8 Marvel Actors Who Were Cast In The Wrong Parts
2. Idris Elba
While Idris Elba was already making waves when he was cast to play Heimdall in Thor, he's since become something of an icon thanks to Luther and Pacific Rim. There was an ugly controversy about his casting in Thor since the character was originally white in the comic, but he shut up the naysayers in the best way, with an impressive performance.
Unfortunately, Heimdall is something of a dull character and gives the great actor very little dramatic meat to chew on. He shows up a few times, makes a ponderous speech and disappears again. Elba himself hated shooting the second Thor movie, finding the process of playing Heimdall torturous after playing Nelson Mandela in a biopic, so he's clearly frustrated with his role too.
Who He Should Have Played Instead: Black Panther
Elba is clearly wasted on a small supporting part, and if Marvel were casting him now theyd surely give him a much juicer role.
Hed be a natural for Black Panther (or even his father if they'd gone the route of making the film a legacy franchise), where hed get to flex his acting (and action) muscles playing one of the most important new characters in the MCU; plus hed finally have the role that could make him a viable Hollywood leading man in his own right.