20 Things You Didn't Know About Shutter Island

12. Robert Downey Jr. & Josh Brolin Were Considered To Play Chuck Aule

Before Mark Ruffalo managed to convince Scorsese to hire him to play Chuck Aule courtesy of that aforementioned fanboy letter, the director was actually considering two other far higher-profile actors for the part.

First and foremost, Ruffalo's MCU co-star Robert Downey Jr. was in contention, and though it's easy to see how he could've nailed the part, one suspects his busying Iron Man schedule likely kept him out of the picture.

Then there was Thanos himself, Josh Brolin, who was hot off a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for Milk and also in Scorsese's crosshairs, though either didn't commit or otherwise lost out to Ruffalo.

As intriguing as these casting possibilities are, there's no arguing with how Ruffalo's stellar work turned out.