‘Lucifer’ Star Tom Ellis Auditioned for Major Marvel Movie Role

Tom Ellis is well-known for his roles in TV fantasy and superhero fare, like Lucifer, Merlin, The Strain, and Doctor Who. But he recently got close to breaking onto the big screen in a big way.

In a recent interview with Square Mile, the 40-year-old Welsh actor discussed his recent and upcoming roles, like his star turn in the 2025 crime-comedy film The Thursday Murder Club and his upcoming role in CBS’s crime procedural CIA, a spinoff of its popular FBI franchise. But there was one major role that got away.

Ellis told the reporter that he came extremely close to landing the role of protagonist Reed Richards in the Marvel film The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

“There was a select group of people that got asked to tape for Reed Richards,” Ellis said. “I had been waiting for the right thing, timing-wise and character-wise, to come along. And I remember looking at the photo of Richards in the comics and going, ‘this could be the one.’ We look quite similar.” 

He sent his tape back and anxiously awaited to hear back, only to eventually hear the role had gone to Pedro Pascal.

“I mean to be fair, he’s not in much,” Ellis said, laughing. “He’s great though. He is great. I’m looking forward to seeing it. The trailer looks quite fun.” 

He continued joking around, mentioning that someone once told him the best part of being an actor is getting a job, and that doing a job is not as enjoyable as when you’re selected for one.

“I understand that to a certain degree,” he said. “Although I really enjoy doing the jobs. But it’s what we live for. We live for the what if-ness of it… We’re all in this industry because we all dreamt about doing it one day. I think we’re still all dreamers, and the people who say they’re not are either too cynical or they shouldn’t be doing it anymore.” 

The Fantastic Four: First Steps grossed $521.9 million after releasing this past July. It is streaming now on Disney+.