The role Chris Evans called “the best decision I’ve ever made in my life”
Over the past few years, Chris Evans has turned himself into the archetype of the likeable leading man. Throughout his various iterations as the endearing jackass in Scott Pilgrim vs the World or as the villainous member of the family in Knives Out, Evans has kept an undeniable charm throughout every role he takes on, making him easy to love even when his characters may doing the most unspeakable things imaginable. Although Evans has never been afraid to push himself, he admits that one role shines above the rest.
Before people knew his iconic roles, Evans had landed a job in one of the biggest superhero franchises a young actor could hope for. After becoming a fixture of teen movies in the first half of his career, Evans got to play Johnny Storm, one of the biggest heroes in the Marvel Universe.
Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe became the cinematic juggernaut today, Evans was initially recognised as one of the first to bring the Fantastic Four to life onscreen, working alongside Jessica Alba as his sister, Sue Storm. Although the film had a mixed reception among comic book fans and critics, it wasn’t long until Evans found another home at Marvel.
When working on putting the MCU together in the early days, Evans was called to work on the first Captain America film. Although there had been several iterations of the star-spangled hero for years, Evans added depth to the character throughout his time with the suit on, transforming what could have been a traditional boy scout role into one of the most likeable characters in the franchise.
Outside of his good-natured demeanour, Evans gave the role of Steve Rogers flawed in a way few actors can master. While he is seen as one of the most virtuous among the Avengers, Evans depicted Rogers grappling with his good nature, learning to lie to his teammates in Captain America: Civil War, which left him isolated from the rest of the team by going rogue for Avengers: Infinity War.
Ahead of his final turn as the character in Avengers: Endgame, Evans was grateful for the opportunity to play such a revered character. Although Evans would continue down different paths throughout his work with Marvel and beyond, he would consider playing Steve Rogers as one of his most significant career accomplishments, telling Timeout: “I’m sure there will be some tears when I have to hang up the suit. [Playing Captain America] has been the best decision I’ve ever made in my life”.
Upon release, Avengers: Endgame showcased Evans working at his best as the face of America. While he may have been hurting at the start of the film due to the aftermath of what the mighty Thanos had done in the previous film, Evans was there to help people move on before bringing everyone back, culminating in one of the most incredible scenes in the film when he is deemed worthy enough to yield Thor’s mighty hammer, Mjolnir.
Even with a few movies under his belt post-Endgame, Evans has never shown more integrity as an actor as he did when playing Captain America. While Evans has distanced himself from the character these days, there’s a sense of pride that comes with millions of people knowing him as the face of all things heroic.
