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Chris Evans said in a new GQ profile that he somewhat agrees with Quentin Tarantino’s recent claim that Marvel killed the movie star. The filmmaker said last year that people 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 films. You never really had to be front and center,” Evans said. “Sometimes even in your own films. Quentin Tarantino said it recently and I thought, you know, he’s right. The character is the star. You’re there, but you don’t feel the weight of it.”
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige disagrees, telling GQ: “I think that’s something [Chris] he said to himself, and I think many of the Avengers, including Robert, would say that to himself, which was actually very helpful in the process. But in certain cases, including Chris’ case, that’s not entirely true.”
Evans created the role of Steve Rogers/Captain America in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger and either starred or appeared in 11 Marvel films over the course of 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, something he reiterated to GQ.
“I’ll never say never just because it was such a wonderful experience,” Evans said of reprising his role as Captain America. “But it also makes me very valuable. I’m very proud of that. And like I said, sometimes I can’t believe it even happened. And I wouldn’t want the black eye if it felt like a cash grab, if it didn’t live up to expectations, or if it just felt like it had nothing to do with the original. So it’s not time soon.”
“And ultimately, I really hope that maybe I can act a little less in my life,” he added. “I have many other interests. Look, I’ve never climbed a mountain in this area. I don’t have any Oscars, nor am I lumped in with other names that are at the top of the mountain in any way. But I’m also very happy.”
Acting less becomes a new motivation for Evans. “Now it’s really about: What time of year do we shoot?” he said when discussing tackling new roles. “Will I miss fall? You know, I don’t want to miss fall. I only have so many of them. I could just make furniture for no one and be happy.”
“I don’t want to – I need to word this properly,” he continued. “I was going to say I don’t want to waste too much time in this industry, but that doesn’t really feel… That doesn’t sound right. I don’t want to take up too much space in an industry that I’ve already invested 20 years in… Sometimes I wonder if I’m missing something – I think I’m a very ambitious person. I have a lot of energy. I wake up early, get a lot done in a day, but the focus isn’t always on acting. Sometimes reading a script is the last thing I want to do.”
Evans said he’s lucky that 11 years of Marvel films have given him the opportunity to act less and still be financially secure.
“If I wanted to stop everything now, I could,” Evans said. “That’s incredible. And that is an indescribable blessing. Especially because life is unpredictable and anything can happen… I’m a bit of an over-planner. I try to set things up so that I have pre-planned for any kind of future curveball that happens. And that’s supposedly exactly what Marvel has provided. And part of that relaxation is simply turning off my thoughts and reducing my anxiety. And the analysis, the kind of planning for tomorrow. I don’t have to do that as much anymore and I can just be present.”
Evans next stars opposite Emily Blunt in Pain Hustlers, which airs on Netflix October 20.