10 Awesome Movie Characters Everybody Forgot Was Recast

The first time we got to see Thanos on the big screen came at the end of 2012's The Avengers via a post-credits scene. He was only briefly seen, and clearly animated, but he wasn't played or modeled after Josh Brolin. It would be several years before he was cast, which begs the question, who played Thanos?

That honor goes to stuntman Damion Poitier who also worked on Captain America: Civil War. He wasn't credited as Thanos for his appearance in The Avengers, but he was the one whose face was modeled to bring the Mad Titan to life.

While there was nothing wrong with his appearance as Thanos, Poitier was never intended to play the character in a larger role. This is one of the reasons the character looks significantly different when he shows up in Avengers: Infinity War. He was modeled after a completely new actor, and several refinements were made to the CGI that put him on the big screen.

Josh Brolin's facial features were used to map Thanos', which is why he still bears some resemblance to the actor despite being a gigantic purple monster from outer space. Brolin's Thanos stands as one of the franchise's most memorable, but it was built off Poitier's brief appearance from The Avengers.