When Chris Evans refused to play Captain America, said ‘no thanks’

It is nearly impossible to imagine anybody other than Chris Evans in the role of Steve Rogers or Captain America today. When actor Wyatt Russell stepped into the shoes of the superhero in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, fans opposed the casting and made ‘Not My Cap’ trend despite knowing that this was temporary. Sam Wilson is Cap now, and he is accepted because he is very much like Steve and carries forward the principles, ideals and legacy that his predecessor embodied.

Evans, who celebrates his 40th birthday today, thanks to his charismatic presence, believable acting and characterisation, will forever be Captain America.

But when he was offered the role, Evans was not really excited by this idea. He had had another tryst with Marvel as Johnny Storm/Human Torch in Fox’s Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer in 2005 and 2007 respectively. To say the least, Evans’ experience was less than ideal.

The films were excoriated by critics and audiences alike, and that included his performance.

However, his apprehensions about taking up a superhero role again was not just due to the Fantastic Four films, it was also the contract of six films that Marvel wanted him to sign. Six films meant that a good decade of his career will be spent in the MCU, which is a forbidding prospect for any actor.

While speaking in an episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast (quoted by eonline.com) he said when he was offered the role he “hung up and I kind of thought about it. And I really, for some reason, looked at it as, ‘This is the temptation. This is it. This is the fork in the road. And I really want to kind of wake up to my life and take control of it. And I think this is where you say no.’ So, I called my team back and I said, ‘Listen, thank them very much but I think I’m going to say no thanks.'”

But Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige persisted and eventually Evans accepted.

He said in an interview with We Got This Covered undertaken around the release of Captain America: The First Avenger that he had to go into therapy when he took the role. He said, “I went because I was very apprehensive about taking the movie, I was nervous about the lifestyle change, about the commitment. You know, it’s six movies, that can last 10 years. I love making movies but I’m not dead set on being a gigantic movie star. I like to have the option to walk away if I want, with a six picture deal, you can’t walk away.”

Evans played Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger, its sequels The Winter Soldier and Civil War as well as all the four Avengers movies. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he reinvented the character. Thought to be too morally uptight and self-righteous in comics, Evans made him a compelling and inspirational figure as the man who would not give up, no matter what the circumstances.