Over the past ten years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become the most successful movie franchise in history, with almost 20 movies, 11 TV shows, and an enormous fan base.
With this large number of entities also comes a large number of actors and stars. Considering how successful the series is, this franchise has attracted a vast number of actors want to become part of it, divas and humble stars alike.
While Marvel has tried to avoid hiring anyone that will bring unnecessary drama to their projects over the past few years, their track record is not perfect. Among the sweet and kind stars in the MCU are also a fair number of shady stars.
This isn’t uncommon from most Hollywood projects, which almost always consist of a mix of talent, some with good attitudes, and some with bad attitudes.
Of course, having a bad attitude on set or with fans doesn’t necessarily mean that an actor is 100% a jerk. Unfortunately, being labelled as shady just means that they have gained a bad reputation, either by fans or by the movie industry, which is usually not a good thing.
In contrast to a majority of Hollywood divas, most MCU actors have been known to have great reputations, often being labelled as “sweethearts.”
Whether they gain that reputation from the people they work with or the fans that adore them, it is never a bad thing to earn. Unfortunately, this does not apply for every actor in the series.
With that in mind, here are the 10 MCU Stars Who Are Sweethearts (And 10 Who Are Shady).
20. Sweetheart: Anthony Mackie
Anthony Mackie first appeared as Falcon in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and has reprised his role nearly every year since.
While Mackie’s character is almost always serious on screen, Mackie himself is actually one of the sweetest guys on set.
The Falcon actor loves to have fun and make everyone laugh.
He and Winter Soldier actor Sebastian Stan have seemingly become best buds over the years, and are actively welcoming and friendly to new cast members.
Even with the fans and press, Anthony Mackie is a delight. He isn’t afraid to make people laugh, and is certainly one of the most easy going actors in the business. He has certainly earned his reputation of a sweetheart.
In fact, the only person who may say otherwise is Spider-Man actor Tom Holland, who is occasionally, yet jokingly, the butt of some of Mackie’s jokes.
19. Shady: Edward Norton
Edward Norton, who was the star of 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, has a horrible reputation in Hollywood. Not only did he arguably ruin The Incredible Hulk, demanding they shoot his drastically changed version of the script only weeks before the film’s production, but he’s also had a large number of controversial issues over the years.
Movies like The Italian Job were ripped to shreds to the press by Edward Norton, even before the release of the film, simply because Norton didn’t like it but was contractually obliged to appear in it.
He has a reputation of being a diva on set, even insisting that his rhino suit in Death to Smoochy be made out of hemp, which is illegal in the United States.
While Norton has reportedly lightened up his bad attitude over the past few years, his reputation is still a bit tarnished. Needless to say, Norton was let go from The Avengers, and has likely lost many more opportunities over the years as well.
18. Sweetheart: Chris Evans
Chris Evans has portrayed two separate Marvel heroes over the years: Captain America in the MCU, and The Human Torch in 2005’s Fantastic Four. Chris Evans himself can actually be best described as a combination of both characters.
While Evans has the fun personality of Human Torch, he still maintains the morals of Captain America.
He is known for being great to work with on set, being easy going and friendly with almost everyone, but also has a sweet side outside of the movie industry.
Evans is no stranger to showing up in hospitals in his star-spangled costume in order to cheer up kids, and is incredibly friendly with his fans that he encounters at Comic Cons and other similar events.
All in all, Chris Evans is a truly terrific guy, making him one of the sweetest faces of the MCU.
17. Shady: Terrence Howard
Terrence Howard briefly appeared in the MCU as James Rhodes in the first Iron Man. However, he departed the franchise after the studio refused to continue paying him more than the star of the movies Robert Downey Jr.
Since then, Howard has never stopped hating on Downey any chance he gets, claiming the Iron Man star “stole” his paycheck, despite Downey having much more screen time and work to do in the movies.
This isn’t the only instance of Howard being mean, however.
Many people in the industry who have worked with Howard in the past describe him as a “hothead,” saying he is very difficult to work with and has quite the temper.
Additionally, the Empire star has not had the best history in the eyes of the law, having numerous assault charges under his belt. While Howard may be a great actor, his temper has ruined his reputation in Hollywod, making him nothing short of a jerk.
16. Sweetheart: Robert Downey Jr.
While Robert Downey Jr. may not have always had a great reputation, considering his fall into drugs during the 90s, the Iron Man star has undoubtedly fixed the negativity surrounding him.
Due to his past, Downey is actually quite humbled to be part of the MCU, and often shows it. He loves making his fans happy and has arguably become one of the biggest Marvel fans on the planet himself.
Like many other Marvel actors, Downey has made a number of trips to hospitals over the years to visit sick children and cheer them up, even delivering a prosthetic arm to a boy who needed it in 2015.
One of the most notable examples of Downey’s sweetness, however, came from the set of Captain America: Civil War.
The first scene that new actor Tom Holland shot featured himself and Downey. Realizing how nervous Holland was, Downey actually became a mentor to the Spider-Man actor, patiently working with him to make both of their performances in the scene perfect.
15. Shady: Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow doesn’t necessarily have the best reputation in Hollywood these days, being described as “pretentious” over the past decade. One of the most notable examples of Paltrow’s bad attitude, however, was on the set of Iron Man 2.
During the production of the highly-anticipated Marvel sequel, Paltrow was actually very upset by the presence of Scarlett Johansson, who made her debut appearance as Black Widow.
Paltrow supposedly was upset that a more attractive, younger actress was cast in the movie, and she became very difficult to work with.
Paltrow ended up shunning Johansson on set, never talking to the other actress except in scripted dialogue. Johansson was personally offended by Paltrow’s rude attitude, making much of the film’s production awkward for everyone involved.
14. Sweetheart: Tom Holland
Tom Holland is one of the youngest stars in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portraying the popular character Spider-Man.
Fortunately, the young actor has had quite a few mentors to look up to on set, and has used his moments of fame to show how nice of a person he really is.
Not only is Holland great with fans, but he has also picked up the Marvel superhero-actor trend of visiting hospitals in character.
While most stars Holland’s age take too much time partying and losing track of themselves (Justin Bieber, Amanda Bynes, etc.), Holland has managed to stay focused on what is important in life.
Though he’s one of Marvel’s newest and youngest stars, Holland is undoubtedly one of their sweetest. He loves his fans arguably even more than they love him, and has never stopped being grateful for the opportunities the franchise has given to him.
13. Shady: Bradley Cooper
While Bradley Cooper may be a fantastic actor, his has a very shady relationship history filled with ulterior motives.
For years, Cooper went through a pattern of dating his co-stars, only to end the relationship after their movie finished its initial run in theaters and the publicity of the relationship was no longer important to him.
He has done this with actress co-stars such as Jennifer Aniston, Renee Zellweger, and Zoe Saldana.
His exes have indirectly referred to Cooper over the years as disrespectful, manipulative, and unfaithful.
Even when he dated Zoe Saldana during production of The Words, he was reportedly hooking up with another actress in the movie, Olivia Wilde.
Cooper is a phenomenal actor, but has gained a bad reputation considering how much he brings his personal affairs to the workplace.
12. Sweetheart: Paul Rudd
In the list of actors who are the most fun to work with, Ant-Man star Paul Rudd is undoubtedly close to the top.
Rudd is a fun comedy actor who isn’t afraid to make people laugh both on and off screen when working on a project.
There have been a number of stories of how delightful Paul Rudd is on set, from his back-and-forth improvisation duels with Will Ferrell on the set of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy to his overall excitement and giddiness while on the set of Captain America: Civil War.
Like many other Marvel actors, Paul Rudd is fond of visiting children in hospitals to cheer them up. All in all, Rudd is a truly charming and humorous actor who can’t help but bring a smile to everyone that he meets.
11. Shady: Tommy Lee Jones
Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones is one of Hollywood’s most noteworthy actors, appearing in films such as No Country For Old Men, Men in Black, and Captain America: The First Avenger. Despite this, he doesn’t have the best reputation for being easy to work with.
The most notable account of Jones being difficult to work with was on the set of Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever.
Jones had to share antagonist roles in the film with comedian Jim Carrey, who he ended up despising and being quite hateful to on set. At one point, Jones completely told Carey off, saying he “couldn’t sanction [his] buffoonery.”
While this was not the only instance of Jones being cruel to one of his co-stars, it was certainly the one with most media coverage.
While Jones still gets work in the industry, he has gained himself a bad reputation of a jerk, which is never something you want to have.
10. Sweetheart: Chris Pratt
Chris Pratt is a truly pure spirit, as almost anyone who has met the Guardians of the Galaxy star can confirm. Since his rise to stardom in Parks & Recreation, Pratt has consistently taken time to visit children in hospitals.
While this is something Marvel stars do quite a lot, Pratt has taken it to a new level, with new posts of his hospital visits popping up seemingly every week.
Pratt is also known to be great with his fans, being absolutely delightful to everyone who comes to him. He has even surprised audiences at screenings of his movies just for the joy of it, knowing it will make their day.
Even on set, Chris Pratt is always described as fun and easy going. He isn’t afraid to joke around and goof off with his co-stars and members of the crew, while still putting on a stellar performance.
9. Shady: Vin Diesel
While Groot voice actor and Fast and Furious star Vin Diesel is almost always described as a good person to have on set, his darker side actually started to show when he began creeping on female reporters.
The most prominent example occurred in late 2016, when Diesel was being interviewed by YouTuber Carol Moreira. Moreira tried having a serious interview with the actor, but he couldn’t help but make advancements for the entire interview, while on camera.
Though the interviewer continuously expressed how uncomfortable and uninterested she was by the advancements, Diesel couldn’t stop himself from continuing to call her “beautiful,” asking her out, and telling her that he loved her.
On top of this, he even said he couldn’t take the interview seriously because he couldn’t look past her appearance. This was a very inappropriate situation that Diesel put the interviewer in that certainly hurt his reputation to an extent.
8. Sweetheart: Mark Ruffalo
Though he may have been “late to the party,” considering he was the recast actor for Bruce Banner in The Avengers, actor Mark Ruffalo couldn’t help but become one of the franchise’s sweetest actors.
While Ruffalo is great on set and easy going with his co-stars, the true brightness of the actor shows in his actions off screen. In his personal time, Ruffalo regularly seeks out social injustice and tries to put a stop it.
While many Hollywood actors simply tweet about injustice without doing anything, Ruffalo has dedicated his time and money over the years to help those in need.
For example, during the social-injustice dispute regarding Standing Rock in 2016, Ruffalo not only went out to help the Natives of the land protest to keep their land, but even gave them a large sum of money.
This was so that they could continue to stand their ground in winter by buying heaters, generators and other essentials to keep them warm and healthy. Mark Ruffalo is truly a great guy.
7. Shady: Cate Blanchett
Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, who portrayed the primary antagonist Hela in Thor: Ragnarok, is certainly one of Hollywood’s greatest actresses, which would reasonably give her quite the ego.
Unfortunately, in recent years, Blanchett has allowed her ego to snap at times that she really should not have.
For example, during an interview to promote the release of Cinderella, Blanchett snapped and cussed out an interviewer on live television.
After the interviewer asked Blanchett a simple question about how she worked with the animals on set, Blanchett went off. “That’s your f*****g question?,” exclaimed the actress. While the question may not have been what Blanchett was expecting, it was not reason enough for her to go off.
Blanchett has also reportedly had bad blood with other people in the industry, often snapping at them at inappropriate times.
While Blanchett still gets work actively, her reputation has begun to be tarnished, leading to a potential decline in the actress’s roles in the future.
6. Sweetheart: Karen Gillan
Karen Gillan is best known in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for playing the cold-blooded villain / anti-hero character Nebula in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. While Nebula may be mean and rude to everyone she meets, Gillan herself is quite the opposite.
Gillan loves attending Comic Con events and doing live stream videos with fans, not for publicity, but because she loves making her fans happy.
Gillan is one of those Hollywood stars who feels like a real person. She is almost always seen with a smile, and is grateful to all of the fans who brought her fame.
Gillan also has a strong fanbase from her run in Doctor Who, and expanded her fanbase even more with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
After seeing so many actors letting the fame get to their heads, it is always great to see a person like Karen Gillan still show optimism toward their followers.
5. Shady: Jeremy Renner
While Jeremy Renner is typically a well-reserved actor, things have slipped out regarding how disrespectful he can be at times.
Renner has often attended “gifting suites” held by the press, where stars are given baskets of gifts around the time of award shows in exchange for interviews and pictures.
Despite attending these events and accepting the gifts, Renner will often insist that no one is to take a picture of him, and rarely responds to any interviewers.
Additionally, Renner has been called too much of a “flirt” at parties.
He’s reportedly been seen getting too close to female vendors or guests, calling them “babe,” touching them inappropriately, and making unsolicited advances, despite them showing no interest.
While Renner is a great actor, actions like this have been proven to halt careers in their tracks. Hopefully these don’t remain common practices for the Avengers actor.
4. Sweetheart: Tom Hiddleston
While Tom Hiddleston may portray the MCU’s most notable villain, Hiddleston himself is anything but villainous. In reality, the Loki actor is actually one of the nicest guys on the planet.
He is seemingly always in a fantastic mood, greeting his hoards of smiling fans with an even bigger smile himself.
Hiddleston never tires of being nice to his fans, or even the press. There have been occasions at Red Carpet events where he has given his jacket to female interviewers who were cold.
There was also a time when he brought one reporter a thermos of Tomato Soup onto the Red Carpet after the reporter jokingly tweeted to Hiddleston about bringing him soup.
This is an actor who loves to have fun, and can’t help but make sure that everyone around him smiles. He cannot be described as anything but a true gift to humanity.
3. Shady: James Spader
There is no denying that James Spader, who voiced Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron, is a truly phenomenal actor.
This, however, does not mean that he is not also an obsessive actor who is often times difficult to work with.
Spader likes to go deep into his characters, studying their every motivation. While this is normally a great practice, Spader regularly takes it a step too far, becoming so obsessed with his character that he may try to control the project he is working on to better suit his needs.
The showrunner of Blacklist, a TV series starring Spader, has at times recalled how controlling and obsessive Spader truly is, saying that Spader would call him at all hours of the night, yelling at him for decisions made by the writing team.
James Spader may give stunning performances, but they do not always outweigh the strain he puts on everyone else involved.
2. Sweetheart: Tessa Thompson
Tessa Thompson made her debut in the MCU late last year as Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok. Since then, Thompson has used her publicity to try to inspire other females to be heroes, specifically by pitching to Marvel President Kevin Feige an all-female superhero team-up film.
“If you look at what’s happened already in Phase 4 with me and Valkyrie and our story, and then in Black Panther the women rule supreme,” Thompson discussed last month. “They’re doing Captain Marvel, they’re doing a Black Widow, there’s an interest in having women at the forefront of this phase. I feel like it’s hopeful.”
Considering the lack of female superheroes compared to the vast number of male heroes, it is inspiring to see someone like Tessa Thompson trying to make a change.
This is someone who likely saw the limited number of female heroes as a girl herself, and wants to make sure that girls down the road don’t have to go through the same thing.
1. Shady: Paul Bettany
Paul Bettany, who has played JARVIS and Vision in the MCU, doesn’t have too horrible of a reputation in Hollywood, as he is generally a well respected British actor.
However, one particular story from 2006 surfaced about the actor that left people scratching their heads about how nice of a person Bettany actually is.
While promoting The DaVinci Code, Bettany sat down for an interview. However, right as the interview was about to start, before any questions were even asked, Bettany, out of nowhere, decided he needed to leave.
“Suddenly, before I asked my first question,” explained the journalist, “he stood up and smacked his pants pocket as if his cell phone had vibrated. ‘I’m sorry; I forgot that I had to make a phone call. I’ll be right back.’”
The actor proceeded to leave the room in a rush, and apparently left the entire building.
Can you think of any other MCU stars who are sweethearts or shady? Sound off in the comments!
