Matthew McConaughey says Marvel considered him for Hulk role but turned him down

Matthew McConaughey has revealed Marvel Studios had shortlisted him to play the Hulk in one of its films.

The star told he “really wanted” the role of the comic book superhero and told the studio “I’m game if you guys are?”.

But the Oscar winner said he was eventually turned down by the studio to play Bruce Banner, the scientist who can transform into Hulk after being exposed to gamma radiation.

Speaking on MTV’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, he revealed: “They said, ‘No, thank you’.”

Marvel have produced three big screen adaptions of Hulk, including in 2003 when Eric Bana was cast to play the green giant.

Ed Norton also portrayed him in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk , and Mark Ruffalo played the character in 2012’s The Avengers .

It is not clear which of the films Marvel had considered casting Matthew for.

It could be possible he could have played Hulk in The Avengers as this was a period where he became better known for his dramatic roles after previously appearing in romantic comedies like The Wedding Planner.

McConaughey’s more dramatic roles include The Lincoln Lawyer, Bernie, Magic Mike, Killer Joe, Mud, and The Wolf Of Wall Street.

In 2010 the hunky actor, 50, decided that he wanted to take on more serious roles – which led to him turning down a $14.5m (£11.2m) paycheck.

The star opens up on declining the whooping sum of money in order to win parts that did not see him “chase the girl, fall down, then get up and finally get her” in his new memoir Greenlights.

According to IndieWire , the just keep livin charity founder admitted that he “enjoyed” starring in “breezy” romantic comedies but after years of being the on-screen stud he wanted to try something different.

Matthew wrote in his book: “The romantic comedies remained my only consistent box office hits, which made them my only consistent incoming offers.”

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