Some actors seem to destined to portray certain characters. For example, it’s hard to imagine anyone else besides Robert Downey Jr. taking on the role of Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man. The same goes for Tony’s fellow Avenger Captain America—a perfect fit for actor Chris Evans. But, according to Yahoo, Evans recently revealed that he almost turned down the Steve Rogers/Captain America role because of anxiety.
The actor made a guest appearance on The Hollywood Reporter’s “Awards Chatter” podcast to talk about his thespian roots. During the chat, Evans opens up about how anxiety and panic attacks made him second guess his career choice. He started experiencing anxiety after losing out on several roles, a relationship breakup, and the anticipation of Fantastic Four: Rise of Silver Surfer hitting theaters in 2007.
Evans also experienced several “mini panic attacks on set” while filming Puncture in 2010. So when Marvel extended an offer to audition for Captain America, he was understandably shaken by how this could change his life as a rising actor.
Becoming Steve Rogers was a massive commitment—several films and a lot of money and fame. He turned down several offers to test for the role before finally accepting it when they offered directly to him. He consulted with a few trusted people, including Downey Jr. and picked up the infamous shield. Now he says it was the best decision he could have made.
“It was the best decision I’ve ever made, and I really owe that to [President of Marvel Studios] Kevin Feige for being persistent and helping me avoid making a giant mistake.”
Marvel Studios
Evans also built a friendship with Thor actor Chris Hemsworth on set as a fellow new-ish actor. At the time, several other actors were already established in their careers so the Chrises had to forge their own path together.
“It was nice having Chris Hemsworth around because he was going through it, too. I mean, at the time Downey’s Downey and Scarlett’s Scarlett [Johansson]. And [Mark] Ruffalo and [Jeremy] Renner, at the time, were crushing it, too. Hemsworth and I were very new and we also had the stand-alones and so I think we shared in our anxiety, and at least that made it a little bit more comforting.”
Now the actor is moving on with his life and career as a massive star. We are all so glad that Chris Evans didn’t give up on acting—and that Marvel didn’t give up on him.
Featured Image: Marvel Studios