15 Actors Who Almost Played MCU Characters

7. Timothy Olyphant - Iron Man

One of the less-talked about but more intriguing actors to almost land the Tony Stark role was Justified star Timothy Olyphant, who made Jon Favreau's shortlist and even went in to screen test for the part...but he ended up auditioning the same day as Robert Downey Jr, and the rest is history.

Would It Have Worked?: Olyphant would've brought a very different energy to the role, but he'd have been an interesting pick for sure. It's hard to imagine him nailing Stark's quips with the same rat-a-tat brilliance, but he passes the test in terms of looks and acting chops.

He likely would have created a very different Iron Man to the one fans know and love today, but the guy's too talented to write him off here.