Every actor that appeared in an MCU movie had to make considerable sacrifices – but in return they got something greater. Some of the sacrifices they made were extremely hard to endure, but they pushed through it because they knew how many other actors would kill to be in their position.
From Dave Bautista standing for five hours straight getting his uncomfortable makeup done for his Drax character in Guardians of the Galaxy, to Chris Pratt giving up a beloved drink of his, these MCU actors proved that they could rise up to the challenge, and discipline themselves, each in their own way.
Hawkeye shooting through the pain
Jeremy Renner, who plays the legendary Hawkeye, a sharpshooter part of the original Avengers squad, had to deal with some painful struggles while filming for Avengers: Endgame. He had just fractured both of his arms while filming a different movie, which was unfortunate because Hawkeye needs both his arms to shoot a bow and arrow.
But Renner chose to fight through the pain, for the sake of the movie. When you watch Endgame, be sure to remember that Hawkeye is in literal pain while shooting those arrows.
T’Challa’s way-too-tight suit
Black Panther was awesome, and T’Challa’s costume is simply perfect. In fact, many MCU costumes are perfect, and we have to wonder how comfortable (or uncomfortable) it is to wear these elaborate outfits. According to Chadwick Boseman, who plays the role of T’Challa – wearing his Black Panther suit was extremely unpleasant.
He said that “it was suffocating,” and that it cut off pretty much all possibilities of air getting to him. You might think that with all the money Marvel has, they might have been able to get him a more comfortable suit – but such wasn’t the case. Boseman was forced to get used to it, and the result was an awesome character.
Chris Pratt’s dietary sacrifices
Hollywood stars acquire amazing physiques the same way the rest of the world does – with exercise and dieting. That’s exactly what Chris Pratt had to do for the role of Starlord in Guardians of the Galaxy. Although his lovable “teddy bear” energy was perfect for his character on Parks and Recreation, the MCU producers wanted him to look more like a superhero – so they enlisted a trainer and a nutritionist to help him burn some fat.
He was 300 pounds when he auditioned, and six months later they had helped him lose 60 pounds. They forced him to stop drinking beer, and put him through intense workouts. Although it was hard for Pratt, he said he loved getting ripped.
Jeff Bridges needs his script
There are two different kinds of actors out there. The kind who enjoy improvising, and the kind who like to have a concrete script, one that they can memorize beforehand and know that’s exactly what they’ll be saying the moment the director yells “Action!”
Jeff Bridges, who played the villain Obadiah Stane in Iron Man, is the kind that needs a set script – which is ironic because it’s so anti-dude (for those of you who saw The Big Lebowski). The problem was that there was no script when he first arrived to the set of Iron Man, and he admits that it freaked him out. “I like to know my lines, man.” In this case, the “The Dude” most certainly does not abide.
Portman wanted a different director
Natalie Portman almost didn’t appear in the sequel for Thor, because she wanted to take a few years to focus on raising her baby boy. The only thing that made her reconsider was when the producers hired Patty Jenkins to direct Thor: The Dark World.
Portman simply had to be a part of the first superhero blockbuster to be directed by a female. Only problem was, shortly after Portman agreed, they fired Jenkins – and Portman was locked in a contract by that point.
Chris Evans accepting less money
Chris Evans plays Captain America, one of the original Avengers, and someone who had a handful of feature films to kick off the string of MCU blockbusters. The amount he earns now to shoot these films is around $15 million, but they only gave him $300,000 for the first Captain America movie.
In Hollywood, this is considered to be somewhat of a sacrificial pay cut – especially since Evans wasn’t a newbie at all, having starred in plenty of other huge films beforehand.
Drax’s uncomfortable makeup
Dave Bautista wasn’t the first big time wrestler to get into acting, but it wasn’t until his role as Drax that he had his big acting break. Aside from his comedic chops and sensitive personality, one of the defining features of Drax is his skin. A blue-grayish hue with streaks of red running through it, this was no CGI project.
It was a makeup job that took 5 hours to put on every time, and one hour to take off. Bautista wasn’t such a fan of that part, saying that he constantly felt sticky and dirty – even after it was taken off.
Scarlett’s pregnancy
During the shooting of Avengers: Age of Ultron, there was a slight complication with Black Widow. Scarlett Johansson, the actress playing her, was pregnant – and it’s gotta be hard being a deadly assassin with a bun in the oven.
But thanks to the advent of CGI, the production team was able to cover it all up. It must’ve been hard work on the producers – but also on Scarlett, who probably would’ve preferred to be relaxing while pregnant.
