By the time Chris Evans had nabbed the coveted role of Captain America, he was already a household name. If you hadn’t seen his early work in Sunshine or Push, it’s likely you were aware of his first Marvel foray in Fantastic Four. Cast in the often maligned superhero film as The Human Torch, Evans put in two films before the franchise was effectively canceled. It was his role as Steve Rogers, however, that was a true success. But as much time and effort as he put into the optimistic and fearless leader of The Avengers, it wasn’t all that easy for the Snowpiercer actor. He confided in GQ about his doubts regarding fame and acting as a whole despite how long he had been in the industry up until that point.
“I remember in my late 20s having a real shift in how I felt on set, how I felt promoting films: a little more anxiety, a little more uncertainty. You always end up questioning, is this what I should be doing?”
This had less to do with him doubting the source material — though there is some valid criticism of that — but if he liked being in the industry at all. Appearing in The Avengers films gave him a big payday, but it shouldn’t shock anyone to hear that he was less certain if he was fulfilled.
“The pros were that I’d be able to take care of my family forever; the cons were that I would become deeply, deeply unhappy with fame and loss of control.”
Since retiring from the role of Steve Rogers, Evans has had a lot of time to explore roles. In Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, he appears as the stark opposite of Captain America. His role as the rich and entitled Hugh “Ransom” Drysdale is almost shocking to those who only know him as Steve. He also tackles the opioid crisis along with Emily Blunt in Netflix’s Pain Hustlers. This separation allowed the actor to spread his wings creatively, but he assures fans that he doesn’t regret entering the MCU.
“I love playing [Captain America]. I feel connected to it in a way that when you revisit a character so many times you can’t help but try to absorb some of their traits and measure yourself against them.”
As Robert Downey Jr. probably informed some of Tony Stark’s humor and related traits, Evans seems to be a person of good character, which is why he has come to question his history in Marvel. So much so that throughout his uncertainty if he was in the right space to play Captain America, even the head of Marvel noticed.
“I think the world knows he did a spectacular job. And a lot of it was getting out of his own head,” Kevin Feige noted. To be sure, if there was a perfect actor to portray Steve Rogers, it was probably Evans. But we don’t begrudge him seeking variety, either.
Published: Sep 19, 2023 01:19 pm