I think it’s fair to say that Dane Cook is known as a stand-up comedian first and as an actor second. That might not have been the case though, because once upon a time, the actor/comedian auditioned to play none other than Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger. Dane Cook actually announced that he auditioned on social media, which led to him sending an apology letter, as he explained:
Oh, I got in so much trouble. I was feeling really excited, but it was supposed to be a quiet, private thing. I wrote an apology letter to the casting director because they were upset.
Dane Cook got so excited about his audition and the prospect of playing Captain America and he needed to shout in from the rooftops, or in modern parlance, post about it on social media. That was a little bit too much excitement for Marvel’s taste, because the whole thing was meant to be hush hush, as we’ve come to expect all superhero casting to be these days.
Dane Cook got in big trouble for his lack of secrecy on a public forum so, as he told The Hollywood Reporter, he wrote an apology letter to the casting director on the film that was upset with him, to try and make amends. It was a misstep in the entertainer’s career and you’ve got to imagine it didn’t help his case for the part either.
He owns up to the mistake and the fact that he sent something as personal as an apology letter shows Dane Cook knew he screwed up. Nevertheless, he did not land the role and the situation now stands as a learning experience.
Today, the idea that someone would announce their audition for a Marvel movie seems ludicrous. Sure, Tom Holland and Mark Ruffalo are about as good at keeping secrets as 2011 Dane Cook, and spoil movies on the regular, but generally the secrecy around MCU movies is intense and everyone knows to say nothing to no one.
As far as Dane Cook as a potential Captain America, it certainly would have been an interesting choice. I think we all see Dane Cook as a stand-up and the guy from Employee of the Month and Good Luck Chuck so at that time it definitely would have been hard to imagine him in that more serious role. Plus now Chris Evans is Captain America and it’s impossible to consider anyone else. Then again, Dane Cook was an amateur superhero called The Waffler in Mystery Men, so who knows.
Dane Cook may have been the most open about it but he wasn’t the only actor who went out for the part of Captain America in The First Avenger. A Quiet Place’s John Krasinski came very close to landing the role that also looked at names like Channing Tatum, Ryan Phillippe, Garret Hedlund and Daredevil Season 3’s Bullseye, Wilson Bethel.
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