What The First Costume Test Was Like For These Superhero Actors

For many actors, the opportunity to headline a big superhero movie is a dream come true. Some see it as a chance to step into the shoes of a fictional character they grew up idolizing. Others see it as an enormous career opportunity that will afford them the leverage and flexibility — not to mention the payday — to work on their passion projects. Playing a superhero is a much bigger role today than it used to be: With interconnected cinematic universes, multiple crossovers, and long-term contracts, it's an intense commitment for any actor.

Still, there's one moment that makes all the workouts, press tours, and  sudden scrutiny worth it: The first moment they try on the costume. Costume tests are an integral part of the casting process and pre-production, with actors stepping into early versions of their costumes to see how they look on-screen. More importantly, these tests reveal how the actors themselves look in the costume. Even when the costume isn't yet form-fitting, locked into the final design, or is even just an older, recycled costume, the first moment an actor sees themselves in it is always special. These are some of the most special iterations of that moment, from Tobey Maguire to Chadwick Boseman.

Many actors have played Batman over the years. When it was announced that the Dark Knight was being rebooted yet again, this time with a movie entirely separate from the DCEU and its pre-existing Batman, fans had their concerns. They quickly faded, however, when War for the Planet of the Apes and Cloverfield director Matt Reeves was tapped to direct. When Robert Pattinson was announced as being the next guy up in the cowl, however, the internet was divided. Some fans dismissed him as "that Twilight guy," while others, especially those who have watched his incredible work as an actor in the decade since he played a sparkly vampire, were excited by the unusual casting. His first costume test alleviated any fears some might have had about him playing the Caped Crusader. He looks good as Bruce Wayne, but the camera test Matt Reeves released of Pattinson in the costume convinced us all that he looks just as good as Batman, too. 

Hilariously, at the time of his audition, Pattinson was filming former Batman director Christopher Nolan's Tenet, and had to sneak away to the audition. "I had to be really secretive about Batman stuff," he explained to Irish Times. "So I had to lie to Chris about having to go for a screen test — I said I had a family emergency. And as soon as I said 'It's a family emergency,' he said: 'You're doing the Batman audition, aren't you?'" 

It takes someone with a distinct and rare sort of look to play Superman: He needs a chiseled jaw, blue eyes, and a certain something that just makes an actor pop when they put on the suit. Henry Cavill has both the looks and the intangibles needed to land him the role of the Big Blue Boy Scout in 2013's Man of Steel. The British actor was a relative unknown at the time to American audiences, best known for his role on TV's The Tudors and for playing Theseus in Immortals. According to Zack Snyder in a 2016 interview with Entertainment Weekly, at the time of Cavill's audition, they hadn't yet settled on a design for the Superman costume. Thus, Cavill had to screen test wearing a replica of Christopher Reeve's iconic suit instead. Though Cavill wore a now-dated hand-me-down for his audition, Snyder knew right away Cavill was his guy – even if Cavill didn't. 

As Snyder detailed, it was impossible not to see Henry's charisma once he walked into the room. "He walked out and no one laughed," he said. "Other actors put that suit on and it's a joke, even if they're great actors. Henry put it on, and he exuded this kind of crazy-calm confidence that just made me go, 'Wow. Okay, this is Superman.'" The rest, as they say, is history.

Wonder Woman requires a special kind of actor. She must be beautiful, but also strong enough to be believable as an Amazon warrior. She must have the fierceness befitting the Princess of Themyscira, but also the compassion and kindness befitting Diana Prince. We got all of that in Israeli actress Gal Gadot. Her casting, like many superhero actors, aroused skepticism: At the time, she was mostly known for her role in the Fast & Furious movies, and some fans didn't think she had the physical strength to pull off the warrior princess. But the first look at her in the costume was enough to convince doubters she was the right choice.

Ironically, she didn't even know she was auditioning for Wonder Woman when she did it. Gadot had even been considering quitting acting completely at the time, having grown tired of the constant rejection. But Zack Snyder called and asked if she wanted to audition for a secret role. So secret, in fact, that she had no idea what she was auditioning for — she was even given pages from the Pulp Fiction script to read for her audition. Some time later, as she told Jimmy Fallon, she was back in Israel, still thinking about giving up on acting, when she was asked to fly to LA for a screen test. Finally, Snyder explained the situation: It was all for Wonder Woman, and she had the role.

The Batman in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice offers a very different visual take on the billionaire vigilante. His dark gray and black costume is a throwback to Batman's earliest color scheme, though the movie suit is rougher and more utilitarian in design. Affleck also rocked an armored Batman costume known as the Mech Batsuit, which also required a screen test. 

In a funny twist of fate, one of Affleck's earliest auditions was trying out for the role of Robin in Tim Burton's Batman, as he explained to Jimmy Kimmel. He didn't get the part, which ended up not making it into the movie anyway. Almost 30 years later, he leveled up and landed the role of Batman. Affleck, who was in his mid-40s at the time, wasn't sure he could pull off the role. "They called me up and said, 'Do you want to do this?' And I said, 'I'm not 25, man, are you sure about this?'" he told The Tonight Show. "And they said, 'Come down, we wanna show you what we're doing.'" For the DCEU's older, more grizzled take on Batman, Affleck turned out to be absolutely perfect. 

Some costume tests give a fairly accurate sense of what the finished costume will look like. Others, however, feature a costume nowhere near being camera-ready. Such was the case with Chris Hemsworth and Thor. The Australian actor was first cast to play the musclebound god of thunder when he was largely unknown, having only briefly appeared as Captain Kirk's father, George Kirk, in a flashback scene in J.J. Abrams' 2009 reboot of Star Trek. When he tried out for the role of Thor, he was practically skinny compared to the giant we know today, as these behind-the-scenes Thor costume test photos reveal. 

And the costume? Well, just take a look. Marvel may have settled on Hemsworth by this point, but they clearly hadn't settled on a Thor costume, outside of the style of his cape. It's crazy to see Hemsworth in these old test photos, modeling costumes that were, at this point, essentially nothing more than pinned-together spandex, modified football chest protectors, and some utility pants. It just goes to show how much work goes into every detail that finally makes it on screen in a superhero movie — and just how much work actors have to put into their superhero roles.