Entertainment
17 Celebrities Who Cameoed In Marvel Movies, Because The MCU Is A Lot Bigger Than You Think
Nearly as delightful as the high flying antics of Marvel's Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and the lot are some of its cameo appearances. The MCU has a habit of roping in the unlikeliest of players for lightning-fast turns onscreen; from the get-go with its first film Iron Man, Marvel began rounding up celebrated greats and cult favorites to deliver a line or two as a gift for the many cineastes in its audience.
With many instances of such fun under its belt, it's easy to forget all of the great actors and comedians who have appeared throughout the MCU. Here's a quick list of some of our favorite cameos between Iron Man and Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Image: Disney
Leslie Bibb
Marvel movies: Iron Man and Iron Man 2
Who she plays: Investigative journalist Christine Everhart.
Beyond the MCU: Bibb has amounted a few roles in big screen indie comedies, as well as a central gig on the TV series Popular.
Image: Disney
Martin Starr
Marvel movies: The Incredible Hulk
Who he plays: A liberal incarnation of Amadeus Cho.
Beyond the MCU: Starr is celebrated most for his TV work, such as Freaks and Geeks, Party Down, and Silicon Valley.
Image: Disney
Michael Kenneth Williams
Marvel movies: The Incredible Hulk
Who he plays: A “Harlem bystander,” so to speak.
Beyond the MCU: Though an insignificant observer in TIH, Williams was feared as a super villain in his own right on The Wire.
Image: Disney
Garry Shandling
Marvel movies: Iron Man 2 and Captain America: The Winter Solder
Who he plays: A HYDRA-sympathizing American senator.
Beyond the MCU: Shandling can be credited for pioneering the world of premium cable comedy with the critically beloved The Larry Sanders Show.
Image: Disney
Olivia Munn
Marvel movies: Iron Man 2
Who she plays: Newswoman Chess Roberts.
Beyond the MCU: Munn followed suit of her Iron Man 2 character, satirizing the world of broadcast news both as a Daily Show correspondent and a cast member on The Newsroom.
Image: Disney
Harry Dean Stanton
Marvel movies: The Avengers
Who he plays: A stoic security guard who talks some sense into a sullen Bruce Banner.
Beyond the MCU: HDS has been all over the cinematic spectrum, solidifying his prowess in a variety of projects including Alien, Repo Man, Paris, Texas, Pretty in Pink, The Last Temptation of Christ, and The Green Mile.
Image: Disney
Alexis Denisof
Marvel movies: The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy
Who he plays: The Other, world domination kingpin Thanos’ yet untested righthand man.
Beyond the MCU: Denisof is a Whedon vet, playing the memorable Wesley Wyndam-Pryce in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.
Image: Disney
Adam Pally
Marvel movies: Iron Man 3
Who he plays: An excited television crewman who helps Tony Stark out of a jam.
Beyond the MCU: Pally has made of himself a regular feature across the ABC network’s collection of cult comedies, first with Happy Endings and then The Mindy Project.
Image: Disney
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Marvel movies: Thor: The Dark World
Who he plays: The Asgardian rhino monster Algrim and the Dark Elf muscleman Kurse.
Beyond the MCU: Akinnuoye-Agbaje is no stranger to supernatural realms, having played the intimidating Mr. Eko on Lost.
Image: Disney
D.C. Pierson
Marvel movies: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Who he plays: An Apple Store clerk who is in awe of Steve Rogers’ aesthetic bounties.
Beyond the MCU: Pierson made a name for himself as one third of the Internet sketch comedy troupe, Derrick Comedy.
Image: Disney
Danny Pudi
Marvel movies: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Who he plays: A low-ranking, plausibly ideologically innocent S.H.I.E.L.D. tech operative.
Beyond the MCU: Ushered into The Winter Soldier via his camaraderie with directors the Russo Brothers, Pudi is of course known best as Community’s fan favorite character Abed.
Image: Disney
Gary Sinise
Marvel movies: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Who he plays: Discretely, the voice of the Smithsonian exhibit celebrating Captain America and his team of WWII heroes.
Beyond the MCU: Sinise’s notable roles are plentiful, with Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, and The Green Mile topping the lot.
Image: Disney
Sean Gunn
Marvel movies: Guardians of the Galaxy
Who he plays: A more or less inept Ravager crewmember; he also did double work for Bradley Cooper’s CGI character Rocket Raccoon.
Beyond the MCU: Gunn is practically synonymous with his Gilmore Girls character, town weirdo Kirk. (Incidentally, he’s also the brother of Guardians director James Gunn.)
Image: Disney
Rob Zombie
Marvel movies: Guardians of the Galaxy
Who he plays: The automated voice of the Ravager spaceship.
Beyond the MCU: Zombie is known not so much as an actor as he is a musician and director, helming such films as House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects, and the 2007 remake of Halloween.
Image: Disney
Nathan Fillion
Marvel movies: Guardians of the Galaxy
Who he plays: A large, facially mangled brute who messes with the Guardians while they are incarcerated by Nova Corps.
Beyond the MCU: Another Whedonite, Fillion became an Internet favorite when he starred as Captain Mal Reynolds on Firefly.
Image: Disney
Seth Green
Marvel movies: Iron Man 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy
Who he plays: Green appears in the flesh in Iron Man 2 as an unnamed fanboy, but ups the ante on his contribution to the MCU by voicing Howard the Duck in the character’s notorious cameo in the stinger of Guardians.
Beyond the MCU: Perhaps the busiest name on this list, Green was ever-present among the teen movie fare of the 1990s and presently reigns supreme over Adult Swim.
Image: Disney
Julie Delpy
Marvel movies: Avengers: Age of Ultron
Who she plays: If you haven’t seen the latest Marvel feature yet, this one might qualify as a spoiler. If you have, you might have caught a quick glimpse of Delpy as Madame B, assassin trainer extraordinaire who turned Natasha Romanoff into a killing machine, in one of Black Widow’s flashbacks.
Beyond the MCU: Superhero cinema is a departure for Delpy, who is celebrated for her turn in Richard Linklater’s sweeping romantic Before trilogy.
