"I Got Pretty Close": DESERT DAWN Star Kellan Lutz Reflects On CAPTAIN AMERICA And THOR Auditions (Exclusive)

"I Got Pretty Close": DESERT DAWN Star Kellan Lutz Reflects On CAPTAIN AMERICA And THOR Auditions (Exclusive)

Talking to us about his scene-stealing role in Desert Dawn, Kellan Lutz (Twilight) reflects on auditioning for the roles of Captain America and Thor, and reveals whether he'd star in a superhero movie.

By JoshWilding - Jun 13, 2025 02:06 PM EST
Filed Under: Action

In Desert Dawn, a newly appointed small-town sheriff (Kellan Lutz) and his reluctant deputy (Cam Gigandet) find themselves in a web of lies and corruption when the murder of a mysterious woman leads them to a dangerous conspiracy involving shady businessmen and the cartel.

The movie is now available on Digital and VOD, and we recently got to speak with Kellan about his latest action role.

The actor, who many of you will know best for movies like Twilight, Hercules, and The Expendables 3, was among those who auditioned for the title roles in 2011's Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger

Kellan reflected on getting "pretty close" to starring as both Avengers when we asked if he's no longer interested in being part of a big budget franchise after devoting such a big chunk of his career to playing Emmett Cullen. 

"No, I loved Hercules. It would have been cool had that continued. I don't even know if we had a sequel in mind. Look, would I love to do Marvel or The Avengers...I auditioned for Thor and Captain America. I got pretty close to those ones, but obviously Chris and Chris are brilliant for those. I don't think I've auditioned again for a Marvel one, but I'd be open to doing another big franchise."

I know some people, they just get tired...if you have a role where you're wearing a costume and you don't have to be there every day like Deadpool, Spider-Man, or Iron Man, that's pretty awesome. With other characters...they're human. You can see them. They don't have a full make, and you've gotta be there on set. Sometimes, a lot of actors get tired of those roles."

"I can't imagine playing a role like Dave Bautista or Zoe Saldana, where you have to wear makeup and you're in the chair for hours. I can see the joy being stripped away because sometimes you're shooting and you're in that look. I remember during Twilight, we were in white makeup, but we had to keep our contacts in for hours. Sometimes, we wouldn't even get to our scene. It was 14 hours, and you can't sleep with those contacts in. You feel a little mad and go a little crazy! [Laughs]"

Elsewhere in our conversation, the actor tells us how he shaped his character in Desert Dawn, what he enjoyed about sharing the screen with Cam Gigandet, and the secrets behind one of the movie's best action scenes. 

You can hear more from Kellan in the player below.

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FrankenDad
FrankenDad - 6/13/2025, 2:25 PM
I can ONLY think of him as the tv cousin of John Lutz from “30 Rock”(couldn’t find a gif from his episode). Fantastic cameo at his own expense. 👌🏻
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Lisa89
Lisa89 - 6/13/2025, 2:25 PM
Being less handsome than the competition is what ultimately, no doubt, took him out of contention.
Deklipz
Deklipz - 6/13/2025, 2:28 PM
Dude has the acting ability of a piece of lint and the personality of a blank post-it note. There’s a reason nobody has seen or heard from him since Hercules shit the bed.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 6/13/2025, 2:39 PM
The only thing I have seen Lutz in was Expendables 3 and he seemed to be fine in that…

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I mean , he certainly looks the parts but idk if he could have pulled it off so I’m happy with Evans & Hemsworth personally.

Maybe he could be MCU Hyperion?.
DarthOmega
DarthOmega - 6/13/2025, 2:46 PM
We came close to Tom Hiddleston as Thor

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Malatrova15
Malatrova15 - 6/13/2025, 3:00 PM
@DarthOmega - lucky him ..that dyed hair would have decimated His hairline even quicker than Time.
DarthOmega
DarthOmega - 6/13/2025, 3:01 PM
@Malatrova15 - I bid my hairline a fond farewell about a decade ago.
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 6/13/2025, 3:20 PM
He's got the build, but no charisma for a big role like that. I still remember how bad he was in that Hercules movie he did🤦🏾‍♂️
RitoRevolto
RitoRevolto - 6/13/2025, 5:29 PM
He's a very mid actor, so we didn't miss out on much. Maybe a smaller cbm role?

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