17 years after his first appearance, Captain America: Brave New World star says the Marvel movie's take on The Leader is "not the version I expected to play"

Tim Blake Nelson says his return to the role of Samuel Sterns (aka The Leader) is a bit different than when he made his debut in 2008's The Incredible Hulk.

"In this version, which is not the version I expected to play, I got to get better as an actor. And thanks to Kevin [Feige] and Nate [Moore] and Julius [Onah] and the writers, they wrote a beautifully nuanced character that was a wonderful challenge to play and that I wouldn't have been able to play 15 years ago, because I don't think, hopefully anyway, I was the actor that I am now. What we want to do most as actors is continue to grow," Nelson said at a press conference attended by GamesRadar+.

Nelson first played The Leader in The Incredible Hulk, which hit theaters in 2008 and starred Edward Norton as Bruce Banner. Nelson is one of several actors from the film whose characters will appear in Brave New World, including Liv Tyler as Betty Ross. After William Hurt's passing, the role of Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross was given to Harrison Ford.

"And I feel like I needed this maturity to be able to play what they wrote. What drives Samuel Sterns as The Leader is a sense of justice through anarchy. There's a lot of history behind it that is exposed really beautifully in the writing. And I'm incredibly grateful that they asked me back, and I had a great time with such a phenomenal cast. I've known a lot of them for many, many years, and I agree with Harrison, one of the features of the MCU is the way they curate the world. They put serious actors in their movies. They don't mess around in terms of shallow choices in terms of casting, and that starts with Anthony, who has such depth and soul as an actor. But I would also say it applies to everyone on this screen right now. It's great to be a part of that group."

In The Incredible Hulk, Samuel Sterns is a cellular biologist who develops a possible cure to Bruce Banner's green and angry condition. Towards the end of the film, however, some of Hulk's blood mixes his with his open head wound - and his brain begins to rapidly mutate. A new 20-second teaser gives us our first look at Nelson in Brave New World, though he's mostly shrouded in darkness.

Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters on February 14. For more, check our guides to upcoming Marvel movies and Marvel Phase 5.