Chris Evans is widely known for his portrayal of Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After starring in numerous installments, he finally passed on the shield to the next worthy successor and signed off.
Marvel boss Kevin Feige, however, did not originally want Evans for the role. The major reason for this was the actor’s previous work on Fantastic Four. The film was heavily criticized, with only moderate performance at the box office.
Kevin Feige Almost Passed Over Chris Evans As Captain America
Chris Evans told in a podcast by The Hollywood Reporter that his role as Human Torch in the Fantastic Four movies was very special to him. He was at the lowest point of his life and he needed something to help him get back up. He said (via Hindustan Times):
“I think I had just been dumped. I needed a win. I remember getting that phone call and just thinking, ‘Aw, yes!’ It was really a role that I enjoyed, it was the best paycheck I had ever gotten. It felt like a little bit of a corner had been turned, and maybe I could parlay this into something else.”
Kevin Feige said in another interview with THR that Evans’ previous superhero role was getting in the way of casting him as Captain America. In the end, he and the team tried to rationalize the situation. He stated:
“We thought, OK, well, he’s that character. Let’s keep looking. 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?”
Initially, Evans refused the job offer. He was suffering from panic attacks so he turned down the screening test and considered quitting acting altogether. He revealed:
“Getting the offer felt to me like the epitome of temptation. The ultimate job offer on the biggest scale. I’m supposed to say no to this thing. It felt like the right thing to do. You see the pictures, and you see the costumes, and it’s cool. But I’d now woken up the day after saying no and felt good, twice.”
But the rest is history. Evans ultimately accepted the greatest role he ever had so far in his career. The actor admitted playing Captain America changed his life.
Chris Evans Owes Kevin Feige His Career In MCU
In his interview via the Awards Chatter podcast, Chris Evans expressed his gratitude to Kevin Feige for not giving up on him. He shared:
“It was the best decision I’ve ever made, and I really owe that to [Marvel chief] Kevin Feige for being persistent and helping me avoid making a giant mistake. To be honest, all the things that I was fearing never really came to fruition.”
Before Evans accepted the offer, he consulted fellow actor Robert Downey Jr. whom he shared an agent, his friends and family, and a therapist. In the end, he professed:
“I fell in love with Steve Rogers pretty quick.”
Indeed, fans also fell in love with Captain America. Evans made sure that everything special about the superhero did not just come out of a serum bottle.
