you doing man?” “I’m giving you an option, if you just want to kick me out of this movie. Just you know, at any given moment, if you wanna kill me off, daddy’s gonna be having a heart attack.​​​​​​​” I don’t really want him to die now. I really got to explore him a lot, and I can’t wait to explore him more, and there’s some really cool ideas coming up.​​​​​​​ Really cool ideas. Great deaths! Amazing ways to die.

Thankfully, Marvel Studios didn’t kill Hawkeye off in The Avengers. Jeremy Renner’s character has gone on to become one of the most popular and important heroes in the MCU, having appeared in every major crossover event, and training his own successor in his solo Disney+ series in Phase 4. Despite his recent accident, Jeremy Renner has expressed his interest in coming back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so times really have changed for the actor who initially wanted his character dead.