20 Fascinating Secrets About The Avengers Cast That Can Amaze You

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has risen to become the most financially successful movie franchise of all time since 2008's Iron Man. That's an incredible accomplishment for such a new franchise. Even still, it wouldn't have been feasible if those films hadn't featured some of Hollywood's most remarkable cast members.
This list includes both villains and heroes, and it includes some of the more fascinating morsels of knowledge about the cast members of the various Avengers films, such as Benedict Cumberbatch once saving a cyclist from muggers or Scarlett Johansson working with three stuntwomen to hide her pregnancy. Below are the 20 fascinating secrets about the Avengers cast that can amaze you.

1. Mark Ruffalo Won A Fight Against Cancer

Source: Marvel Studio

Mark Ruffalo had a vivid dream about a brain tumor in 2001, which turned out to be accurate - he had a golfball-sized growth behind his left ear. He was told he had an acoustic neuroma (a brain tumor that affected his hearing). Thankfully, it was nothing serious, but his rehabilitation was quite arduous.

2. Chris Pratt Stole His Costume For A Sick Kid In The Hospital

Source: Marvel Studio

Pratt explained his decision in an interview with Panzer TV:
"I stole the jacket and some of the wardrobe so that, if this movie comes out and does what everyone hopes it can, I can follow the example of someone - say, like, a Russell Wilson - and go visit kids. If it was a big enough movie to where it would mean something to a kid who’s sick in the hospital for Peter Quill or Star-Lord to come visit them, I’ll do that. I think that’s awesome, man. That would give me real meaning for this movie, you know?"

3. Benedict Saved A Cyclist From Muggers

Source: Marvel Studio

Dias explained:
I went to turn down into Marylebone High Street, and we saw four guys were pushing around a Deliveroo cyclist. My passenger jumped out, ran over, and pulled the men away. They turned towards him, and things looked like they were getting worse, so I joined in. He stood there instructing them in the street, shouting, "Leave him alone."

4. Scarlett Johansson Operated With Three Stuntwomen To Conceal Her Pregnancy

Source: Marvel Studio

Scarlett Johansson was pregnant during the filming of Avengers: Age of Ultron, thus the crew worked hard to keep the pregnancy hidden. Surprisingly, no scenes had to be cut, thanks in part to the efforts of three stuntwomen who worked on the film. After all, whereas pregnancy can be readily hidden on a sitcom, this was an action film.

5. Robert Downey Jr. Tried To Keep The 'A'

Source: Marvel Studio

Stark is constructing Stark Tower in New York when the first Avengers film begins. The ruined building only maintains one letter from the hero's name towards the end of the film: "A." You'd be excused for assuming it was a CGI letter because there was no need to create a practical impact, but they did.
Downey revealed the fate of that letter: "On the last Avengers, there's this scene where there's this 'A' which is probably 30 feet tall, and I'm looking at it, and we're shooting in England, and I go, 'I need that in my office in Venice.'"

6. Vin Diesel Had A Comprehensive Understanding Of 'I Am Groot'

Source: Marvel Studio

You may suppose Vin Diesel simply strolled into a recording booth and repeated the phrase "I am Groot" over and over to acquire enough takes for each of his MCU appearances as Groot, but that's not the case. James Gunn had a custom screenplay written for him so that he could understand what Groot was saying. This aided him in achieving the right inflection and tone, resulting in the repeated line sounding different each time.

7. Paul Bettany Was Told His Career Was Over Before Being Cast As Vision

Source: Marvel Studio

When Paul Bettany was cast as JARVIS in Iron Man, he didn't have to wait long to hear from a producer that his career was ended. ", he explained "You've completed the task. You've seen everything there is to see in this town." He sat down on the Sunset Boulevard sidewalk after the conference and began to reflect about his career. Joss Whedon interrupted him and asked if he wanted to play Vision in the next Avengers film.

8. Chris Hemsworth Once Was Luckily Returned His Wallet

Source: Marvel Studio

Chris Hemsworth appears to be a pretty nice guy, and one adolescent found out firsthand in the most unique way possible. Tristin Budzyn-Baker, the teen, discovered the actor's wallet in a "rough" neighborhood of Los Angeles.
"I left my wallet on the table, and I thought, 'I'm never going to get it back, I'm never going to see it again," Hemsworth said on The Ellen Show. Fortunately, Hemsworth's wallet was discovered by Budzyn-Baker, who was taken aback by his discovery.

9. Robert Downey Jr. Hid Food On 'The Avengers' Set

Source: Marvel Studio

While you'd assume that someone who stars in a superhero film would be concerned about packing on the pounds, Robert Downey Jr. isn't one of them. He hid food all over the set while filming The Avengers, and that's not the first time he's done it. His castmates stated that he continues the practice outside of the MCU in a live interview with HuffPost for the film The Judge.

10. Samuel L. Jackson Was Recruited In 2002 - For A Comic Book

Source: Marvel Studio

Marvel's Ultimate Universe created a new version of Agent Nick Fury in 2002, six years before the MCU was conceived. He was now not just African American (his original 1963 incarnation was a caucasian WWII officer), but he also resembled Samuel L. Jackson. This wasn't by chance; writer Mark Millar patterned his version after the actor on purpose (and without permission).
Millar explained his thinking:
"Sam is famously the coolest man alive, and both myself and artist Bryan Hitch just liberally used him without asking any kind of permission. You have to remember this was 2001 when we were putting this together. The idea that this might become a movie seemed preposterous as Marvel was just climbing out of bankruptcy at the time. What we didn’t know was that Sam was an avid comic fan and knew all about it."

11. Jeremy Renner Was A Makeup Artist Before Making It Big

Source: Marvel Studio

It's very uncommon for an actor to work in a field other than acting before breaking through, and the majority of them seem to gravitate toward the foodservice business. Before his big part in The Hurt Locker, Jeremy Renner did something that probably required more talent and skill: he worked as a makeup artist.

12. Michael Keaton Trolled Tom Holland With His Former Superhero Creds

Source: Marvel Studio

Michael Keaton has been in comic book superhero films since 1989's Batman, so seeing him as the Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming was a pleasant surprise. Still, he may have struggled to let go of his Dark Knight identity, as Tom Holland claims he was quite the jokester.
Holland was questioned about working with Keaton in an interview with ShortList magazine. He replied, "Pretty cool. He's a jerk. In the film, we had a fight, and I punch him. He turns around and announces, "I'm Batman," in a deep voice. Onset, he kept repeating Batman phrases."

13. Elizabeth Olsen Always Makes Sounds While Using Her Powers

Source: Marvel Studio

Wanda Maximoff, Elizabeth Olsen's character, has the extraordinary ability to manipulate both minds and matter, and she first appeared in the MCU in Avengers: Age of Ultron. She does, however, have trouble with employing her powers, which has occasionally hampered her performance.

14. Chris Evans Was Anxious About Becoming Captain America

Source: Marvel Studio

When Chris Evans took on the role of Steve Rogers/Captain America, he was no stranger to Hollywood - or superhero films. Despite this, he didn't jump at the chance to play the character, and he actually turned it down multiple times.
Evans has struggled with anxiety his entire life, and he wasn't sure he could commit to a job that needed a 10-movie commitment and so much media attention. In a Twitter video, he discussed these difficulties and his decision to seek therapy to address them. "Perhaps the thing you're most afraid of is exactly the thing you should undertake," he realized in therapy.

15. Tom Hiddleston Indeed Wanted To Play Thor

Source: Marvel Studio

Tom Hiddleston has played Loki in numerous MCU films, and it's difficult to imagine anyone else in the role. After all, he lent his distinct charisma and charm to the villain-turned-not-so-villainous. Hiddleston, on the other hand, didn't want the part and instead auditioned for the role of Thor (a role that ultimately went to Chris Hemsworth).

16. Scarlett Johansson Didn't Underwears In 'The Avengers'

Source: Marvel Studio

Scarlett Johansson wore a skintight catsuit in Marvel's The Avengers, which was supposedly exceedingly hot. The actress revealed in an interview with Collider that she and her co-stars were all uncomfortable in their costumes:
"It's like 800 degrees in my costume... and it's a unitard, and I have nothing underneath it! I'd say everybody has their own uncomfortable costume situation. We all have our various things that we have to do to get comfortable. Everybody looks so uncomfortable until the cameras are rolling, and then we all look slick. Then "Cut!" and we're all like, "Arrrgh... God, this thing, get it off me, it's awful!"

17. Avengers Women Have Gained In More Money Than Any Others

Source: Marvel Studio

Those who pay attention will notice that Zoe Saldana has appeared in some of the highest-grossing films of all time. She starred in James Cameron's Avatar and has been in several MCU films, all of which have grossed more money than almost any other film ever made. Her position is noteworthy because she is the first woman and person of color to have starred in two blockbuster films with total box office receipts of more than $1 billion apiece.

18. Paul Rudd Attempted To Pull A 'Basic Instinct' On Michael Douglas

Source: Marvel Studio

The sequence in Basic Instinct where Sharon Stone's Catherine Tramell uncrosses her legs and then crosses them again is the most memorable. Michael Douglas starred in that film, and when he shared the screen with Paul Rudd in Ant-Man, Rudd devised a hilarious prank.
On the final day of production, Rudd tried to pull a Catherine Tramell while Douglas was going through a sequence.

19. Terrence Howard Made More Than RDJ, Gwyneth Paltrow, And Jeff Bridges In Iron Man 1

Source: Marvel Studio

Terrence Howard played Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes opposite Robert Downey Jr. in the first Iron Man film, and he was not only the first major actor to sign on to the project, but also the highest-paid member of the cast. Despite the fact that Gwyneth Paltrow's mantle at home was adorned with an Oscar, this was the case. The increased salary can be attributed to Howard's agent and how quickly they were able to finalize the actor's contract before production began.

20. Brie Larson Was A Pop Singer Before Becoming An Avenger

Source: Marvel Studio

Larson: "I think that I write about stuff that others don't write about. I don't have a bunch of love songs cause I don't really have much boy experience. I just write about what I am actually going through in my real life.
That's where the title from my album comes from - Finally Out of P.E. My P.E. teacher didn't like me at all, which was hard to deal with cause I was usually such a teachers' pet. So when I found out I got my record deal, I was like, "Yes, I'm finally out of P.E."