As the MCU expands, many faces are brought into it and not all of them are always actors I would predict. Because so much of the franchise has been built on the same few actors that carved out names for themselves as superheroes, it’s a little bit disorienting to see an actor go from an indie comedy to a mainstream Marvel film. It’s great to see the actors I love succeed in ways that I literally never would’ve imagined. Kathryn Hahn is one of the most notable and talented comedic actresses of our time, with work spanning from slapstick roles like in Bad Moms to drier, wittier performances like that of her film Private Life. Seeing her onscreen as a comic side character in WandaVision made sense. What I did not anticipate was for her to step into the role of one of the most powerful antagonists in one of the most popular shows to come out of this year. I also did not anticipate for her performance to be so good that she earned herself a spin off series: Agatha: House of Harkness. The level of gusto and power that it takes to develop a good comedic performance should be easy to flick the metaphorical emotional switch and apply that to a villain. Kathryn Hahn proves it. Awkwafina is an interesting figure. The way that she has marketed herself as a performer, the projects she takes on, and the way that she generally carries herself points to someone that would be cut out for a goofy comic relief role. She stepped into these roles in Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean’s Eight, then she stepped into a more dramatic, grounded role in The Farewell. None of these roles logically point to “archer that saves the day” in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. She contributes a lot of good energy to the film, but literally all I can think is “Wow, Awkwafina has a weapon!” Kumail Najiani was probably the biggest surprise in the Eternals casting lineup. When it was announced, he had just done a movie about his wife’s hospital stint and his standup comedy career called The Big Sick (which I still don’t forgive the Oscars for snubbing). I knew him from roles that he’d played in Silicon Valley and Portlandia, his voice acting, and his standup comedy career. It was a jackknife-turn of a surprise, but he’s one of the most unique and recognizable faces and voices in the industry right now. To not be vying for his attention as a casting director would be stupid. Jonathan Majors is one of those actors that I’m watching have an upward career trajectory over the course of just a few years. I first saw him in The Last Black Man in San Francisco, then Da 5 Bloods, and now as Kang the Conqueror on Loki. Hopefully this means that we can expect to see him in more films, and even Marvel projects, because he has some raw acting talent. Oscar Isaac will be stepping into the role of Moon Knight which I didn’t expect, but I also didn’t not expect considering how sought after he is now. Between Star WarsI, Dune, Scenes from a Marriage, and The Addams Family animated reboots, he is cornering the market on nerd culture. Maybe between him and Zendaya just Marvel’s ensemble, this will bring Timothee Chalamet into the Marvel family in the next few years. We can only hope. 5 Unexpected Actors Bringing Diversity Into the MCU posted first on https://dgspeaks.com/ via Blogger 5 Unexpected Actors Bringing Diversity Into the MCU
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