‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’: Wyatt Russell Does Not Think He ‘Was Ever in the Running’ to Play Steve Rogers
On The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Wyatt Russell plays John Walker/Captain America. Before landing the role on the Disney+ show, Russell auditioned to play Steve Rogers/Captain America in the 2011 Marvel film Captain America: The First Avenger.
The role of Steve Rogers went to actor Chris Evans. In an interview with the Toronto Sun, Russell shared that he thinks he was never truly “in the running” to play the iconic Marvel character.
‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ was Wyatt Russell’s first audition
Growing up, Russell found himself on movie sets due to his parents being famous actors Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn. Although he appeared in a few of his parents’ movies as a child, Russell did not originally pursue a career in acting.
Instead, Russell was an ice hockey player until an injury forced him to switch career paths. After his hockey career ended, Russell decided to pursue acting as a full-time job.
During an interview for The Off Camera Show, Russell revealed his first audition ever was actually for Captain America: The First Avenger.
“I went and did an audition for Captain America,” he said. “It was literally my first thing. I walked in and was like ‘What do I — I just say the lines?'”
Russell did not get the role of Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film, but he did leave a lasting impression after the audition.
“I didn’t get it, but the casting director said ‘Yeah, you’re good. And you’re green, but you’re pretty good and we’ll bring you back on other stuff,” he said.
‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ actor does not think he was seriously considered to play Steve Rogers
Nowadays, it is hard to imagine anyone besides Evans as Steve Rogers in the MCU. Not including cameos and post-credit scenes, Evans played the character in Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.
Looking back at his audition, Russell does not think he was ever a strong contender for the role. This does not bother the actor, as he originally auditioned to see if he could make a career out of acting.
“The first one was more me trying out to see if I could do it. They cast a wide net for the first Captain America. There were many people who tried out, but I don’t think I was ever in the running,” Russell told the Toronto Sun.
Wyatt Russell did not realize he auditioned for Captain America again
After gaining more acting experience, Russell was cast as a new Captain America in the MCU, John Walker. While he originally auditioned for Captain America: The First Avenger, Russell did not know he was auditioning for John Walker when he auditioned for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
“The second time around, I didn’t know it was for Captain America. They don’t tell you who you’re trying out for. You get the part and then you have to ask who it’s for,” he said
Russell continued, “So there wasn’t much in the way of me choosing anything. I did have questions about whether or not I’d be able to do it and whether I was the right guy for the role.”
