Captain America’s Chris Evans Is a Nervous Wreck, Understandably

Who is Captain America? Well, we already know that — he’s Steve Rogers, a boy from Brooklyn who was too small and weak to join the army and instead signed up for a super-soldier experiment, effectively turning him into a fighting machine.

So perhaps the question we should be asking is, who is Chris Evans?

True, Evans is no stranger to big-budget superhero movies, having played the Human Torch in both ‘Fantastic Four’ features. But his role as Captain America has placed him in an entirely new spotlight.

Since being cast as the all-American hero in March 2010, his face has been everywhere: from magazine covers to advertisements. This is no surprise, of course — any actor who’s played an iconic comic-book role has always been pushed into the limelight, and Evans is no exception. He is currently on track to star in six different Marvel films, including three for ‘Captain America’ and three for ‘The Avengers.’

Has the extra attention given us a better idea of who Chris is and what we can expect from him in the future? We put together a roundup of quotes from feature articles on the actor to see if we can better look. One thing is certain: he’s humble — and, like all movie stars, a bit insecure.

NY Times
“The question is: What’s the endgame … What’s the goal? If the goal is to be a giant movie star, then yeah, this is a great way to achieve that. That’s not necessarily what I’m trying to achieve.”

“I wouldn’t have [gone into therapy] … had I not agreed to do ‘Captain America’ and gone into panic mode … The second I agreed to do it, I was like, ‘All right, I’ll do this, but I’ve got to start working on my head.’ “

“In a few years what if I don’t want to act anymore … What if I just want to — I don’t know — do something else?”

Collider
“I feel very self-conscious. And I knew that’s what was coming. I knew that was going to be the wave. And then, the lifestyle stuff too. I went to the gym yesterday, at Bally’s, and it was different, just different. You’re signing things. You’re like, man, I guess I knew this was going to happen. I’m trying to not let it … you know it’s going to come in waves. It’s going to come in waves. That’s what I keep telling myself. This is just now. This is just right now. In three months, I’ll be able to go back to Bally’s and no one will bother me.”

GQ
“The point is that when I see a sunset or a waterfall or something, for a split second it’s so great, because for a little bit I’m out of my brain, and it’s got nothing to do with me. I’m not trying to figure it out, you know what I mean? And I wonder if I can somehow find a way to maintain that mind stillness.”

USA Today
“No! My God, I hate [extra responsibility]! [Laughs] I almost didn’t do this movie because I hate that so much. It’s just not for me. I don’t know, it’s a strange thing to talk about yourself. You have to look at it as a job, you have to look at it as work. If all of a sudden you stop -– at least if I stop — in the middle of an interview and look at myself, I become very uncomfortable, very nervous. It just feels strange. I feel false, it doesn’t feel right. This movie is a lot of that -– it’s gonna be a lot of press.”

“I have a little bit of an anxiety issue. I wasn’t making whatever movie I wanted to make — you still have to struggle — but I was very happy, very content, with what I was doing. I’d make a movie every now and then and I’ve made a good living and I got to do what I loved and I managed to stay out of the public eye, and I was very happy. This was one of those things where it was like, ‘Alright, if you do this, there’s really no off switch. There’s no rewind. You’ve got to make sure you’re ready and that you really, really want this.’ “

“I’m hoping [the press] only want to talk to Robert [Downey Jr.] and Scarlett [Johansson] for [‘The Avengers’] … I have no problem being way in the back seat and trying to let everyone else take the heat.

EW
“At the time, I remember telling a buddy of mine, ‘If the movie bombs, I’m f–ed. If the movie hits, I’m f–ed!'”

“I was just scared … I realized my whole decision making process was fear based, and you never want to make a decision out of fear … I can’t believe was almost too chicken to play Captain America.”

Are you excited to see ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’?

(Images courtesy of Paramount)

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