“Something about this industry was not healthy”: Chris Evans Details the Sad Aftermath of His Marvel Fame From Playing Captain America For Over a Decade
Chris Evans, the actor best known for playing Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), shocked everyone by deciding to step down from the role and hand it off to Anthony Mackie, a friend and fellow actor who portrays Sam Wilson, a.k.a. Falcon.
Since leaving his superhero role, the actor has starred in a few films, including The Gray Man, Ghosted, Pain Hustlers, etc. All of these films have gotten negative and positive reviews from reviewers and viewers alike. Many devoted Evans and his MCU character fans are still holding out hope that the actor may decide to make a comeback, but Evans, who just got married, has a different perspective. Let’s find out.
Chris Evans says he loves to act, but it’s not something that he couldn’t live without
In his recent profile interview with GQ, Chris Evans mentions that after filming the seventh Avengers movie, he moved back to his hometown, Massachusetts, adding that there are some people in life that people meet and instantly think that they are movie stars, adding that he is adamant that he is not one of them. Evans says,
“I love to act. But it’s not something that I couldn’t live without.”
The actor who, according to David Yates, is great at playing characters that come off as a**holes, Evans, says that playing Captain America was an honest and deliberate attempt to slightly against his type, which is why he was hesitant to take up the role of Captain America. He said to GQ,
“I just wasn’t sure if I was moving closer to myself or further away. And something inside me kept saying that I was getting further away—that something about this industry wasn’t healthy.”
Evans noted that he had turned down the offer a couple of times, and negotiated his terms after he finally said yes, pointing out, “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”
Chris Evans agrees with Quentin Tarantino’s comments on Marvel stars
In his interview, the actor who is regarded as one of the biggest talents in the industry said that he somewhat agrees with filmmaker Quentin Tarantino’s comments on calling Marvel characters the stars and not the actors who play them on-screen. Tarantino said in an interview in November 2022 with Mediaite via ComicBook,
“Part of the Marvel-ization of Hollywood is, you have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters, but they’re not movie stars. Captain America is the star.”
Evans agrees as he says in his GQ interview, “That was the beauty of working on Marvel films. You never really had to be front and center. Even in your own films sometimes. Quentin Tarantino said it recently and I was like, you know, he’s right. The character is the star. You’re there, but you don’t feel the burden of it.”
The actor had mentioned that he was very reluctant to take on the role of Captain America as he was in his late 20s and was having a real shift in how he felt on a set, how he felt about promising films; questioning himself about if this was what he should be doing. He eventually said yes to the character and his character is not only part of the main six characters of the MCU, but also one of the most loved characters in the MCU, with Evans being the favorite for the fans to portray on-screen.
Kevin Feige, head of Marvel Studios said, “I often think about the parallel world where he said no. Robert Downey Jr. gets a lot of attention, deservedly so, for being the foundation of this studio we have here. But in many, many ways, Chris Evans was one of those additional pillars that the house would not be standing today, if not for him.”
Chris Evans hasn’t ruled out returning to Marvel Cinematic Universe
The beloved actor who recently got married to Alba Batista shared in the interview that he has not completely ruled out returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but says that it won’t happen soon. He said during the interview,
“I’ll never say never, just because it was such a wonderful experience. But I’m also very precious to it. It’s something that I am very proud of. And like I said, sometimes I can’t believe it even happened. And I wouldn’t want the black eye if it felt like a cash grab or if it didn’t live up to expectations or if it just felt like it wasn’t connected to that original thing. So, no time soon.”
He says that when he looks back he feels gratitude, adding that he loves playing that role and feels connected to it in a way. Chris Evans admits that he is now looking forward to having to act a little less in his life and explore the other interests he has, pointing out that even though he believes that he has not climbed any sort of a mountain in the field, he feels very satisfied with what he has achieved till now.
Source: GQ
