‘He’s Seen a Lot, Been Through a Lot’: Chris Evans Names Robert Downey Junior as Mentor, Career Inspiration
Captain America and the latest Buzz Lightyear Chris Evans was recently seen on a “Plays with Puppies” interview with Buzzfeed. The Marvel Cinematic Universe icon was asked about which of his MCU co-stars taught him the most. His response was:
“Probably Downey. You know, He’s seen a lot, been through a lot, and he’s so talented. I’d be a fool to not listen.”
Watch the “Plays with Puppies” interview here:
The MCU legacy of Robert Downey Junior and Chris Evans
Robert Downey Jr. starrer Iron Man, casting Robert Downey Jr. as the iconic Tony Stark, marked the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008. Chris Evans’ first appearance in the MCU as Steve Rogers in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger came three years later. The two went on to do seven MCU feature films together, beginning from 2012’s Avengers up to 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, the latter marking an exit for both the actors from the franchise, albeit one had a tragic ending while the other’s was bittersweet.
Robert Downey Jr. is an inspiration for many
Not only Chris Evans, but the actor was also an icon and inspiration for several other MCU stars. Actor Karen Gillan, who portrays Nebula had previously said:
“I don’t know if you saw Endgame, which seems like [laughs]. That’s a ridiculous question. But basically, all of the stuff with Robert Downey Jr. [who portrays Tony Stark/Iron Man] at the beginning was like, that whole montage was improvised. Because all that was written was oh, they play football. They eat, they do this. And then we kind of ended up getting to improvise because he’s an amazing improviser.”
Chris Evans is all set for Lightyear
As of now, Chris Evans is all set for his latest release where he plays the lead, Lightyear, a spin-off based on the character of the deluded space ranger from the 1995’s Toy Story, originally played by Tim Allen, who was also iconic in that role. Lightyear director Angus McLane explained Evans’ casting in the lead role over its original voice actor, saying that:
“The tone [of Lightyear] is a lot different [to that of the Toy Story movies]. Tim is hilarious, but this character wouldn’t work as well with him doing the Space Ranger voice. It would not be as emotional. It just changes the tone of the movie. We were going for more of a classic sci-fi film.”
Evans shared his views on picking up Allen’s nearly 30-year legacy, and also Buzz Lightyear’s iconic catchphrase “To infinity, and Beyond!” Evans said, “As proud as I am to play this role and as honored as I am to be a part of this universe now, that line belongs to someone else. It almost kind of felt like I was wearing someone else’s clothes or something, you know? So you do your best to honor it and put your own spin on it… But let’s be honest, that’s Tim Allen’s line.”
Also Read: ‘They Castrated Lightyear’: Patricia Heaton Blasts Pixar For Replacing Tim Allen With Chris Evans
