I've been a big fan of actor Michael Pena for the past decade or so, after he started popping up in memorable supporting roles in Best Picture winners Million Dollar Baby, Crash and my favorite TV series ever, The Shield. Over the past few years, he's put in some of the best work of his career in two fantastic David Ayer movies, End of Watch and Fury, and his career will hopefully be taken to the next level with his scene-stealing performance in Marvel's Ant-Man, in theaters July 17. I recently had the chance to sit down with the actor to discuss Ant-Man. Given his strong working relationship with David Ayer, I had to ask if he was ever in contention for a role in the filmmaker's Suicide Squad adaptation, which is currently shooting in Toronto. The actor revealed that, despite getting calls from the director for his past three movies, he was never approached for a Suicide Squad role.

"No, I think he just passed on me. There was no phone call on that one. I've gotten phone calls for the last three movies he's done, but there was no phone call on that one. It would have been cool, man. I would have loved to go back and forth, because I just love superheroes, period. Any superhero movies."

It isn't known why David Ayer didn't reach out to the talented actor for a role in Suicide Squad. He is around the same age as fellow Latino actor Jay Hernandez, who plays Chaco Santana, a.k.a. El Diablo, so it's possible he could have been offered that role, but it seems that wasn't in the cards. It's possible that the actor's Marvel contract would prevent him from starring in a DC Comics adaptation, since he would likely return in an Ant-Man sequel. There is talk that a trilogy is being planned, which would lock the actor up for several movies and prevent him from starring in any potential Suicide Squad follow-ups.

There are only a handful of actors who have played both Marvel and DC characters, most notably Ben Affleck (Daredevil and Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) and Ryan Reynolds (Green Lantern and Deadpool), but none of those Marvel movies were controlled by Marvel Studios. At any rate, Michael Pena is still keeping busy, with upcoming movies The Vatican Tapes, Vacation and The Martian hitting theaters later this year. Do you think Michael Pena would have been a good fit for Suicide Squad?