Random Most Overqualified Performances In The MCU (17 items)

(#7) Robert Redford
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Some of the most popular and beloved films of all time have Robert Redford in a starring role: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The Sting. All the President's Men. When someone wins an honorary Academy Award, you know they're a big deal.

And though his role as Alexander Pierce in Captain America: The Winter Soldier isn't a small one, it certainly doesn't warrant an actor of Redford's caliber. The fact that Marvel Studios managed to bring him back into the fray for a cameo in Avengers: Endgame is even crazier.
(#4) Tony Leung Chiu Wai
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Marvel really pulled off a casting feat when it brought in Tony Leung to play the ruthless Wenwu in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Not only did they get one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation to join the MCU, but they also got him to play his first major role in a Hollywood film.

Calling Leung a Hollywood newcomer totally underplays his impact on the international film scene. Leung is the Hong Kong cinema equivalent of Leonardo DiCaprio, not just because he originally played the role in Infernal Affairs that went to DiCaprio when the film was remade as The Departed. Leung brings an emotionally charged element to the millennia-old Wenwu that comes through both when he lays waste to his enemies and when he's grieving the loss of his true love.
(#11) Sylvester Stallone
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Seeing Sylvester Stallone pop up in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 is one of the weirdest things that has happened in the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far. One of the biggest Hollywood actors in the 1980s and 1990s, renowned for playing Rocky Balboa and John Rambo, Stallone just stands out when he is on screen.

It is unclear if Stallone will return as Stakar Ogord in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Univers, but if his casting in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad is anything to go by, signs are positive that the iconic actor will come back for the third Guardians movie.
(#15) Christopher Eccleston
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In projects ranging from Doctor Who and The Leftovers to Gone in 60 Seconds and 28 Days Later, Christopher Eccleston has proven to be a talented actor who is capable of handling a wide range of roles. But when it comes to the bizarrely muted MCU version of Malekith - a character who hardly resembles his comic book counterpart - probably no actor on Earth could've made it work.

Eccleston seemingly hated his time working on Thor: The Dark World, but has left the door open to his eventual return to the MCU, so he's clearly sending mixed signals.
(#1) Anthony Hopkins
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Classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Anthony Hopkins is one of the great screen and stage actors of the past 50 years. With five Academy Award nominations and five Emmy Award nominations to his name, Hopkins is as talented as he is diverse.
When Kenneth Branagh and the rest of the production team behind Thor were looking to cast an actor as Odin, Hopkins was an ideal choice. It just turned out the Welsh actor wasn't given much to do throughout the first three Thor films. Is he great? Yes. Is he just a little bit wasted in the role? Unfortunately, yes.
Hopkins himself didn't seem to be much of a fan of acting in the MCU. He told The New Yorker: “They put me in armor; they shoved a beard on me. ‘Sit on the throne, shout a bit.’ If you’re sitting in front of a green screen, it’s pointless acting it.”
(#6) Djimon Hounsou
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You don't earn two Academy Award nominations by accident. Djimon Hounsou is a fantastic actor, and yet, he is essentially wasted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Korath the Pursuer. His bit part as Korath has given him little screen time in both Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel.

You'd think that Hounsou, after starring in Amistad, Gladiator, Blood Diamond, and In America, would warrant just a little bit more time in the limelight. Maybe this is just his comic book movie fate, as he had bit parts in both Shazam! and Aquaman as well.