The 'Neighbors' actor got snubbed despite impressing the director with his humor while the 'Birdman' star failed to secure a deal after entering talks for the lead role.
- February 21, 2023
AceShowbiz - Seth Rogen and Edward Norton tried out for "Daredevil". Director Mark Steven Johnson has opened up how Rogen auditioned for the part of Franklin "Foggy" Nelson - which went to Jon Favreau - but the filmmaker thought he was "too young" to be a lawyer while Norton had talks for the titular role of Matt Murdock / Daredevil, which Ben Affleck played in the 2003 movie.
"It was definitely one of those roles where everyone was being mentioned," Johnson said when asked if he met with Guy Pearce for the part. "There were a lot of people in the mix. I don't remember if I met with Guy, but I did meet with Edward Norton."
"I also remember Seth Rogen coming in to read for Foggy Nelson. He was so funny, and we loved him, but I was also like, 'Dude, how old are you?' He was probably 21 or 22 at the time - way too young to be a lawyer!"
But Johnson admitted part of the appeal for Affleck's casting was because he was a fan of Kevin Smith, who penned some of the "Daredevil" comics. He added to Yahoo Entertainment, "I met with a couple of other actors, too, but Ben was a fan of Daredevil because of Kevin Smith, so it ended up being him. And then he became Batman!"
In the movie, Affleck's lawyer character had been blinded during his youth but the accident heightened his remaining senses. In 2015, the actor insisted the film "didn't work." He said at the time, "'Daredevil' didn't work, at all."
"If I wanted to go viral I would be less polite. That was before people realised you could make these movies and make them well. There was a cynical sense of, 'Put a red leather outfit on a guy, have him run around, hunt some bad guys, and cash the check.' "
