While many actors were in contention for the role of Steve Rogers in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger, it was ultimately Chris Evans who was chosen to play the MCU's Star-Spangled Avenger.
If you were active on this site at the time, you'll likely recall that the news received a mixed response. Evans hadn't exactly been on a hot streak, and the majority seemingly couldn't imagine the actor going from playing the Human Torch to suiting up as Captain America. Needless to say, he proved all his doubters wrong.
Friday Night Lights and Ginny & Georgia star Scott Porter recently appeared on Watch What Happens Live! and revealed that he made it to the final four in contention to lead Captain America: The First Avenger.
"Who else can be Captain America than Chris Evans?" Porter acknowledged. "I was not mad at all, and I watched all the Avengers movies. I’m a huge nerd, and the man just crushed it."
Admitting losing the part felt like a "kick in the nuts," he added, "That was, like, a big, I’m bent over, sobbing, heaving. Yeah, it was bad. Because all these press outlets had put my head on Captain America's body, and I started to buy in. I was like, 'I can do this. Oh, no, no. Yeah, I can’t.'"
Porter later revealed that Mike Vogel (Cloverfield, Under the Dome) also came close to being cast. He's never really commented on missing out, but did address the rumours in 2010. "I don’t want to comment on it too much, keeping ‘em crossed [fingers]. We’ll see what happens. I’m very excited," Vogel said, adding that he was a "big fan" of the comics.
Also in the top four alongside Porter, Vogel, and Evans was Daredevil: Born Again star Wilson Bethel. Here's what he previously said about missing out on making his MCU debut with Captain America: The First Avenger:
"I mean that was both, probably the single most exciting time of my life and also the single most devastating when it didn’t happen. But, yeah, that was eight years ago now. They put me in the Cap suit and did everything. So, I screen tested it at Marvel with a number of other guys. They ended up releasing all the other guys. I was meeting with Joe Johnson to discuss the role and see storyboards. So, it was this insane period where during that time I kind of thought that maybe I was going to actually get the role. I actually screen tested again a second time a month later on my birthday."
"And then, I think it was like one or two days later that they made the announcement that Chris Evans got the part. So, to be perfectly honest, that was one of the hardest moments in my professional career. And it spun me out for a while to be honest with you. But I’m also a firm believer that things happen as they’re supposed to, and obviously, Chris did an incredible job in that role. And my life, while it hasn’t brought me to lead the Avengers, has been really rich and rewarding in other ways. So, I can’t spend too much time lamenting it. And honestly, just the fact that things have kind of come full circle in a way, and I still get to be a dude in a suit, is pretty exciting."
While it's no secret that Porter, Vogel, and Bethel came close to playing Captain America, the fact that they were in the final four is new news and an intriguing glimpse at what might have been.
Jensen Ackles, Kellan Lutz, John Krasinski, and Wyatt Russell are just some of the other actors who were also vying for the part at the time, but Evans ultimately made Steve his own. His run started with Captain America: The First Avenger and ended with Avengers: Endgame in 2019.
You can hear more from Porter in the player below.