10 Most Challenging MCU Roles That Actors Absolutely Nailed

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is full of complex characters that are only able to be brought to life thanks to the efforts of talented superstar actors. It’s easy for cinema snobs to dismiss the character work of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as surface-level caricatures with no deeper complexity worth investigating. However, the most talented MCU actors have consistently disproven this notion with impressive character work that carries the appeal of the franchise with performances that certainly aren’t easy.

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There are a few MCU characters in particular that stand out for their complexity, requiring more demanding acting chops than the average movie role. Some are simply complex due to their shifting allegiances, character arcs, and troubled backstories, making for an emotionally weighty role to inhabit. Others would crumble under the support of less talented actors due to their alien, nonhuman nature or even multiple personalities, requiring a wide range of acting ability over the course of the MCU timeline.

10 Loki

Played by Tom Hiddleston

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A relative unknown at the time of his casting as Loki, Tom Hiddleston quickly became a fan-favorite performer shortly after his debut in the original Thor. One of the princes of Asgard and the god of mischief and trickery, Loki was an outsider from birth thanks to his status as the adopted son of Odin’s enemy, the frost giant Laufey. Loki’s MCU journey has been a long and arduous one, redeeming himself only to die at the hands of Thanos and start again from scratch in a parallel timeline.

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Every version of Loki is played incredibly well by Tom Hiddleston. Hiddleston is able to give what could’ve easily been another generic, sneering MCU villain a lovable charisma that made him hard to hate no matter how vile his actions. Better yet, Hiddleston’s emotional range and ability to convey heartbreak helps nail Loki’s genuine emotional moments while also giving credence to his lies, constantly having to act as a character that is, himself, acting.

9 Ego

Played by Kurt Russell

One of the most underrated performances in the MCU is Kurt Russell’s brief time as the villainous Celestial, Ego. Peter Quill’s father, Ego is an ancient cosmic being with grand powers on a universal scale, obsessed with finding an heir to his power that could help him conquer the universe and re-shape it in this image. This isn’t all readily obvious on a surface level, however, as Ego first shows up as the exciting long-lost adventurer Star-Lord likely always imagined his Dad to be.

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Kurt Russell had a difficult task ahead of him playing Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, needing to balance this surface-level deception and manufactured warmth with a very callous, Darwinian outlook on sentient life that only a being of god-like power could identify with. It helps that Kurt Russell is the kind of action star Peter Quill would’ve likely idolized growing up, making him a fitting choice for Star-Lord’s old man. Warm, charismatic, but deeply cruel and egotistical, Kurt Russell’s Ego deserves more credit as a great take on a difficult villain.

8 Iron Man

Played by Robert Downey Jr.

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The most obvious choice for the MCU’s best-cast character, there’s a good reason why Robert Downey Jr. was able to carry the franchise as its flagship character for so long. The irresponsible playboy billionaire genius turned altruistic superhero was no easy character to get into the shoes of, needing a sharp comedic wit to sell his roguish attitude while also requiring a real, brooding darkness underneath the surface. Luckily, Robert Downey Jr. was able to revitalize his career by blurring the lines between himself and his new superhero charge.

In many ways, Tony Stark’s own struggles with his vices, issues with fulfilling his father’s legacy, and long road to maturity mirror Robert Downey Jr.’s own dark past, giving him a real emotional connection to the character. In so many scenes, it’s hard to remember that Downey is even acting at all, which makes sense considering the number of Iron Man lines improvised by Robert Downey Jr. It’s no wonder the MCU is so eager to have Downey back to play another important role in Avengers: Doomsday.

7 Thanos

Played by Josh Brolin

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By far one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s strongest villains, Thanos is a character that wouldn’t have worked as well as he did without Josh Brolin’s guidance. An alien warlord from the planet Titan, Thanos became obsessed with finding and using all six Infinity Stones to wipe out half of all life in the universe. Originally played by Damion Poitier in a post-credits scene in The Avengers, Josh Brolin’s menacing presence as Thanos debuted in Guardians of the Galaxy, finally breaching over into relevancy in Avengers: Infinity War.

While Thanos is a genocidal maniac, his true conviction and belief in his cause wouldn’t work in the hands of a lesser actor. Luckily, Josh Brolin was up to the task, giving Thanos a grave complexity that made him terrifying without losing a personality, displaying some small inklings of humor and even sympathy here and there. Without such a richly layered performance, it’s hard to say that the overarching Avengers antagonist would’ve worked nearly as well.

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6 Green Goblin

Played by Willem Dafoe

Willem Dafoe’s performance as Green Goblin was one of the most captivating parts of Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man trilogy, balancing the camp of the series with a delightfully evil grin. Norman Osborn becomes the Green Goblin after using the experimental Oscorp serum on himself, breaking his mind in half between two personalities; The now-timid Norman and the sadistic Green Goblin. When the MCU brought back Willem Dafoe almost 20 years later to play the same role, it would be understandable for the performance to feel off, having not inhabited the character in so long.

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Yet Willem Dafoe doesn’t miss a step as Norman Osborn and the Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home, slipping back into the role as if no time had passed at all. Better yet, if anything, his Green Goblin seemed to get even more sadistic and vile as the years passed, cruelly inflicting misery on the new Spider-Man with mirthful glee. Willem Dafoe is a true chameleon as he alternates between Norman’s personalities, making it hard to imagine anyone else every doing the character justice in live-action.

5 Bucky Barnes

Played by Sebastian Stan

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Though he wasn’t an original Avenger, The Winter Soldier has quietly become one of the most important and long-running heroes in the entire MCU. First appearing in Captain America: The First Avenger, Bucky Barnes was a soldier kidnapped by HYDRA and turned into the Winter Soldier via cruel experimentation, making him an unfeeling machine that followed HYDRA’s orders unerringly as an infamous assassin. It’s only years later, in the narrative present of the MCU, that Bucky was able to break HYDRA’s programming.

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Bucky has had a harrowing journey through the MCU, oscillating between hero and villain over the course of his timeline. Sebastian Stan is an underrated star player in the franchise, consistently giving his all as one of the series’ more subtle, emotionally dense characters. It’ll be fascinating to see how Stan continues to evolve his performance in the upcoming movie Thunderbolts*.

4 Nebula

Played by Karen Gillan

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A similarly tortured anti-hero as Bucky, Nebula is another underrated performance nestled within the bombastic personalities of the Guardians of the Galaxy. An adoptive daughter of Thanos alongside Gamora, Nebula was tortured for her failures in combat, having much of her body slowly replaced by cybernetic parts. While she begins the series angry and vengeful, still staying faithful to her father in pursuit of Gamora, she eventually joins the Guardians of the Galaxy on her own volition, making up with her sister as much as she can before her untimely sacrifice.

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Through many layers of sci-fi makeup and prosthetics, Karen Gillan is able to turn in an impressively complicated performance as Nebula, conveying a subtle angst and heartbreak that isn’t as audacious as other Guardians of the Galaxy cast members. In Avengers: Endgame, she’s even able to oscillate between different versions of Nebula at varying points along her redemption arc, even acting as a younger Nebula who, in turn, acts as her older self. Pulling this off in and of itself is worthy of praise.

3 Moon Knight

Played by Oscar Isaac

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Speaking of actors who are able to play a character with multiple personalities, few excel at such a concept better than Oscar Isaac as Moon Knight. In his eponymous Disney+ series, Oscar Isaac plays Moon Knight, a hero with dissociative identity disorder, balancing both the focused and ferocious Marc Spektor and the effete and mild-mannered Steven Grant. Not only that, Isaac is even able to sneak in a brief performance as the duo’s secret third alter, the mysterious and morally-bankrupt Jake Lockley.

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It’s endlessly impressive how easily Oscar Isaac is able to swap between different personalities, making it instantly clear with his facial expressions and body language alone which version of Moon Knight is currently in control. Suffice it to say, Moon Knight is easily among the most challenging MCU characters any actor could attempt, making it all the more relieving that the role went to an actor as talented as Oscar Isaac. It’s a shame Moon Knight hasn’t reappeared in the MCU since his debut series.

2 Vision

Played by Paul Bettany

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As an intelligent and sapient android, Vision is an incredibly unique hero that has a markedly different perspective about the world around him than other Avengers, or most other beings in the MCU, for that matter. Vision’s android body was once intended for Ultron to inhabit, only for Bruce Banner and Tony Stark to put Tony’s faithful A.I. servant, J.A.R.V.I.S., into the system. Combined with the influence of the Soul Stone, the robotic body, programming, and Infinity Stone all combined to create a new being, Vision.

A recently-created form of artificial life who was born fully sapient, Vision has a very unique point of view that isn’t easily conveyed. Luckily, Paul Bettany was up to the task, delivering some incredibly poignant dialogue through the mouthpiece of a being that can experience humanity objectively without technically being a part of it. Not only that, but Bettany was able to make the rare transition from a fully voice-acted role as J.A.R.V.I.S. to the makeup-heavy live-action character of Vision.

1 Scarlet Witch

Played by Elizabeth Olsen

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Of course, a big part of what makes Vision interesting as a character is his relationship with Scarlet Witch, a.k.a. Wanda Maximoff, as portrayed by Elizabeth Olsen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Few characters have had as taxing a journey through the series as Scarlet Witch’s MCU timeline. Starting off as a villain, Scarlet Witch became an Avenger for a time, only to fall victim to her worst impulses and growing powers, officially becoming an antagonist only to die in a heroic sacrifice in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Elizabeth Olsen has been tasked with embodying many different powerful emotions as Scarlet Witch, including fear, grief, and malice. Whether she’s a scared kid being taken advantage of by a rogue sentient A.I., a steadfast lover to her unique partner, or a grieving mother willing to do whatever it takes to steal her children back from the multiverse, Elizabeth Olsen deserves credit for her powerful performances as Wanda Maximoff. Olsen deserves more credit for her impact on the MCU with the character.

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