I honestly believe that all the mentioned actors are phenomenal actors, but surely there are also phenomenal American actors that look the part for these roles. And this whole "No American’s allowed” thing doesn’t just stop with Superhero movies. It translates to other films and television too. If you saw an interview with the lead in your favorite show or movie (Fringe, Walking Dead,Arrow, Beauty and the Beast, House, etc.) you might be surprised to learn that they are not American. Remember this isn’t an attack on their talent (which is Amazing), just an observation of the trend. Let’s look at this list of some of the biggest names right now. Of course Henry Cavill, Sam Worthington, Andrew Garfield, Huge Jackman, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Pattinson, Tom Hardy, Christian Bale, Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Hayden Christensen, Keanu Reeves, Ryan Reynolds, Seth Rogen, Ryan Gosling, Jude Law etc...
That's not to say that there's no current American talent out there.
Denzel Washington, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Leonardo Dicaprio, Robert De Niro, Will Smith, Morgan Freeman, Tom Cruise, Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Harrison Ford, Joaquin Phoenix, Ed Harris, James Woods, just to name a few.
You might say, yeah but almost all of them minus Will, and Leo are getting old or are not leading man material. So why don't we see young fresh American Talent out there. It’s not because there's no American talent, but has more to do with unknown American actors not being hired despite their talent. I do see young American talent out there such as Jensen Ackles, Jarad Padalecki, Joe Manganiello, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Wesley, Steven R. McQueen, Ian Somerhalder, Matthew Bomer, and Zach Roerig, to name a very, very few, so we clearly have plenty of talent here in America. I don’t buy this idea that we can’t get American talent for these films, such as Superman, Spiderman, Thor, Wolverine, Batman, Green Lantern, Constantine, or even the upcoming Star Wars films. That’s BS. They are out there, just hire them.
One more thing; I just want to say that I “DO” support the casting of Cavill as Superman. And I am more than certain that his amazing talent will show in his portrayal of Superman, but this is just another of a long list of examples where an American was clearly passed over for a part seemingly just because they were America. There seems to be a conscious effort to cast non-American in ever role possible. I will accept this whole, “it doesn't matter who plays who,” the day that an American plays James Bond, or Dr. Who. That'll never happen. Oh, and one more thing for all you hypocrites out there. If it truly doesn't matter that a Brit is playing Superman because Superman isn't American then why couldn’t he have a British accent then? Why does he have to fake an American accent? That was rhetorical btw. Why does Hugh Jackman have to use an American accent for Wolverine? Why does Christian Bale have to use an American accent for Batman? Also all rhetorical. The characters are made in America. If there's a whole wide icon that comes out of China (or Australia or India etc...), I would have no problem with a Chinese, Australian or Indian person playing that role.
To sum it up, I love all the talent that come to American to enhance their career and entertain US and the rest of the world, but I also think that I shouldn’t have to apologize for wanting the few roles that were made Iconic in American before the rest of the world even knew who or what they were be played by Americans. And occasionally when I look up the lead in my favorite shows I wouldn’t mind reading that they are American. That’s all I’m saying.
P.S. I focued on the males because that's where the focus has been but you could eaily see a simlar trend with actresses. I would like to see more American females in leading roles.