1) Tim Blake Nelson – The Incredible Hulk And Fantastic Four
Tim Blake Nelson deserves first place on this list for one reason: he happened to get the boot twice. The character actor has had a decent filmography consisting of pictures like O Brother, Where Art Thou, Minority Report, Holes, Syriana and his directorial debut O. But he’s never quite managed to receive mainstream success, despite attempting to do so through the superhero genre.
The first time happened with 2008’s The Incredible Hulk wherein he portrayed Dr. Samuel Sterns, a cellular biologist that secretly collaborates with Bruce Banner during the movie in order to help him find a cure for the Hulk disease. Towards the end, he’s set-up to portray Sterns’ villainous alter ego The Leader when a vat of chemicals falls into an open cut on his head. Unfortunately, the deal between Marvel and Universal Studios ended up falling apart, leaving all solo Hulk movies out of the picture.
Nelson then found a new avenue in the form of the 2015 reboot Fantastic Four, where early reports indicated he was going to portray the Mole Man, an enemy of the titular team who, in the Ultimate Comics, has the ability to create and lead an army of earthen creatures colloquially called “mole people.” Sadly, during the film’s notorious production and reshoots, he was completely changed to a new generic bureaucrat named Dr. Allen that’s interested in profiting off the discovery of an alternate dimension.
In the movie’s disappointing climax he, alongside characters like Dr. Franklin Storm and the other scientists inside the Baxter Institute, is quickly killed by Doctor Doom via his head exploding. A sad way to go out given his promising beginning, don’t you think?
