Chris Evans (actor)

Evans's first credited appearance was in a short educational film titled Biodiversity: Wild About Life! in 1997.[18] In 1999, Evans was the model for "Tyler" in Hasbro's board game Mystery Date. The special edition of the game included an electronic phone, which Evans is shown speaking into on the game box.[19] In September 2000, he moved to Los Angeles and lived in Oakwood Apartments in Toluca Lake, a complex where he met fellow young actors.[16] "You make a lot of strange connections with a lot of thirsty people, but you kind of are one of the thirsty people, too. It was a great time. It really was. It's like the L.A. welcoming committee", he said.[16]

Evans made his screen debut in the family drama The Newcomers in 2000. A year later, he appeared in Not Another Teen Movie (2001), a parody film where Evans plays high school footballer Jake Wyler. In 2004, he had a lead role in The Perfect Score (2004),[20] a teen comedy-heist about a group of students who break into an office to steal answers to the SAT exam. The film was critically panned; Matthew Leyland of the BBC thought Evans' performance was "bland", and the cast had "little chemistry".[21] Also that year, he co-starred in the action-thriller Cellular, with Jason Statham, Kim Basinger and William H. Macy. Evans plays college student Ryan, who must save a kidnapped woman (Basinger), after randomly receiving a phone call from her. Although the feature received a mixed response; Slant Magazine's review opined that "Evans proves himself a sufficiently charismatic leading man".[22] Evans later recalled that some of his early films were "really terrible".[23]

In 2005, Evans starred in the independent drama Fierce People, an adaptation of Dirk Wittenborn's 2002 novel of the same name. He also starred in London (2005), a romantic drama, where he played a drug user with relationship problems.[24] The film was negatively received by critics.[25]

For his first comic book film, he portrayed superhero Johnny Storm / Human Torch in Fantastic Four (2005), based on the Marvel Comic of the same name. Upon release, the film was a commercial success despite a divided reception.[26] In his mixed review, Joe Leydon of Variety praised the cast for their efforts and thought Evans gave a "charismatic breakout performance".[27] Two years later, he reprised the role of Johnny Storm / Human Torch in the sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007).[28] Toronto Star's Rob Salem thought the film was a "significant improvement" from the first", and the critic from Chicago Reader thought the cast were "amusing enough" to carry the sequel.[29] In 2016, reflecting on his experience of the Fantastic Four films, Evans said they left him "a little uneasy – because the movies weren't exactly the way I’d envisioned them".[30]

He voiced the character Casey Jones in the animation TMNT (2007), based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series. The film was released by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Weinstein Company, to mixed reviews from critics but was a commercial success, grossing $95 million worldwide.[31] Next, he starred in Danny Boyle's science fiction thriller Sunshine (2007), about a group of astronauts on a dangerous mission to reignite the dying Sun.[32] It garnered generally favorable reviews; film critic Roger Ebert wrote the cast were "effective ... they almost all play professional astronaut/scientists, and not action-movie heroes".[33] He also had a role in the comedy drama The Nanny Diaries (2007), where he plays the love interest to Scarlett Johansson's character. His final release of 2007 was Battle for Terra, another science fiction animation, about a peaceful alien planet which faces destruction from colonization by a displaced remainder of the human race. It premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, followed by a wider theatrical release in 2009.[34] Reception was largely mixed; review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an approval rating of 49% based on 95 critics.[35]

Evans at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival

In 2008, Evans appeared as Detective Paul Diskant in the thriller Street Kings, with co-stars Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, and Hugh Laurie. He was then cast in The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, co-starring Bryce Dallas Howard and Ellen Burstyn. It is a romantic drama based on Tennessee Williams' 1957 screenplay. The film received negative reviews, and The Village Voice critic called Evans' performance "catatonic".[36] The following year he appeared in the science fiction thriller Push, with Dakota Fanning and Camilla Belle. The film follows a group of people born with various superhuman abilities who unite to take down a secret agency that is genetically transforming normal citizens into an army of super soldiers. Principal photography was held in Hong Kong, where Evans suffered bruises from doing his own fight scenes.[37] The film's response was generally negative; Claudia Puig of USA Today described it as "silly" and "convoluted",[38] while Mick LaSelle of San Francisco Chronicle criticized the story which "makes no sense", and predicted that Evans, "one of these days he's going to make a good movie".[39]

In 2010, Evans appeared in Sylvain White's The Losers, an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name from the DC Comics imprint Vertigo.[40] Evans was drawn to playing Captain Jake Jensen because the character "doesn't take things too seriously. He's the one that kind of loves life and he's always looking for a joke".[41] Although the film gained mixed reviews, The Guardian's critic praised the cast for their "breezy charm" and for Evans' comic relief.[42] Evans then appeared in another comic book adaptation, Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), where he portrayed Lucas Lee, one of Ramona Flowers' seven evil exes.[43] The film was a box-office bomb but received positive reviews from critics.[44]

He starred in Mark Kassen and Adam Kassen's drama, Puncture, which was filmed in Houston, Texas. The film premiered at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival as one of the spotlight projects for the 10th anniversary of the festival.[45] Evans portrays Mike Weiss, who was a real-life young lawyer and drug addict. Upon release, critical reception was divided. Lou Lumenick of the New York Post praised the "solid" performances despite noting weaknesses in the dialogue and subplots.[46] The A.V. Club critic thought the film "rarely manages to focus on [Weiss]".[47] Next, Evans was cast in the romantic comedy What's Your Number? (2011) opposite Anna Faris, an adaptation of Karyn Bosnak's book 20 Times a Lady.[48]

In 2010, Evans signed on for a multi-film deal with Marvel Studios, to portray Marvel Comics character Steve Rogers / Captain America.[49][50] Evans initially rejected the part, but Marvel persisted until he accepted.[16] He found the character fun to portray, and added, "I think Marvel is doing a lot of good things right now".[51] The first film to be released was Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). The story follows the protagonist who is transformed into the super-soldier Captain America and must stop the Red Skull from using the Tesseract as an energy-source for world domination. The film was a critical and commercial success, earning over $370 million worldwide box office.[52] In their positive review, The Sydney Morning Herald thought the film was a "fresh twist on 20th-century history", and praised Evans' "confident-but-subtle treatment" displayed in his role.[53] A year later, he reprised the character in The Avengers, with a large ensemble cast that included Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner. The film was another commercial success; it grossed $1.519 billion and became one of the highest-grossing films of all time.[54][55] Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an approval rating of 92% based on more than 350 reviews.[56] The Avengers received an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects and a British Academy Film Award (BAFTA) nomination for Best Special Visual Effects.[57][58] For his last release of 2012, he played hitman Robert Pronge in the biographical film The Iceman, about the murderer Richard Kuklinski. Evans' role was originally intended for James Franco, but he dropped out before filming began.[59] In order to look the part, Evans wore a wig and grew a beard.[60] Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney complimented Evans' versatile performance, which was the polar opposite his Captain America character.[61]

Returning to the science fiction genre, Evans was cast in Bong Joon-ho's Snowpiercer (2013), which is based on the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige.[62] Bong was initially reluctant to cast him, but changed his mind after seeing Evans' performances in Sunshine and Puncture, which showed a "sensitive" side.[63] The story takes place aboard the Snowpiercer train as it travels around the globe, carrying the last members of humanity after a failed attempt at climate engineering to stop global warming. The film was critically acclaimed, with the critic from Salon describing the performances of the cast as "sensational".[64] Snowpiercer appeared in several lists of best films of 2014, including The Guardian's classics of modern South Korean Cinema.[65]

Evans at a press conference for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 2014

In 2014, Evans starred in Captain America: The Winter Soldier,[66] the sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger. In the film, Captain America joins forces with Black Widow and Falcon to uncover a conspiracy within the spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. while facing an assassin known as the Winter Soldier. Principal photography began in 2013, and included locations in Cleveland, Ohio and Washington, D.C. Evans prepared for the fight sequences by taking lessons in parkour, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, karate and boxing.[67] Similarly to the first film, it was well-received and a commercial success, grossing $714 million worldwide.[68] Peter Howell of Toronto Star thought Evans was "impressive" for bringing the comic book character to life, despite the plot being "a little too complicated".[69] Evans has said Captain America: The Winter Soldier was his favorite Marvel film because he started to understand his character, and enjoyed working with directors Anthony and Joe Russo.[70]

In March 2014, Evans said he may consider doing less acting roles so that he can focus on directing.[71][72] Evans made his directorial debut in the romantic comedy Before We Go (2014), in which he also starred opposite Alice Eve. The film tells the story of two strangers who meet at Grand Central Terminal, and form an unlikely bond overnight. It premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.[73] The New York Times critic, Ben Keninsberg, opined that it was a "modest" effort and the actors' chemistry made it watchable.[74] That same year, he starred in another romantic comedy, opposite Michelle Monaghan in Playing It Cool.[75] In 2015, he played Captain America again in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the sequel to 2012's The Avengers.[76] A year later, he reprised the role in Captain America: Civil War, the sequel to Captain America: The Winter Soldier.[77] Both of these films were box office hits, grossing $1.4 billion and $1.1 billion worldwide, respectively.[78][79] The Hollywood Reporter learned that his salary for Captain America: Civil War was $15 million.[80]

Evans starred in the family drama Gifted in 2017, about an intellectually gifted seven-year-old who becomes the subject of a custody battle between her uncle (Evans) and grandmother (Lindsay Duncan). The film received a favorable response; Empire magazine opined that Evans' played his part with "conviction" despite a predictable plot.[81] The same year, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[82]

In 2018, he starred in the sequel Avengers: Infinity War, and in 2019, the fourth sequel Avengers: Endgame.[83] In 2018, Evans announced that he would retire from portraying Captain America after Avengers: Endgame.[84] He made his Broadway debut in the play Lobby Hero, directed by Trip Cullman, which opened in March 2018 at the Helen Hayes Theatre as a part of Second Stage Theatre's first Broadway season.[85][86] For his performance, he was nominated for a Drama League Award.[87]

In 2019, Evans played an Israeli Mossad agent in the Netflix thriller The Red Sea Diving Resort,[88] loosely based on the events of Operation Moses and Operation Joshua in 1984–1985. Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a mixed review; he thought Evans gave a "sincere" performance, despite observing weaknesses in the film's pacing and tone.[89] Later that year, he starred in Rian Johnson's mystery drama Knives Out, which was released in November to positive reviews from critics.[90][91] The ensemble cast included Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Michael Shannon. As of 2020, Evans serves as an executive producer and stars in Defending Jacob, an Apple TV+ crime drama miniseries based on the novel of the same name.[92]

In 2012, Evans affirmed his support for same-sex marriage, stating: "It's insane that civil rights are being denied people in this day and age. It's embarrassing, and it's heartbreaking. It goes without saying that I'm completely in support of gay marriage. In ten years we'll be ashamed that this was an issue."[97] In August 2016, Evans supported Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey's continued enforcement of the state's ban on assault weapons.[98] Evans endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.[99] He has also been critical of President Donald Trump.[100][12]

In April 2019, he launched a website called A Starting Point to "'demystify politics' by directly showcasing both Democratic and Republican lawmakers succinctly giving their position on 'dozens' of different political issues."[101][102] After Alabama enacted the Human Life Protection Act in May 2019, which imposes a near-total ban on abortions in the state, Evans wrote on Twitter that the bill was "absolutely unbelievable" and continued by writing, "If you're not worried about Roe v. Wade, you're not paying attention."[103]