Before Shazam!, Adam Brody Tried To Turn Superhero As Star-Lord In Guardians Of The Galaxy

It's been 20 years since "The O.C." debuted on Fox, but it's still hard to see past Seth Cohen when Adam Brody shows up in a movie or TV show. It shouldn't be, because he's a terrific actor, but there's something about his still-fresh-faced persona that immediately harkens back to his time as America's favorite nerd-turned-awkwardly-popular-kid on the millennials' slightly savvier version of "Beverly Hills 90210."

Recently, Brody took his typecasting head-on with Evan Morgan's "The Kid Detective," an underrated and frustratingly underseen comedy about an Encyclopedia Brown-type wunderkind who's grown up to be a hard-drinking-and-drugging failure of a detective. His character has never made good on his early promise, but suddenly a murder case falls in his lap, and he has the opportunity to break free of his boy-wonder shackles.

Now 43, Brody's taking roles seemingly designed to torch his bantering nice-guy image. You can currently see him in the remake of "The River Wild," where he's cast in the Kevin Bacon role of an ex-con trying to kill his rafting companions (Brody's real-life wife, Leighton Meester, is in the Meryl Streep part). This should hopefully allow him to broaden his acting range, but it's intriguing to learn in a new Variety interview that, had things broken another way for the actor, he might've used that Seth Cohen charm to become one of the biggest stars of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

According to Brody, he was up for the role of Peter Quill in "Guardians of the Galaxy" circa 2013. "I wanted that one," he told Variety. Obviously, the part went to Chris Pratt, who modified his goofball portrayal of Andy Dwyer on "Parks and Recreation" to become the lovable, bumbling Star Lord. Brody allowed that Pratt was better suited to the role. "He is bigger, stronger, but tonally, I really dug it."

Still, it's interesting to consider how Brody's career path might've been altered by joining the MCU. First off, he would've had to bulk up to some degree to play Quill. What does a beefcake Brody look like, and would it impact his squirrely, motor-mouthed charisma? Also, if he'd nailed the part, would he have taken Pratt's route to blockbuster superstar via the "Jurassic World" franchise and high-profile actioners like "The Magnificent Seven?"

This would've been amazing for his career (much bigger than his portrayal of the adult Freddie Freeman in the "Shazaam!" movies), but Brody has the potential to become a more versatile performer, more of a character actor than a leading man. The talent is clearly there. All he needs is a smart, talented director to give him the opportunity. Maybe that filmmaker is Cord Jefferson, the Emmy-winning writer of "Watchmen" and "Succession" whose debut feature, "American Fiction," is set to premiere at this September's Toronto International Film Festival with Brody in a key role. I'm eager to find out.