Grant Gustin is best known for playing the lead role of Barry Allen in The CW’s The Flash. For nine seasons, Gustin played the fastest man alive, who turns into a metahuman after lightning strikes him. He led the second show in the Arrowverse, making his debut in Arrow, which served as a backdoor pilot for his own show.
While he played the part for almost a decade and appeared across shows like Arrow, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and Titans, Gustin has not been seen in any other TV show since The Flash’s finale in 2023. He has worked on a few movies that have barely been hits or have gone straight to streaming. It seems like Hollywood has forgotten about the actor.
Why won’t Hollywood cast Grant Gustin anymore? Let us look at the possible reasons.
1. Grant Gustin Has Been Typecast as Barry Allen in The Flash
Playing a superhero or a pop culture icon can be great for fame, but it can also be severely limiting. Many actors who played James Bond struggled to get out of the agent’s shadow. Grant Gustin got his first shot at fame with the musical teen drama Glee, after which he played The Flash for nine years.
These days, actors have played multiple comic book characters across the universe (or the same if you look at Jason Momoa). But Grant Gustin has been synonymous with Barry Allen, and it is hard for someone who has spent nine years playing the part in over 180 episodes to come out of such a huge shadow, or for studios to look at him as anything but Barry Allen.
2. Despite Fan Support, Gustin Could Not Go to the DCEU
While Ezra Miller’s performance was decent as Barry Allen, their off-screen controversies made it obvious that they would not be playing the role for long and would probably not be welcome in James Gunn’s DCU. However, there was already a proven actor who had embodied the role, i.e., Grant Gustin.
There was a lot of fan support for Gustin to just be the DCEU’s Flash amidst Miller’s controversies, which significantly delayed the release of The Flash
3. Few CW Alumni Have Made It to the Movies Successfully
The CW might be a show that rakes in a lot of ratings and views, but it is hardly on par with the quality of AMC or HBO. The CW specializes in teen dramas or stories that border on soap operas. Even the Arrowverse spent a considerable amount of time on the heroes’ personal lives instead of superhero work, though some incredible concepts were explored.
Grant Gustin’s image as a CW hero may have ruined his chances at movie stardom, as Hollywood may not have taken him seriously. Actors like Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles (of Supernatural) or the stars of The Vampire Diaries barely had movie careers and stuck to TV or streaming. Gustin’s movie career has not been very promising.
4. Gustin’s Comments on His Physique Prove Hollywood’s Obsession With Superhero Bodies
As the fastest man alive, Grant Gustin’s physique and height are sort of perfect. He does not look too buff, and that works for the character. However, the actor was reportedly insecure about that, too, and almost skipped the auditions (via Men’s Health).
He’s big and buff and blonde in the comics. I was just like, ‘Why are they even seeing me?’ I had imposter syndrome about even going to that audition. The idea of ‘Do I want this?’ never even crossed my mind.
Gustin was reportedly 23 when he auditioned for the role, and he was insecure seeing the demand for an actor in his late 20s or early 30s. He eventually got over it and bagged the role. However, many of the superhero actors have had rigorous workout routines that have made them look extremely buff. This might have discouraged Hollywood from casting Gustin in other action-heavy roles.
5. Grant Gustin’s Openness to Play Other Superheroes May Have Questioned His Loyalty
Grant Gustin has been synonymous with The Flash, but he has expressed his desire to play other roles as well. The actor mentioned during the finale of the show that he was asked about his future and if he would ever get back to being a superhero again, and his answer was quite positive (via EW).
I grew up a fan of this genre. I love this genre, I love sci-fi stuff, I love superhero stuff, so I would be open to doing any superhero thing again, Flash or something else, as long as it was a character I was excited about.
While it could just be that he is expressing his openness to work again in the genre, some fans may find this to be a sign of disloyalty to the Flash, which could be discouraging to studios.
6. Gustin Has Not Been a Big Box Office Draw
Grant Gustin’s movie career has nothing to write home about. The actor was in two unknown films before he began his TV career with A Haunting and Glee. While he appeared in Affluenza and Krystal during his tenure as The Flash, he has only been in two other movies since.
Rescued by Ruby went to Netflix, while Puppy Love only earned $66K before going to Amazon Freevee (via Box Office Mojo). His box office record has not been impressive, and the actor has also not been in any TV show since The Flash, which is not good news for Hollywood.
7. Missed Opportunities Due to The Flash May Have Affected His Movie Career
Playing Barry Allen took nine years of Grant Gustin’s life, and he barely did anything else during this time as he was busy with the show’s tight schedules and other appearances in the Arrowverse. Only in 2024 did he venture out to go back on stage with Water for Elephants.
However, the actor said that he missed out on many projects during the nine years he dedicated to The Flash (via Inside of You).
During The Flash, it’s been so amazing but we’re, what, seven years in now or six, we’ve finished six years… the past four hiatuses now I’ve had a hiatus project that has fallen through because of Flash so I feel like there’s a lot of other opportunities out there, film and stage, that have gone away because of schedule conflicts so you just can’t have everything.
Letting go of so many projects may have negatively impacted his movie career as he missed out on potential hits, which resulted in him not being seen as a box office draw.
Do you think Grant Gustin should get more roles in Hollywood? Comment below.
The Flash is available to stream on Netflix.
