# What older, award winning actor has NOT been tapped up for a super-hero film? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 22, 2017, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932 "2017-09-22T02:46:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/21 "2017-09-22T07:06:02Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Hackman was Lex Luthor in three of Christopher Reeve’s Superman films (I, II, and IV). Oh, of course. I forgot all about those for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/22 "2017-09-22T07:11:42Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > He was awesome as The Shoveler in “Mystery Men.” 🙂 Yes, shovelly terror. Congrats on 10 grand. You now bear that “hidden mark” that no one knows about. > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Did one of the Andrew Garfield SPIDER-MAN flicks. Ignorance admittedly internalized. > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Okay then, Felicity Huffman. I’d say more Nina Hartley. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/23 "2017-09-22T07:16:17Z")
> [@Eddie The Horrible](#): > > You now bear that “hidden mark” that no one knows about. Another one? I think I have 6 now. Or maybe 7. They’re well hidden. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/24 "2017-09-22T11:30:18Z")
I immediately thought of Robert Duvall, but on second thought, Gus McCrae was kind of a super-hero. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/25 "2017-09-22T12:26:25Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > I immediately thought of Robert Duvall, but on second thought, Gus McCrae was kind of a super-hero. Not reallly the same thing, but: he was in PHENOMENON, where John Travolta gets superpowers and uses them to help people. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/26 "2017-09-22T12:38:33Z")
Meryl Streep Tom Hanks Leonardo DeCaprio Tom Cruise (I briefly considered Edge of Tomorrow to be a super hero movie because he has super powers (Groundhogs Day time travel), but decided that it must be a movie with at least 1 costumed named hero with an alter ego). Brad Pitt Dennis Hopper ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/27 "2017-09-22T12:42:56Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Brad Pitt Does playing Metro Man in _Megamind_ count? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/28 "2017-09-22T13:02:19Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Usually to play the role of the villain or guy behind the scenes or the mentor. It’s a fairly rote formula actually. Keep in mind i haven’t seen all these films. So if a role is a bit off… > > Jeff Bridges > William Hurt > Michael Douglas > Robert Redford > Ben Kingsley > Mickey Rourke > Anthony Hopkins > Kevin Costner > Kurt Russell > Michael Keaton > Jeff Goldblum > > Eliot Gould did the Oceans movies. They may as well be super-hero movies. > > Glenn Close made an appearance > > So who is left? > > I don’t see Eastwood doing it. Chris Walken i can see. Nicholson? (I know hes done it already) Geena Davis…James Brolin. Is Sam Watterson still around? Dustin Hoffman… Add Rosemary Prinze, Sally Field, Marisa Tomei, and Michelle Pfeiffer to your above list. Prinze, Field, and Tomei all played Spider-Man’s Aunt May (mentor role) and Michelle Pfeiffer is set to play Janet Van Dyne (the first Wasp) in the upcoming “Ant-Man & the Wasp” movie. The Wasp was also not a villain, but she was Pym’s partner and was pretty much a major “behind the scenes” (her disappearance into the microverse was a major plot driver for the first film.) Also, J.K. Simmons played J. Jonah Jameson, Peter Parker’s boss / Spider-Man’s nemesis. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/29 "2017-09-22T13:11:27Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Dennis Hopper Hopper – who’s dead, right? – was a cult leader in THE CROW: WICKED PRAYER, where Edward Furlong gets the Brandon Lee powers and the ‘Justice In Whiteface’ persona after being attacked by murderous biker David Boreanaz. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/30 "2017-09-22T13:56:29Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > Add Rosemary Prinze, Sally Field, Marisa Tomei, and Michelle Pfeiffer to your above list. Prinze, Field, and Tomei all played Spider-Man’s Aunt May (mentor role) and Michelle Pfeiffer is set to play Janet Van Dyne (the first Wasp) in the upcoming “Ant-Man & the Wasp” movie. The Wasp was also not a villain, but she was Pym’s partner and was pretty much a major “behind the scenes” (her disappearance into the microverse was a major plot driver for the first film.) > > Also, J.K. Simmons played J. Jonah Jameson, Peter Parker’s boss / Spider-Man’s nemesis. Michelle Pfeiffer was in Batman Returns as the BEST Catwoman. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/31 "2017-09-22T14:48:08Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Paul Scofield? Kirk Douglas? By the way, Douglas will be 101 in December! Scofield passed away in 2008. I came in to mention Douglas, although noting that between his age and his after-stroke difficulties (which still haven’t stopped him from appearing in films!) he’s unlikely to appear. But I have to point out that he starred in the very comic-strippy 1979 film **The Villain** Alongside the (then still little-known) Arnold Schwartzenegger, no less! > **[The Villain (1979 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Villain_(1979_film))** > > The Villain (released as Cactus Jack in the UK and Australia) is a 1979 American metrocolor Western comedy film directed by Hal Needham and starring Kirk Douglas, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ann-Margret, Paul Lynde (in his final film appearance), Foster Brooks, Strother Martin, Ruth Buzzi, Jack Elam, and Mel Tillis. It is a parody of Western films, blended with an homage to the Warner Bros. cartoon Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. > A beautiful woman, "Charming Jones", is being escorted across th... And with Ann-Margaret as the heroine. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/32 "2017-09-22T15:06:42Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > But I have to point out that he starred in the very comic-strippy 1979 film **The Villain** I loved that movie! It was essentially a live-action Road Runner cartoon. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/33 "2017-09-22T15:18:31Z")
> [@Poysyn](#): > > Michelle Pfeiffer was in Batman Returns as the BEST Catwoman. True, but that was BEFORE she would be considered an “older” veteran actor. (She was at the pinnacle of her awesome young hotness when she played Catwoman. Was she even in her 30s when she played the role?) ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/34 "2017-09-22T15:34:44Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Hopper – who’s dead, right? – was a cult leader in THE CROW: WICKED PRAYER, where Edward Furlong gets the Brandon Lee powers and the ‘Justice In Whiteface’ persona after being attacked by murderous biker David Boreanaz. He was also King Koopa in the Super Mario Bros movie. It’s not a comic book, but I’d say Mario counts as a superhero, right? (Speaking of which, why aren’t there _way more_ Mario movies??) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/35 "2017-09-22T15:43:08Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > True, but that was BEFORE she would be considered an “older” veteran actor. (She was at the pinnacle of her awesome young hotness when she played Catwoman. Was she even in her 30s when she played the role?) Wiki says she was 33 when they started filming, 34 when it hit theaters. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/36 "2017-09-22T15:44:54Z")
I don’t think **Omar Sharif** has been tapped for any superhero films, ever, although he has been in some wild films. I’m surprised that he said he was disgusted by his role in **The 13th Warrior** – he played a wise arab mentor to the Arabic hero of the story (admittedly played by the non-Arabic Antonio Banderas). How much more positive of a role do you want? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/37 "2017-09-22T15:47:31Z")
Does **Julie Andrews** count? Do we consider Shrek or Despicable Me “superhero movies”? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/38 "2017-09-22T16:04:40Z")
Paul Reubens? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/39 "2017-09-22T17:43:40Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Wiki says she was 33 when they started filming, 34 when it hit theaters. Nevertheless, her Catwoman role doesn’t count as per the OP guidelines. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932/40 "2017-09-22T18:08:26Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > He’d be perfect as Hank Pym I see what you did there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-older-award-winning-actor-has-not-been-tapped-up-for-a-super-hero-film/796932.md?page=3)