When you watch superstar Chris Evans on the silver screen, you mostly see him as an all-action American superhero, slinging his shield at Nazi secret agents or killing robots. But in reality, even this superhero suffered from anxiety and trepidation.
In an episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, the actor said that there was a phase in his life when he was contemplating about quitting acting, after going through a series of horrific anxiety and panic attacks. Chris is best known for his character of Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, in the Marvel blockbusters Captain America and The Avengers series. He revealed that it almost came to him turning down the role of superhero Captain America.
The actor says that he began experiencing major anxiety at the time of the release of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer’ in 2007. During this time, he says he even did a film called ‘Sunshine‘ that went unnoticed. But it was during the shooting for ‘Puncture in 2010 that he says it got very bad.
He says:
It was the first time I started having mini panic attacks on set. I really started to think, ‘I’m not sure if this (acting) is the right thing for me, I’m not sure if I’m feeling as healthy as I should be feeling’.
It was then that Marvel came to him with the offer to test for the part of Steve Rogers. It was a nine-film deal that would shoot him to fame. But fearing his anxiety problem might escalate, he turned down the opportunity to test multiple times. The Hollywood Reporter also states that the proposed number of required films was reduced to six and the offered pay was increased
He says that he finally sought advise from “Iron Man” star Robert Downey, Jr., who asked him not to make a major decision based on fear. Chris finally decided to say yes to the film and the rest is history!
He adds:
It was the best decision I’ve ever made, and I really owe that to (Marvel chief) Kevin Feige for being persistent and helping me avoid making a giant mistake. To be honest, all the things that I was fearing never really came to fruition.
We are super glad Chris is doing well now and that he said yes to Captain America because we cannot imagine anyone else doing it better than him!