What if Marvel went with their first choice and Tom Cruise played Iron Man?
Would the MCU even exist?
shareNo. The Avengers would never have happened because I think the entire universe would have been DOA with Cruise. What made RDJ the only actor for Tony is that any of Tony's quirks and bounces are also RDJ's. Certainly Captain America and Thor would never have been greenlit because it was Iron Man's success that made the rest of the MCU possible. Also RDJ and Chris Evans played so well off one another. RDJ is a team player. Cruise is only about himself.
The Cast of Shawshank Redemption tell that Cruise was originally cast as Andy Dufrense. When he showed up in Ohio for the table read of the script he thought he was the star. The film was a complete ensemble, and Frank Darabont realized Cruise would not be a team player so Andy was recast with Tim Robbins, and Robbins is a team player. Cruise was also queasy at the overt homosexual elements in the film, particularly the scenes where Andy is attacked by The Sisters and Boggs.
Was he afraid he'd be tenting during the filming of those scenes?
Seriously though, it is VERY difficult to imagine Tom Cruise playing someone who was being bumraped on the regular. Nothing against him, I think he's awesome, but it's tough to imagine he has it in him to play that role.