Ruth Negga and Sam Rockwell are two of the greatest actors working today. These Oscar-worthy talents have ruled TV and film, comic fans may them as Raina in Iron Man 2. Currently, both actors can be seen on Broadway - Negga in Macbeth and Rockwell in American Buffalo. Both have received Tony Award nominations for their work.
When productions reach the gargantuan size of the MCU or Broadway, they need the cream of the crop. Negga and Rockwell are just two of the latest actors to appear in both. Even more incredible, they're two of the few to have received nominations from the Tonys. Who else from the Marvel universe has earned the same accolade?
Scarlett Johansson
For more than a decade, Scarlett Johansson stood as the most prominent female character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Her Natasha Romanoff appeared in nine films starting with Iron Man 2 and culminating in her own solo venture, Black Widow.
Around the time she began her tenure as Black Widow, Johansson made her Broadway debut in Gregory Mosher’s 2010 Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge. For her work as Catherine, a young woman trying to break out from her uncle's control, Johansson snagged the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.
Laurence Fishburne
Already a pop culture legend for his role as Morpheus in the Matrix franchise, Laurence Fishburne jumped franchises when he appeared in Ant-Man and the Wasp. He plays Bill Foster, an old friend and rival to Michael Douglas's Hank Pym in the film.
Fishburne has collected two Tony nominations over the years with one win. He won in 1992 for Best Featured Actor in a Play for August Wilson's Two Trains Running. He would later receive a nomination for Best Actor in a Play in 2008 for the one-man show Thurgood.
Mark Ruffalo
Mark Ruffalo quickly became a fan favorite after taking over the roles of Bruce Banner/Hulk in 2012's The Avengers. Since then, he's reprised the role numerous times including the Avengers sequels, Thor: Ragnarok, and the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
In 2006, Mark Ruffalo received his first Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his work in Bartlett Sher's revival of Clifford Odets's Awake and Sing!. In the production, Ruffalo played Moe, a friend of the Berger family who boards with them in the Bronx during The Great Depression.
Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett made her mark when she debuted in the MCU's best villains.
With her Broadway debut in The Present, Andrew Upton's adaptation of Anton Chekov's Platonov, Blanchett received her first Tony nomination in the category of Best Actress in a Play. In the production, Blanchett portrays Anna, a recent widow bored with life on her 40th birthday.
Danai Gurira
After years of playing Michonne on The Walking Dead, Danai Gurira ed the illustrious MCU in Ryan Coogler's Black Panther as T'Challa's right-hand Okoye. Guirira's Okoye would return to the fight in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.
Unlike the other nominees here, Guirira's Tony nomination doesn't stem from acting on a Broadway stage. Instead, she is a Tony-nominated playwright, having written the 2016 Best Play nominee Eclipsed. The play tells the story of Liberian women struggling to survive during the Second Liberian Civil War.
Lupita Nyong'o
Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong'o is introduced into the MCU in Ryan Coogler's Black Panther. As Nakia, she portrays a Wakandian spy and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Years before they both appeared in Black Panther, Nyong'o played the lead in the 2015 Broadway production of Danai Guirira's Eclipsed. For her role as a teenaged orphan only referred to as The Girl, Nyong'o earned a Tony nod for Best Actress in a Play.
Lauren Ridloff
Lauren Ridloff made history with her debut in spoke in American Sign Language and was in a steamy relationship with Barry Keoghan's Druig.
Ridloff made her Broadway debut in Kenny Leon's 2018 revival of Children of a Lesser God. In a role made famous by Marlee Matlin's Oscar-winning performance, Ridloff impressed audiences and received a nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Play.
Brian Tyree Henry
Brian Tyree Henry made headlines with his role in Chloe Zhao's Eternals. Halfway through the film, it is revealed that the team's engineer, Phastos, has hunkered down to suburban life with his husband and son. Henry's Phastos is the first gay superhero in the MCU.
Henry is no stranger to Broadway, having originated the role of the General in The Book of Mormon. He would later earn a Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for the 2018 Broadway production of Lobby Hero co-starring fellow MCU actor Chris Evans.
Andrew Garfield
Over countless interviews in 2021, Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Garfield has twice been nominated for a Tony award, first in 2012 for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his work in Mike Nichols’s revival of Death of a Salesman. On his second Tony nomination, he would win Best Leading Actor in a Play for Marianne Elliott’s 2018 remounting of Angels in America.
Glenn Close
Cinematic icon Glenn Close makes an MCU appearance in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film. In the film, she appears as Irani Rael, the leader of the Nova Corps.
Although she has yet to win an Academy Award in her eight nominations, Close has had much more success with the Tonys. In her four nominations, Close has three Tony Awards - Best Actress in a Play for 1984's The Real Thing, 1992's Death and the Maiden, and Best Actress in a Musical for 1995's Sunset Boulevard.
