The Marvel Cinematic Universe has proven through the last decade-plus that they can attract some of the best actors in the world. Despite being superhero movies, and the disdain some older filmmakers direct toward them, everyone from Oscar winners to screen icons have signed up to star in the MCU films throughout the years. When looking at the main cast itself, there are award winners and beloved favorites in the lead roles.
With the Marvel movies now under their belts, an entire generation will likely only associate them with the superheroes they portrayed. That is unfortunate because there are some true gems in their past. Here are 10 underrated movies from the main MCU cast you need to watch
ROBERT DOWNEY JR. - KISS KISS, BANG BANG (2005)
The heart and soul of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. Iron Man was the first movie to arrive in the MCU, and if it had failed, it would have ended before it ever got started. However, it was a monster success and catapulted the MCU to box office gold.
However, director Jon Favreau had to fight for Downey, who was best known for his arrests and battle with addiction. Downey started his comeback with a fantastic movie that not enough people talk about, Shane Black’s Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, alongside Val Kilmer. It is easily one of Downey’s best films.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH - THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (2012)
Chris Hemsworth was mostly an unknown when he took on the role of Thor in the MCU. Since then, he has proven to be one of the most charismatic actors in the Marvel movies and will be the first to have four solo films for his character.
Head back to 2011, the same year that Thor hit theaters to see one of the most entertaining movies of his career — The Cabin in the Woods. Directed by Drew Goddard and written by Joss Whedon, the film is a love letter to horror movies with a fantastic twist.
CHRIS EVANS - SUNSHINE (2007)
Chris Evans had an interesting movie career before the MCU. He was in a ton of comic book adaptations, including two Fantastic Four movies, The Losers, Snowpiercer, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. One of his earliest roles was Not Another Teen Movie.
However, one of his better movies is one that people don’t mention much. In 2007, Danny Boyle made a fantastic science fiction movie called Sunshine, which saw astronauts sent to reignite a dying sun. Cillian Murphy and Rose Byrne also co-starred.
SCARLETT JOHANSSON - THE PRESTIGE (2006)
Scarlett Johansson has been acting since she was a young child. Her earliest roles included a lead performance as the little girl in The Horse Whisperer. For years, some fans unfairly criticized Johansson, claiming her looks overshadowed her talent, but recent performances have proven that wrong (see: Marriage Story).
Head back to 2006 and see one of the best movies of her career. While everyone loves to talk about Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy and big idea movies like Inception, he made a smaller movie in 2006 about two rival magicians called The Prestige that everyone needs to rediscover.
MARK RUFFALO - ZODIAC (2007)
Before the MCU, Mark Ruffalo mostly stuck with the independent movie scene with a few smaller roles in Hollywood films. He has some great movies in his past, including a small part in the fantastic Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a film that everyone needs to see. However, for a movie where he has a more prominent role, watch Zodiac.
David Fincher made Zodiac before moving on to make the Oscar-nominated Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Social Network, and Zodiac is arguably the superior movie of the three. Ruffalo is one of the police officers investigating the Zodiac killer.
JEREMY RENNER - ARRIVAL (2016)
Jeremy Renner had an interesting career, starting in cheap National Lampoon R-rated films and then moving on to award-winning movies like Hurt Locker. He then got a chance to join the MCU as the beloved archer Hawkeye, although his role was never as significant as fans might have wished.
While he was working with Marvel to try to make Hawkeye a bigger part of the MCU, he also took the time to appear in the Denis Villeneuve sci-fi film Arrival, a movie about aliens who contact Earth and the scientists who try to communicate.
SAMUEL L. JACKSON - JACKIE BROWN (1997)
Samuel L. Jackson seems to appear in anything and everything. While there are those movies that make you question his sanity (Snakes on a Plane), there are also those critically acclaimed movies that prove he is a national treasure (Unbreakable). He has also done a lot of work with Quentin Tarantino.
One of Quentin Tarantino’s least appreciated and underrated films is the 1997 release, Jackie Brown. Tarantino made the movie similar to Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon, where you see the same incident happen from different character’s perspectives and piece all the info together by the end. It is a brilliant movie that needs more love than it gets.
PAUL RUDD - WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER (2001)
Paul Rudd was the master of the quirky comedy roles, and he has been in a ton of films showing how charming and funny he really is. Honestly, he got his start in the Alicia Silverstone cult classic Clueless, and he has never looked back.
There have been missteps, such as his roles in the Halloween sequels, as well as some dubious Hollywood comedy releases, but in 2001 he was in one of comedy cinema’s true classics — Wet Hot American Summer. A lot of people rediscovered it thanks to the Netflix series, but this movie deserves all the laughs.
PAUL BETTANY - A KNIGHT’S TALE (2001)
Paul Bettany seemed to slide right into the role of Vision perfectly after years of just being a voice as Tony Stark’s AI, JARVIS. Ironically, just as Bettany finally showed up on the screen, his wife Jennifer Connelly started her role as Spider-Man’s AI voice.
Bettany has a long and illustrious movie career, including a role in the Oscar-winning movie A Beautiful Mind. However, if you want to see him in a very different role, and one that shows you more of him than anyone but his wife should see, check out the fantastic Heath Ledger movie, A Knight’s Tale, where Bettany stars Geoffrey Chaucer.
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH - TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY (2011)
Benedict Cumberbatch seemed to fit the role of Sherlock Holmes perfectly when he took on the role in the BBC series about the master detective. It should speak volumes to know that he also fits the role of Marvel’s Doctor Strange perfectly as well. Cumberbatch is just a fantastic actor in most of his roles.
While he is not the star of the movie, anyone who loves Cumberbatch needs to watch the 2011 film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Directed by Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In), the film stars Gary Oldman as a former spy sent in to find a mole in a high-level British Intelligence agency, and Cumberbatch as an agent for the division.
