Neal McDonough in Talks for The First Avenger: Captain America
Posted 06.04.10 by BrentJS
The start of production on Marvel Studios' The First Avenger: Captain America is just a month away and negotiations are still ongoing for principal actors. It was announced that Dominic Cooper had been signed on to play Iron Man's dad. Then, Hayley Atwell, who will play Captain America's love interest, Peggy Carter, let slip that Tommy Lee Jones had joined the cast in an unspecified role. Now, Deadline has reported that Neal McDonough is in talks to play one of Cap's war buddies, Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan.
In the Marvel comic books on which the movie is based, Dum Dum Dugan was a circus strongman who helped Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson in the Iron Man movies) escape the Nazis, he later joined the British army. When Fury formed his elite team of "Howling Commandos," he made Dugan his second in command. The team would share many adventures with Captain America throughout the war, until the "Star-Spangled Avenger" took a fateful plunge into the Atlantic Ocean that took him out of the fight.
Dugan is also an active participant in the modern Marvel Universe, though it's unclear why he hasn't aged. For a time, he even took over for Fury as director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Given the character's longstanding association with Fury, it's likely that Dugan would also appear in the S.H.I.E.L.D. spin-off movie that Jackson said would follow The Avengers, so if McDonough nabs the role he could be portraying the character for some years to come.
The First Avenger: Captain America was written by Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus and will be directed by Joe Johnston. Chris Evans stars in the title role, with Sebastian Stan playing his sidekick, James "Bucky" Barnes, and Hugo Weaving playing the evil Red Skull.
Next Showing: The First Avenger: Captain America opens July 22, 2011