The sixteenth entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming, is in theaters today, but where did all these Marvel actors get their starts? That’s the question answered by Screen Junkies, along with video footage of some of these early roles, including “screaming girl wearing only a towel” and “gay kid.”
Here are some of the actors profiled:
Before Tom Holland (Spider-Man) was visiting kids in hospitals, he was playing a kid in a hospital who had lost his dad and brothers in a tsunami in 2012’s The Impossible.
Before Robert Downey Jr was back on top with Iron Man (please never retire), he appeared as a character making some interesting fashion choices in First Born, which also included the first appearance of Corey Haim and an early role for Sarah Jessica Parker.
Michael Keaton (Vulture) worked alongside David Letterman (before the latter was seeing how many Spider-Men could fit in a Jamba Juice) as a bit player on Mary Tyler Moore’s variety show. Remember Mary Tyler Moore’s variety show? You’d be one of the few who does.
Marisa Tomei (Aunt May) can be seen in the video above in her positively career-defining role as “screaming girl wearing only a towel” in The Toxic Avenger.
Donald Glover (Aaron Davis / spoiler) started his screen career writing for 30 Rock and doing a cameo as “gay kid.”
Brie Larson (Captain Marvel) was an aspiring pop star who sang a song for a Barbie movie, and the video has to be seen to be believed.
Before Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) became the highest-grossing woman in box office history, she was in the Macaulay Culkin-less Home Alone 3.
Before Chris Evans was Captain America, he was trying to get an internship and starring in an educational video about Biodiversity.
Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts) may be selling questionable products and immediately failing the food stamp challenge these days, but she once played the younger version of Wendy in 1991’s Hook.
Before Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury) was in every movie ever, he could be seen robbing the McDowell’s in 1988’s Coming To America, and he seemingly hasn’t aged a day since.
The video also breaks down early roles for Michael B. Jordan (Erik Killmonger), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), and Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier), the last of whom was fighting “Russian spies” in Hot Tub Time Machine because he’s a patriot.
(Via Screen Junkies)