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Oppenheimer's David Krumholtz says he "begged" The Fantastic Four director Matt Shakman to cast him as The Thing.
In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actor, who previously appeared in titles such as Addams Family Values and The Santa Clause, opened up about his childhood obsession with Marvel Comics, which led to him recalling meeting the aforementioned filmmaker – a get-together that only happened thanks to a tweet that was only live for two hours.
"I was embarrassed," Krumholtz remembered. "My post said, 'I just want to be in the conversation.' And it was a picture of the Thing, and Matt saw it somehow. And I had a meeting with him and we discussed it. And I've never been so bold in a meeting before, just begging for the role, just straight up selling the shit out of it, the idea of how committed and passionate I was for it. But obviously that didn't happen."
He went on to say that while he was desperate to nab the part, he has no ill will towards The Bear's Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who was confirmed as Marvel Studios' Ben Grimm in an unexpected Valentine's Day-themed casting announcement earlier this month. Instead, Krumholtz has set his sights on playing another character in Marvel history: Fantastic Four's first-ever antagonist Mole Man.
"I'll do anything Marvel tells me to. I'll probably end up playing like a superhero's therapist. Let's face it," he joked. "There's slim pickings for guys like me in that world, unfortunately. I'm old and I'm not in any kind of acceptable shape. So we'll see how that works out, if it works out at all."
Joining Moss-Bachrach in the MCU's first official film about Marvel's first family will be Mission: Impossible's Vanessa Kirby (as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman), Stranger Things' Joseph Quinn (as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch), and The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal (as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic). The film will reportedly be set in 1963.
The Fantastic Four is set to release on July 25, 2025. While we wait, check out our guide to Marvel Phase 5 and our breakdown of all the upcoming Marvel movies heading our way.
