Chadwick Boseman Once Auditioned to Play Drax in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’

Chadwick Boseman is perhaps best known for his role as T’Challa in the 2018 blockbuster film Black Panther, but the actor briefly had his eyes on another role within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Boseman revealed on The Tonight Show that he first auditioned for the role of Drax the Destroyer in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, even though he told Jimmy Fallon he knew his chances of landing the part were slim. The massive Dave Bautista ultimately took the role as the Drax we all know and love.

“I didn’t think I was gonna get it,” the 21 Bridges actor told an incredulous Fallon. “And it’s weird, too. It’s a testament, I think, to Marvel because after each film, you know, Ant-Man has a different tone and feeling; we didn’t know what that was gonna be. We didn’t know what Guardians was gonna be. … So, it was just good to come in and play to see what they did with it.”

The actor explained that despite knowing he probably wasn’t going to land the part, he was hoping  someone would see his audition and perhaps keep him in mind for a role later down the line. Turns out he was right.

“Sometimes that’s the way it works as an actor. You go in knowing you’re not gonna get it but you’re meeting the people that might be like, ‘It’s not this, but we’ll put him in this other thing.’ So I feel like this was one of those moments where they were like, ‘We could use him later,'” he said, mentioning Sarah Finn, a casting director who pointed him out later on.

T’Challa also recently added his thoughts about the ongoing controversy surrounding Martin Scorsese’s comments regarding Marvel films. The legendary director doesn’t believe Marvel’s films are considered cinema, and has faced much backlash because it. But Boseman wants everyone to consider the timing of his comments.

“You’ve got to think about when he’s saying it,” the actor said in a recent interview. “He’s saying it when he’s possibly campaigning for an award. He’s saying it at a time when he’s making a Netflix movie, so that’s how eyes get on his film, and it’s not going to be in the cinemas—it’s not going to be seen the best way.”

On Fallon, Boseman also showcased his improvisational talent with an impromptu freestyle session with the Roots: