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Chris Evans said a new GQ profile that he somewhat agrees with Quentin Tarantino’s recent claim that Marvel killed off the movie star. The filmmaker said last year that people go to see a Marvel movie because “Captain America is the star or Thor is the star,” and not because they want to see Chris Evans or Chris Hemsworth. Evans somewhat agrees.
“That was the beauty of working on Marvel movies. You never really had to be front and center,” Evans said. “Even sometimes in your own movies. Quentin Tarantino said that recently and I was like, you know, he’s right. The character is the star. You’re there, but you don’t feel the burden of it.”
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige disagrees, telling GQ: “I think that’s something (Chris) told himself, and I think that’s something a lot of the Avengers, including Robert, would tell themselves, which was actually very helpful to the process. 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 went on to either direct or star in 11 Marvel films over nine years. He left the franchise in 2019 with the release of “Avengers: Endgame.” He has said in the years since that he would never rule out a Marvel return, which he reiterated to GQ.
“I would never say never, just because it was such a wonderful experience,” Evans said of playing Captain America again. “But I’m also very valuable about it. It’s something I’m very proud of. And like I said, sometimes I can’t believe it even happened. And I didn’t want the black eye if it felt like a cash grab, or if it didn’t live up to expectations, or if it just felt like it didn’t connect to the original thing. So there will soon be no time.”
“And at the end of the day, I really hope to be able to trade a little less in my life,” he added. “I have many other interests. Look, I have by no means climbed any mountain in this field. I have no Oscar and I am not mixed with other names that are on top of the mountain in any way. But I also feel very satisfied.”
Shopping less is becoming a new motivation for Evans. “Now it’s really about, well: What time of year are we filming?” he said when talking about tackling new roles. “Am I going to miss fall? You know, I don’t want to miss fall. I only have so many of them. I could just make furniture for nobody and be happy.”
“I don’t want to — I have to frame this the right way,” he continued. “I’d say I don’t want to waste too much time in this business, but it doesn’t feel right… It doesn’t sound right. I don’t want to take up too much space in an industry that I’ve already poured 20 years into … Sometimes I wonder if I’m missing some kind of — like, I think I’m a very driven person. I have a lot of energy. I wake up early, I get a lot done in a day, but it’s not always focused on acting. Sometimes reading a script is the last thing I want to do.”
Evans said he is lucky that 11 years of Marvel movies has given him the opportunity to act less and still be financially secure.
“If I wanted to stop everything now, I could,” Evans said. “Which is incredible. And it’s a blessing beyond words. 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 any kind of future curveball that happens, have I planned for it. And that’s apparently exactly what Marvel has delivered. And part of the relaxing is just, uh, putting my brain down, putting my anxiety down. And the analysis, that kind of planning for tomorrow. That I don’t need much more, and I can just be present.”
Evans next stars opposite Emily Blunt in “Pain Hustlers,” streaming Oct. 20 on Netflix.
