10 Badly Miscast Actors In The Marvel Cinematic Universe

7. Idris Elba - Heimdall (Thor)

There is something very, very strange about watching Idris Elba, an immensely talented actor, playing the role of Asgard's guardian sentry in the Thor movies, because you can't help but wonder why, of all people, they got him in for the part.

That's not to say that he's entirely terrible; just that his being there feels unnatural to the point where it's genuinely a little bit off-putting. Is it the very self-conscious British accent that makes it weird, despite the fact that Elba is British? Is it that slow, padded way in which he talks, like he's been plugged with morphine?

You might remember back when Elba was first cast that a lot of people were peeved on account of the fact that he was black, and Heimdall has traditionally been written and drawn as white. That matters not, of course, and we bring it up again here again to clarify that his presence on a list of miscast characters has nothing to do with race - who cares? The point is, Elba doesn't really seem to know what to do with the role. His performance is dull and actually kind of awkward; he doesn't really bring anything to character of Heimdall, which is a crying shame.