Hero(es) without their heroic roles!

Once an actor plays characters that exude heroism, people tend to associate those actors with the characters for quite a long time, especially when those movies have multiple sequels. The making of a franchise paves way for a concrete image formation of the actor as a hero and letting go of that image is difficult for the actor and the audience. And then, come movies that completely transform the actor’s perceptions and shatter their heroic image. These movies portray the actors in a  whole different dimension and add symbolic flares that help in creating powerful images that shatter previous notions about the roles they played. 

Here is a list of actors you absolutely look up to as superheroes. They play characters that change your perceptions in these movies, take a look for yourself:

Chris Hemsworth (Bad Times at the El Royale)

Chris Hemsworth became a household name with Thor in 2011 and it’s subsequent franchise movies. His progress as his character and the character’s development made fans around the world take notice of him as a hero. And yet, in 2018, Chris played the arrogant, narcissistic leader of a murderous cult in ‘Bad Times at the El Royale’.

Bad Times at the El Royale follows the story of 7 people whose trajectories intersect one eventful night at a hotel in Nevada, California. Chris Hemsworth’s character (Billy Lee) is called in to help as events unfold. Hemsworth’s Lee is the notorious antagonist and the leader of a murderous cult in the story leading to unprecedented complications. He plays with people’s emotions leading to a satisfying yet goosebumps worthy ending. Not the hero you liked, huh?

Henry Cavill (Mission Impossible: Fall-Out)

Cavill plays one of the most famous superheroes, one of the originals, he plays Superman. He is as heroic a hero can get. Cavill plays the villainous John Lark in Mission Impossible, a completely different character from that of Superman. Cavill’s Lark goes hand to hand with Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. Lark threatens to turn the world upside down and dismantle the current world system. And he seems to think of this as rational, not the least heroic thought. Lark is ruthless, manipulative, & outright self obsessed who has the cover of a CIA agent. He attempts to pollute the water that runs through the biggest South Asian countries. Cruise’s Hunt is to Cavill’s Lark like Superman is to Captain Zodd.

Jeremy Renner (S.W.A.T.)

Jeremy Renner plays the over the edge talented archer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is the most down to earth of all MCU heroes. Additionally, he is a family man, a husband and a father. That makes him more relatable than ever. 

But before Avengers happened, Jeremy played the back-stabbing partner on S.W.A.T. Renner plays the frustrated, disillusioned Brian Gamble, a typical angry-at-the-boss character. He then hatches a plan with the players of the French Underworld and a boss, Alexander Montel. He then fights against his former partner, Jim Street. This is in direct conflict with the kind of character Hawkeye is, team player and loyal.

The list goes on with the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jason Mamoa, and countless others. Their most famous roles might be that of heroes, but they have all played formidable, notorious villains at one point in their careers.