Chris Evans opens up about the anxiety that almost made him pass on playing Captain America
Chris Evans opened up about how his anxiety almost stopped him from accepting the role of Captain America, but Kevin Feige persisted.
Chris Evans almost turned down the opportunity to bring Steve Rogers to life, but Kevin Feige was persistent and knew what he wanted for Captain America. That’s why he fought to get Chris Evans to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Speaking on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast to help promote the finale of Defending Jacob, Evans opened up about the decision to, eventually, take on Captain America.
Thinking back to his casting, Evans was a relatively lesser-known actor than those around him. With big names like Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, and Mark Ruffalo, Evans had been in movies like Not Another Teen Movie and the Fantastic Four, but nothing to the caliber that was growing with the MCU. Clearly, joining wasn’t an easy decision for the star to make.
What’s incredible about the interview is that Evans talks about how Chris Hemsworth was there for him because, in a lot of ways, they were the “new” guys to all of this:
"“It was nice having Chris Hemsworth around because he was going through it, too. I mean, at the time Downey’s Downey and Scarlett’s Scarlett [Johansson]. And [Mark] Ruffalo and [Jeremy] Renner, at the time, were crushing it, too. Hemsworth and I were very new and we also had the stand-alones and so I think we shared in our anxiety, and at least that made it a little bit more comforting.”"
Luckily, Feige fought for him and brought us the Captain America that we’ve now come to know and love, but Evans being so candid about his anxiety is helping to normalize those fears that many of us try and hide.
Evans’ most recent project was Defending Jacob on AppleTV where he played Andrew Barber, a father trying to defend his son in a murder charge. Watch Evans shine with Jaeden Martell and Michelle Dockery.
Next. Chris Evans and his beard are here to help us in Defending Jacob. dark
Are you glad Kevin Feige fought for Chris Evans to become Captain America? Have you seen Defending Jacob yet?