Jeremy Strong almost played Chris Evans' scrawny body double in Captain America: The First Avenger
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Jeremy Strong almost joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe — or at least his body almost did.
The actor may be best known for hurling profanities as Kendall Roy in HBO's Succession, but in a new interview with The Times UK, Strong revealed that he was asked to appear in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger. Specifically, he was invited to play Chris Evans' body double — the young, scrawny version of Steve Rogers, before he bulks up and becomes a star-spangled supersoldier.
"They needed someone to play Captain America's young body, before he turns into a superhero," Strong told The Times. "They said they needed a transformational actor and would use CGI to put the actual actor's face and voice over my own."
Marvel Studios; Arturo Holmes/WireImage Jeremy Strong says he was invited to play Chris Evans’ scrawny body double in 2011's 'Captain America: The First Avenger.'
At the time, Strong says, he was still early in his career, auditioning for big-budget Hollywood projects in Los Angeles. "I was broke," he added. "I needed money. I considered it. But that's my story of LA. It was just never going to happen for me here. It didn't feel like what I had to offer was valued."
In a weird twist, Strong actually grew up with Evans, who would go on to play Captain America in more than 10 movies. The two were both raised in Sudbury, Massachusetts, where they were both in the local theater scene as kids. When The Times reached out to Evans to ask if he knew Strong was in the running to be his body double, Evans reportedly gasped, saying "Oh no!" and adding that he had no idea.
Evans has spoken before about how much he admired Strong as a kid, and the two even starred together in a young production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. (Strong played Bottom, while Evans was Demetrius.) Speaking to The Times, Evans said that he was always surprised by how long it took Strong to become a major star.
"It just goes to show the industry is so unpredictable," Evans said. "But I'm so happy things worked out, because I don't think there was ever plan B for Jeremy."
Strong is currently starring in Armageddon Time, alongside Anne Hathaway and Anthony Hopkins.
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