Marvel Trivia #21: ‘Iron Man’ Robert Downey Jr Convinced Chris Evans To Play Captain America? ‘Steve Rogers’ Actor Called It “The Best Decision Ever Made”
In today's Marvel Trivia piece, we tell you how Chris Evans got convinced to play Captain America and his fears at the start
Marvel Trivia #21: Chris Evans Decided To Play Captain America After ‘Iron Man’ Robert Downey Jr Spoke To Him, Actor Once Said “It Was The Best Decision I Ever Made” ( Photo Credit – Movie Still )
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The Marvel Cinematic Universe over the years introduced us to many superheroes but without a doubt, the original six Avengers – Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Thor (Chris Evans), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), are still fan favourites. But do you know that one of these Avengers got signed only because of another?
Well, that’s true. As per past reports, and revealed by the makers, it was the Tony Stark actor who convinced Evans to play Captain Steve Rogers in the MCU.
As revealed in the book – The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry, there was a lot of shuffling regarding which actor would bring to life Captain America on the silver screen. While originally the makers wanted Sebastian Stan (the actor who is now known for playing Bucky Barns aka the Winter Soldier) to play Steve Rogers, ‘Iron Man’ Robert Downey Jr and producer Joel Silver felt Chris Evans would make a better cap.
As revealed by Kevin Feige and Stephen Broussard in the book, the duo had finalised Sebastian Stan to become Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger, but Joel Silver stood firm on wanting Chris Evans onboard and even went ahead and called him in. Robert Downey Jr stepping in and having a word with Chris to say yes to the part is said to be what finally pushed the actor to step in and audition for the role.
In the book, Evans talks about becoming Captain America and the doubts he had before saying yes to it. He said, “It’s a big commitment to do these Marvel movies. Initially, the offer was nine pictures, then it went to six. But six movies can last a really long time. My concern was the fact that this will be a life-changing experience and the following commitment would be more than I could handle. But that did not turn out to be the case. It was the best decision I ever made.”
While Sebastian Stan lost Captain America’s role to Chris Evans, we guess it was a win for him as his character, Bucky Barns, also had a significant arc in the MCU and continued to star in his own show even after Evans’ Steve Rogers bid adieu to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Do you think Stan or anyone else would have made a better Captain America when compared to what Chris Evans did? Let us know in the comments.
