There is no one who embodies the virtues of Captain America better than Chris Evans. Over mutiple MCU ventures, Evans has brought to life one of Marvel’s greatest superheroes, with charisma and conviction. While most actors would jump at the opportunity to portray an iconic character like Captain America, Evans had his own apprehensions about taking on the role.
The Snowpiercer actor was initially reluctant to commit to the franchise and the character, not just because there was pressure to do justice to the role, but also due to the potential failure of the film, which would then be detrimental to his entire career.
Chris Evans Admitted He Took A Huge Risk With Captain America
While there have been many memorable roles that Chris Evans has done in his career thus far, his stint with Marvel as Captain America will be remembered for posterity. While The Gray Man star became an integral part of the MCU, he was initially very hesitant to commit to a contract with Marvel.
In the book, MCU-The Reign Of Marvel Studios written by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Robin Edwards, Evans spoke about the trepidation and uneasiness he felt even as he commenced filming Captain America. While the celebrity was a bonafide fan of his character, the fear of being part of a failed venture, made him have second thoughts.
“I just signed my death warrrant. My life is over. The biggest thing I was worried about was making s**tty f**king movies. I don’t want to make s**tty movies and be contractually obligated to making garbage.”
Evans’ apprehension could also have stemmed from his earlier unsuccessful Marvel stint in The Fantastic Four, in which he played the Human Torch. Fortunately for the MCU star, history did not repeat itself, with Captain America becoming one of the franchise’s most iconic cinematic superheroes.
How Captain America Was Meant To Be For Chris Evans
Chris Evans’ unforgettable stint with the Marvel franchise before becoming Captain America, almost ruined his golden opportunity with the MCU. When casting considerations began for the role in 2010, The Ghosted star who was on the initial list of probables, did not make the cut as he was already portraying a Marvel character in The Fantastic Four.
But as fate would have it, Kevin Feige and team were unable to zero in on the perfect match for Captain America and ultimately circled back to Evans for the part. In the book, MCU- The Reign of Marvel Studios, Feige traced his franchise’s journey with the Avengers star leading up to finally casting him.
“We thought, OK, well, he’s that character (Human Torch). Let’s keep looking. And as we [continued] not finding people, we went back to the initial lists. And that brought us back to Chris. And I thought, well, Patrick Stewart played Jean-Luc Picard and Charles Xavier. Harrison Ford played Han Solo and Indiana Jones. Who cares?”
In William Shakespeare’s words, ‘All’s well that ends well’, and it surely did for Chris Evans, Kevin Feige, and Marvel Studios, thanks to the decision they made.
