Chris Evans said new GQ profile that he somewhat agrees with Quentin Tarantino recent claim that Marvel killed off a movie star. The filmmaker said last year that people go to a Marvel movie because “Captain America is a star or Thor is a star,” not because they want to see Chris Evans or Chris Hemsworth. Evans somewhat agrees.
“That was the beauty of working on the Marvel movies. You never had to be front and center,” Evans said. “Sometimes even in your own films. Quentin Tarantino said that recently and I thought, you know, he’s right. The character is the star. You’re there, but you don’t feel the burden.”
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Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige disagrees, telling GQ, “I think he (Chris) was saying that to himself, and I think it’s something that a lot of the Avengers would say, including Robert, which actually helped the process a lot . But in certain cases, including Chris’s, that’s not entirely true.’
Evans originated the role of Steve Rogers/Captain America in 2011’s “Captain America: The First Avenger” and has either led or appeared in 11 amazing films over the course of nine years. He left the franchise in 2019 with the release of ‘Avengers: Endgame’. He is he said in the following years that he would never rule out a Marvel return, a point echoed by GQ.
“I never say never, just because it was such an amazing experience,” Evans said of playing Captain America again. “But I’m also very valuable with it. It’s something I’m very proud of. And like I said, sometimes I can’t believe it even happened. And I wouldn’t want a black eye if it was like a cash grab or if it didn’t live up to expectations or if it just felt like it didn’t relate to the original thing. So in the foreseeable future.”
“And ultimately, I really hope to act a little less in my life,” he added. “I have a lot of other interests. Look, I have by no means climbed any mountains in this field. I have no Oscars and I am in no way lumped in with other names that are on top of the mountain. But I also feel very satisfied.”
Playing less becomes a new motivation for Evans. “Now it’s really about, okay: What time of year are we shooting?” he said when talking about tackling the new roles. “Will I miss autumn? You know, I don’t want to miss fall. I only have so many. I could just make furniture for nobody and be happy.”
“I don’t want to—I have to frame it the right way,” he continued. “I was going to say, I don’t want to waste too much time in this industry, but it really doesn’t feel right… It doesn’t feel right. I don’t want to take up too much space in a field that I’ve already poured 20 years into… Sometimes I wonder if I’m missing something – like, I think I’m a very driven person. I have a lot of energy. I get up early, I get a lot done in a day, but it’s not always acting oriented. Sometimes reading a script is the last thing I want to do.”
Evans said he was lucky that 11 years of Marvel movies gave him the opportunity to act less while still being financially secure.
“If I wanted to stop everything right now, I could,” Evans said. “Which is unbelievable. And that is a blessing untold. Specifically because life is unpredictable and anything can happen… I’m a bit of an over-planner. I try to set things up so that whatever kind of future curve that happens, I’ve planned for it. And that’s seemingly exactly what Marvel provides. And part of that relaxation is just, uh, putting your brain down, suppressing anxiety. And analysis, a kind of planning for tomorrow. I don’t have to do it so much anymore and I can just be present.’
Evans next stars alongside Emily Blunt in “Pain Hustlers,” which airs Oct. 20 on Netflix.
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