Kellan Lutz Recalls Auditions For Marvel’s Thor And Captain America

Actor and model Kellan Lutz has opened up about the “pressure” he felt while auditioning for Marvel films after his work in the Twilight movies.

In the latest instalment of the Inside Of You podcast, Kellan reflected on the period of his career after appearing in the billion-dollar-making franchise alongside Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, in which he played the vampire Emmett Cullen.

During the interview, he revealed he was, at different stages, in the running to play Marvel superheroes Thor and Captain America after the Twilight franchise came to an end with the fifth film, Breaking Dawn – Part 2, in 2012.

“There were times even post Twilight when I was, you know, going out for Captain America and Thor and the pressure was really, really on,” he recalled of the iconic roles, which went to Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth, respectively.

“I was like, I need to be so regulant and strict, and do this and do that. And then I’d get so bummed on myself.”

Kellan also shared that around this time in his career, he was feeling personally adrift.

“I lost Kellan. I lost that light,” he recalled about constantly chasing new roles once he was done with Twilight.

He shared that he became so “stressed and desperate” in this stage of his career that he lost sight of what was important to him. At one point, he even started talking with a deep voice to replicate his idol, Jason Statham.

“I would go into auditions thinking my voice was deep like that and sexy like that,” he admitted, before someone on his team pulled him aside to call him out.

Elsewhere in the conversation, Kellan claimed he had no idea how big Twilight would be when he first signed up to appear in it, and stated that he’s “grateful” that he got to even “taste of the dragon” and enjoy a level of fame many of his peers would dream of.

“A lot of people strive for that,” he claimed. “I still have friends who unfortunately… They gave up their families [to pursue a career in acting] They’ve sacrificed a lot – in unhealthy ways – to still chase this dragon of fame.”

Kellan concluded that he was happy with his current life, even if he has never donned a spandex suit to play an MCU hero.

“I like what I get to do. I like playing characters. It’s adult make-believe and I really do love it,” he told podcast host Michael Rosenbaum.

After the Twilight saga, Kellan appeared in 2014’s The Legend Of Hercules and The Expendables 3, in which he starred alongside his role model Jason Statham.

He also appeared in the crime drama FBI as Special Agent Kenny Crosby and the Taraji P Henson comedy What Men Want for Netflix.

In 2024, Kellan told Comic Book Movie: “I [would] love to do Marvel or The Avengers. I auditioned for Thor and Captain America. I got pretty close to those ones, but obviously Chris and Chris are brilliant for those.”

He added: “I don’t think I’ve auditioned again for a Marvel one, but I’d be open to doing another big franchise.”