The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Wyatt Russell reveals he once auditioned to play original Captain America

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Wyatt Russell shares how he auditioned to be Steve Rogers, before becoming Captain America 2.0

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Wyatt Russell – yes, his dad is that Kurt Russell –made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. 

During the second episode, we got to know him better as John Walker, the new Captain America, but what fans didn’t know was that the actor's first-ever audition was for the role of Steve Rogers. 

Russell recently told Good Morning America that he didn't assume he was actually in consideration for the role at the time, more that it was an opportunity to see if he had what it took to go out for any further acting opportunities – ironically, his current role is the successor to Rogers with the Captain America mantle.

"I think that honestly, the first audition was really more just something to read, to see if I was any good at acting or not," Russell said. "I don't think I was ever actually in competition for the role, but it was crazy."

Russell went on to share how he didn't even know what character he was reading for. "This time I had no idea even what it was, it was just, 'Marvel wants you to read for something, go for it,' and I found out after I got the part what it was, so I didn't even know what it was going in," he admitted.

— GMA on March 26, 2021

Now that Russell has made his official debut as John Walker, the actor noted that, even though his character goes by the same name as his predecessor, Walker is no Steve Rogers and will wield the shield differently.  

"He did have an unreal, unbelievable job," Russell said in an interview with USA Today. "That was a really different version of Captain America, with far less problems. He was fighting Nazis and he had less internal issues to deal with because everyone thought he was perfect. That's just so hard to play, and he did such a great job of actually bringing some conflict with the character."

New episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premiere on Disney Plus on Fridays. Find out how to watch episode 2 for less here. 

Stephanie Williams

Stephanie is a comic book historian and pop culture critic for publications including SYFYFANGRRLS, Marvel, The A.V. Club, Nerdist, Den of Geek, and Rotten Tomatoes. Stephanie is also a comic creator with three ongoing webcomics, Parenthood Activate!, But What If Though?, and Living Heroes. She made her Marvel debut with a short story featuring Monica Rambeau in Marvel’s Voices: Legacy. She recently made her DC Comics debut in Wonder Woman Black and Gold #2 and is co-writing the Nubia and the Amazons miniseries.