Both A-list actors and up-and-comers can’t resist the pull of Marvel these days, and it seems like very few people in Hollywood have any hesitation at all when they get the call from the comic-book studio. But the flipside to that equation is that your career (and schedule) can become wholly defined by the superhero world. And that was just part of the concern that Mike Colter had when he was considering the title role in “Luke Cage.”
In a recent conversation with Off Camera With Sam Jones, Colter reveals he was wary of taking on roles that simply played on his imposing physique. An actor who admires Al Pacino and desires to play complex characters, Colter had reservations that “Luke Cage” wouldn’t afford him the opportunity to find layers to the superhero.
READ MORE: Why Marvel & Netflix’s ‘Luke Cage’ Feels Like Such A Missed Opportunity
“I was so against it,” Colter candidly reveals.“I revisit the feeling I had, that first initial look at the character, trying to figure out the research and the character, who [this guy is], and I’m like, ‘I don’t want any part of this.’ I couldn’t think of anything that I didn’t want to do more. I didn’t want to do anything physical, a role where it relied on power and all the stuff like that. And also, I didn’t know how the character would be written, I didn’t know what this character was going to be like. It just seemed limiting. I just thought, ‘What could I do with this?’ I hadn’t seen any material yet. The idea of the character made me cringe.
“Everybody has an idea of how the character is going to be, and I’m like, this is how I’m going to do it and this is it, take it or leave it. I’m not saying that’s what I said, but I felt like if they were to try and push me in a certain way, that I would’ve walked away from it. There was only one way that I thought this character should be portrayed that I wasn’t going to compromise on,” he added.
Well, it looks like Colter and Marvel were all on the same page, as the character has been warmly received, and fans have been on board both with the actor’s turn in “Jessica Jones” and leading “Luke Cage.” Listen to the full conversation with Colter below.