A Heroes Actor Played Major Marvel And DC TV Characters At The Same Time

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There are big actors in the world who get to be a bit choosy when it comes to the movies or TV shows they take on. Most actors, though? It's all about taking the jobs as they come. For your work-a-day character actor, that can result in a pretty interesting career. In the case of Adrian Pasdar, he's been a working actor since the mid-'80s and, in that time, he's been all over the place. That includes a stint on "Heroes," a superhero show that might be better than you remember.

He played Nathan Petrelli on the series across four seasons. What's interesting for Pasdar is that this was already decades into his career, after he had appeared in movies like "Top Gun" and "Carlito's Way," among others. Yet, his run on "Heroes" opened up other doors. Those doors led him to both the DC Universe and the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the same time, as it turns out.

Pasdar received one of his most memorable roles in 2014 when he joined the cast of Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." as Glenn Talbot, who starts off as a high-ranking member in the U.S. armed forces before becoming the villain Graviton."Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." came to an end after season 7, but Pasdar was a big part of the show's run from season 2 to season 5.

He also had the opportunity to suit up in The Arrowverse on The CW as Morgan Edge beginning in 2017, meaning there was some crossover. Specifically, he appeared on four episodes of "Supergirl" season 3. It was a smaller run compared to his work on "S.H.I.E.L.D." as he appeared on 24 episodes of that show.

The Arrowverse came to an end in 2023 on The CW, but it was very much a beloved thing for DC fans, and Adrian Pasdar got to put his stamp on it before all was said and done. Pasdar got to dip his toes in both the Arrowverse and the MCU at the same time, which is pretty rare air. Several Marvel actors also appeared in James Gunn's "Superman" last year. It happens, but it's not terribly common. Pasdar has had quite a few other gigs in the superhero realm over the years as well. These are just a taste.

He also voiced Hawkeye in "The Super Hero Squad Show" before voicing Captain America in the 2010 "Black Panther" animated miniseries. Then came his work as Tony Stark in the 2010 "Iron Man" animated series, which kicked off an impressive run as the character.

"I had done a few comic book characters, simply because I had been on 'Heroes.' It's funny how that works. You do a couple of superhero things and then, all of a sudden, they want to get you because there may be some name value," Pasdar said to Collider in 2013. "There's probably somebody out there who has been dying to be Tony Stark, their whole life, and it will never happen. And then, it comes to me because I happened to do Heroes."

He reprised his role as Tony Stark in "Iron Man 3: The Official Game," "Lego Marvel Super Heroes," "Iron Man and Hulk: Heroes United," and "Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H" among other projects. He's also voiced characters in "Young Justice" on the DC side. It's quite the resume.

You can grab "Iron Man and Hulk: Heroes United" on Blu-ray and DVD from Amazon.