The NFL Legend Who Was Nearly Cast As Marvel's Captain America

18 years before the launch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with "Iron Man," Menahem Golan's 21st Century Film Corporation teamed with what was then called the Marvel Entertainment Group to make "Captain America." Golan was as ambitious as he was shameless. As the co-head of Cannon, he churned out exploitation action flicks starring Charles Bronson and Chuck Norris, financed prestige-level films like "Otello," "Runaway Train," and "Barfly," and eventually developed an appetite for blockbuster franchises.

This did not work out terribly well for him.

After striking out with "Masters of the Universe" and overspending on the arm-wrestling sports drama flop "Over the Top" (Sylvester Stallone's $12 million salary was half of the movie's budget), Golan parted ways with Cannon and formed the aforementioned company. He was still dreaming big and set his sights on the Marvel Comics Universe. But he had to thriftier this time out, so when he plowed forward with a movie based on the exploits of Captain America, he couldn't throw eight figures at an established movie star. He also couldn't afford an A-list blockbuster director, so he settled for the prolific schlock merchant Albert Pyun.

Hiring Pyun (a true mensch who flat-out loved making movies) meant Golan would have to get creative with casting Steve Rogers/Captain America. Going with an unknown wasn't necessarily a bad idea (as Christopher Reeve proved with "Superman"), but there were several outside-of-the-box big names in the running. Indeed, the photogenic Oakland Raiders defensive end Howie Long came close to landing the role. Why did they pass on the future Pro Football Hall of Famer?

Before Pyun cast Matt Salinger, the son of literary titan J.D. Salinger, as Steve Rogers, the filmmaking team took a long, hard look at Long. He was still playing football at the time, but had popped as a product spokesperson and exuded cocksure charisma. He had movie star qualities. He'd just never acted in a movie before.

In a 2013 interview with TV Store, Pyun said they were "serious" about casting Long. "He had a square jaw and he was all-American," said Pyun, "But it would have been tough to make him look skinny. Matt felt a lot more sensitive, and I felt he could bring a lot more depth to it."

And there's the rub. The FX options available to Joe Johnston and Marvel Studios on "Captain America: The First Avenger" were not available to Pyun. Not to say Salinger was a puny dude. As he told GQ in 2011:

"I was a big guy who was in good shape and was athletic, but not the bulging, ripped muscle guy. I learned at one point that they offered my part to Howie Long — I met him, somewhere, and he mentioned that he had been offered that part. In a way, that was sort of a more typical, generic, over-the-top way to go with it. We'll never know how that movie would have been."

Long wanted to launch his acting career as Captain America, but Marvel didn't want to take a risk on an unproven performer. Salinger got the part, and "Captain America" wound up being a barely-releasable low-budget curiosity. Long ultimately got his shot at stardom in 1998's "Firestorm," and he wasn't half bad! But it tanked commercially, and now you can watch him every Sunday on Fox's NFL studio show.