Jeremy Strong almost played the lanky Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger before taking part in the serum experiment. Chris Evans was introduced to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) back in 2011 with his solo film, kicking off a trilogy for Captain America. The firs film saw Steve emerge from humble beginnings to become a war hero. Though pre-serum Steve had Evans' face in the film, a body double was used before the character's transformation.
The body double in question was Leander Deeny, whose face was then overlaid with Evans' using CGI, Jeremy Strong, who plays Kendall Roy in Succession, was reportedly considered for the part. During a recent interview, Strong discusses how he faced the the tough decision to turn down a part in Captain America: The First Avenger. He came close to playing Steve's pre-Captain America body.
He said, “They told me there was a top-secret film about Captain America...They needed someone to play Captain America’s young body, before he turns into a superhero. They said they needed a transformational actor and would use CGI to put the actual actor’s face and voice over my own. I was broke. 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. And the next day I went back to New York and did a play about a veteran from Afghanistan in a wheelchair during the blackout of 2003.”
Though the MCU was not as big as it now, it was intimidating for Strong to turn down a big franchise role. Strong clearly made the right decision in making the call to focus on opportunities that appealed to him more and his experiences on stage paid off as he began to star in gritty dramas based on historic events such as Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, and Selma. His success in those roles led to Strong being cast in Adam McKay's The Big Short, which paved the way for his Emmy-winning turn in Succession.
