As a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one of the things I love about the franchise is all of the viral celebrity moments in the promotional stage of each movie cycle. Oftentimes, these wholesome gaffes only endear me more to the considerable star power behind the movies. Marvel, in general, boasts some of the most impressive ensemble casts of all time, so it’s no wonder my interest in the films is partially fueled by the celebrity culture surrounding them.
Without further adieu, let’s count down my personal favorite wholesome celebrity gaffes related to Marvel movies that have stood out in my mind over the years.
Tom Holland accidentally spoils various Marvel movies
Tom Holland’s almost childlike inability to keep Marvel movie plot details under wraps during interviews has become legendary to me at this point. When I think about the difficulty Holland must face balancing one’s life as a young man while also being the leading man in blockbuster movies, it reminds me very much of Peter Parker and his struggle to maintain his personal life and his superhero alter-ego. If anything, Holland’s tendency to spill spoilers only further cements him as the living embodiment of the Web-Head.
Mark Ruffalo accidentally spoils Avengers: Infinity War
Nowadays, I look back upon Marvel’s Infinity Saga with rose-colored glasses. Perhaps that’s because it doesn’t seem like the MCU can ever face a higher-stakes story than the Mad Titan known as Thanos threatening to wipe out half the universe. In a viral clip, the sheer magnitude of the conclusion of Avengers: Infinity War was too much for Mark Ruffalo to handle as he basically confirms almost everyone dies at the end. But, to be honest, I’m not sure I could’ve handled it any better, given the immense pressure.
Eternals star Kumail Nanjiani gets shredded abs for no reason
Kumail Nanjiani, who stars as Kingo in the film Eternals, had one of the biggest glow-ups in Marvel history after he took a whole year getting absolutely ripped. The comedian transformed his body from that of an average dude to a bodybuilder, seemingly overnight. While that was impressive, it seemed hilariously inconsequential in the movie itself, in which Nanjiani remained fully clothed throughout. Personally, I find overpreparing for a major event to be incredibly relatable, and it is funny to see a celebrity fall into the same trap.
Ms. Marvel star Iman Vellani leaves a bad review for Captain Marvel
Iman Vellani, who stars in the titular role of the Disney Plus show Ms. Marvel, really stood out to me in the series and subsequent interviews as a bright, likable personality. One of the reasons I really like her is that she is a self-professed fangirl of arthouse films, to the point that she has a Letterboxd account, with which she has left reviews for various movies. Hilariously, Vellani gave a rather bad review for Captain Marvel, the 2019 Brie Larson vehicle, awarding it only two stars. Despite Vellani set to star in the sequel, The Marvels, later this year, I can only guess her review was made before being cast in the MCU. The actor did take the opportunity to express her absolute love of Larson in the review, however, which is equally as endearing.
Chris Evans’ laughter becomes a meme
It was my own brother who brought to my attention the Chris Evans laughing meme that has become popular on sites like Reddit and YouTube. What is it about heartily laughing that compels Evans to always — always — cusp his hand over his chest? Is he feeling for his heart, as if to say, “I’m going to have a heart attack from laughing so hard”? Is Evans simply copping a feel on his own pectoral muscle? Or is it some kind of unconscious, automatic reaction? Whatever the case, it sure seems like it would be a delight to be in a room when this dude laughs as I imagine it would be hard for me to contain myself in such a scenario.
Sebastian Stan fails to make an impression on Avengers co-star Gwyneth Paltrow
Some of my favorite celebrity moments come from famous actors saying self-deprecating things that make them seem like just an average Joe. Such was the case when Sebastian Stan, aka the Winter Soldier in the MCU, revealed in an Instagram post that he has had to re-introduce himself to co-star Gwyneth Paltrow several times, even though they starred in multiple movies together. I must admit, this does not increase my liking of Paltrow, and if anything, makes me feel as if she is out of touch with people. But I nonetheless like Stan all that much more for feeling like a nobody even when you’re a worldwide celebrity.
Marvel actors crashing co-stars’ interviews (various)
If there’s one thing that makes me wish I could hang out with all the celebrities in the Avengers movies, it is watching all of them crash on each other’s interviews on the red carpet. Seeing these clips of Robert Downey Jr. giving some kind of sarcastic remark to one of his co-stars when he or she is in the middle of an interview just makes me wish I could have gone to high school with them and skipped class one day so we can just hang out at the local grocery store deli seating area and goof around for like 40 minutes like I used to do with my pals. Maybe it’s all a carefully curated illusion of camaraderie engineered by Disney, but if it is, then consider me a drinker of the marketing Kool-Aid.
Tom Holland forgets his mark in Captain America: Civil War
I found Tom Holland’s introduction into the MCU in Captain America: Civil War to be utterly charming and not least of all because Robert Downey Jr. shepherded it the whole way. When Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark comes to visit Holland’s Peter Parker at his home, the interaction immediately exemplifies Tony and Peter’s entire relationship in the MCU from that point forward. In one of the most brilliant moments of improvised acting, Downey Jr. tells Holland to make room on the bed. The scene in question sees Tony and Peter sit side by side on Peter’s bed. But the part when Tony asked Peter to move was actually improvised because Holland just straight-up forgot his mark and failed to scootch over to make room for Downey Jr. This immediately cemented the father-son-like relationship that Tony and Peter would have for the rest of the franchise. And it is another example of Holland acting like a real-life Peter Parker and struggling to juggle stardom and just being a kid.
Ant-Man star Paul Rudd trolls Conan O’Brien (again)
When I was a kid growing up in the ’90s, Late Night with Conan O’Brien was the show that introduced me to a greater awareness of fine comedy. I was obsessed with Conan’s sketches and his string dance and Andy Richter and all of it. And I remember even back then seeing Paul Rudd be a guest on the show and trolling O’Brien with a clip from Mac and Me instead of playing a clip of the movie he was promoting. Well, this tradition lived on into the 2010s when Rudd came on TBS’ Conan in 2015. Rudd starts off the interview by apologizing to the hardcore O’Brien fans for not being able to play the Mac and Me clip due to the Disney overlords. But to my delight, Rudd actually comes through and what started as an Ant-Man clip ends up being yet again that same bizarre scene of a child in a wheelchair falling down a hill into a lake from that awful ’80s E.T. rip-off movie. Thanks for keeping hardcore O’Brien fans like myself happy, Rudd.
Zendaya stuns Tom Holland to silence mid-interview on the red carpet for Spider-Man: No Way Home
I swear I don’t mean to keep going back to Tom Holland, but the man is just a wholesome gaffe generator, what can I say? One of the best moments from the red carpet event of Spider-Man: No Way Home was when Holland was stunned to silence at the arrival of his girlfriend, Zendaya. Despite being in the middle of an interview, Holland went totally silent when his own MJ arrived. This is just one tiny moment in a whole collage of other sweet exchanges that makes Holland and Zendaya one of my favorite celebrity couples right now.
Published: Jun 12, 2023 12:28 pm