Playing a superhero is not new for Chris Evans, who turned 37 earlier this month. Back in 2005, he made his first superhero appearance as the Human Torch in Fantastic Four (and its 2007 sequel). But it was his casting as Steve Rogers/ Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger, in 2011, that made not just the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the world sit up and take notice of the talented actor, who has in the past, starred in other notable films like Not Another Teen Movie (2001), Sunshine (2007), and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010). Captain America, referred to commonly as the ‘First Avenger’, has come a long way — from being a boy wonder to leading the pack in Avengers: Infinity Wars (2018). Currently, Evans whose contract with Marvel is winding down, is working on the next untitled Avengers film, set to release in 2019. We speak to the actor on his eight-year-long journey as Captain America.
You have come from becoming the First Avenger to leading the pack in the Avengers: Infinity War, how do you feel?
Honestly, I am glad that I didn’t let my apprehensions take over my mind. I went ahead with it and came this far. Playing Captain America was the best decision of my life. Also Avengers: Infinity War is very close to my heart. It was great to shoot with everyone. We were a team, we all were leading the war.
Over the years Captain America has picked up some fighting moves and upgraded his powers. How did you and the team evolve Steve to the Captain America?
We tried to evolve his fighting style, we tried gymnastics. We tried this ribbon routine that we didn’t pick it in the movies, but it was great. I practised Parkour and that was to make the captain abler. It’s like two months prior to any filming, I have to get to started and get in the best shape. In Infinity Wars, Captain was more badass than ever, I think.
You are everywhere, even on water bottles, lunch boxes… how do you feel about that?
Captain America is a part of my identity now. Yes, it was weird at first to see my face on things but now I have grown used to it. My mother has made a collection of all the things. Her attic is full of Captain America-inspired goodies and stuff which has my face on it.
What audiences loved about the First Avenger was how Steve was treated before and after he became Captain America. Did something similar happen to you in real life?
At the beginning of the journey of Captain, people close to me were treating me with kid gloves. I was so
apprehensive about taking the job and when I finally accepted it, I had a lot of people in my life throughout the filmmaking process. One of the standard questions was “How are you doing?”, “Are you alright?” So, there was a comfort zone throughout the whole filmmaking process.