Matthew McConaughey Wanted to Play the Hulk But Marvel Passed
Matthew McConaughey apparently really wanted to play the Hulk, but Marvel ultimately turned him down. McConaughey started out with bit parts in cult favorites Dazed and Confused and Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation before earning leading-man status in the 1996 legal thriller A Time to Kill. After starring in a string of romantic comedies during the 2000s, he started scoring more dramatic roles in the early 2010s and working with prestige directors in films like Magic Mike, Killer Joe, and Bernie. The media dubbed this shift the "McConaissance," which culminated in an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as real-life AIDS patient Ron Woodruff in Dallas Buyers Club.
While McConaughey was bouncing between rom-coms in the 2000s, the modern boom of superhero films was beginning to take shape. Bryan Singer's X-Men movie kicked it off in 2000, followed by the record-breaking Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy and Christopher Nolan's Batman reboot. The most important entry from the era was undoubtedly Iron Man, which was released in 2008 and formally kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe that continues to dominate movie culture to this day.
Matthew McConaughey tried to join that early superhero wave, but Marvel ultimately passed on him. He briefly explained what happened on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, saying he specifically wanted to play the Hulk since he was an enormous fan of the Lou Ferrigno TV show growing up. Though he carefully doesn't go too far into detail, McConaughey said he really pursued the role and let Marvel know he was serious about it, but the studio ultimately went in a different direction. Again, McConaughey, never one to spread blame around, carefully doesn't specify which Hulk movie he was going out for. Eric Bana ultimately starred in Ang Lee's 2003 movie, Edward Norton got the role in 2008's The Incredible Hulk, and Mark Ruffalo replaced Norton in The Avengers. Check out the exchange from the podcast below:
Horowitz: You never got your chance to play Bruce Banner, or David Banner in the show, did you?
McConaughey: No, I didn’t.
Horowitz: Jerks.
McConaughey: Wanted it.
Horowitz: Really?
McConaughey: Yep
Horowitz: Did you throw your hat in the ring? Did you say, “I’m game if you guys are?”
McConaughey: Yep
Horowitz: No kidding?
McConaughey: They said, “No, thank you.”
His hesitancy to go into detail indicates the Hulk rejection may still sting after all these years. Marvel did offer McConaughey the opportunity to play Ego the Living Planet in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but he turned it down and the role went to Kurt Russell instead. In the time that the MCU has taken over the world, McConaughey has starred in several box office hits, including Interstellar, The Wolf of Wall Street, and most recently The Gentlemen. Nowadays, he seems to be enjoying quarantine life with his family while virtually promoting his new memoir Greenlights.
McConaughey's Hulk story certainly isn't the first of a high-profile actor turned down for a superhero role. Ryan Philippe and John Krasinski were reportedly in talks to play Captain America before Chris Evans scored the part for The First Avenger. Jon Favreau famously fought hard to get Robert Downey, Jr. cast as Iron Man when Marvel Studios wanted someone else, which is insane considering Downey's performance became one of the biggest global sensations in movie history. It's hard to imagine anyone else playing these iconic heroes after seeing them for a decade, but for the most part, actors like McConaughey and Krasinski who were rejected still end up becoming immensely successful in their own right.
Source: Happy Sad Confused