Why Chris Evans Didn't Want To Play Captain America

Life as the star of a Marvel movie might seem like a dream come true to some. Aside from becoming wealthy and famous, you become synonymous with a classic comic book character for the remainder of your tenure in the MCU. You also get to contribute to one of the largest multimedia franchises in history. All of these things can seem very attractive, and might fool you into thinking there's no reason to deny one's self the opportunity of a lifetime.

This may be true to some extent. Being in an MCU movie might be a golden opportunity, but that doesn't mean there is no solid reason to avoid the franchise. There's a lot of contractual obligations to worry about, and the responsibility of taking on an iconic character's legacy is no small potatoes. And it's worries like these that almost kept Chris Evans, Captain America himself, from taking up the shield and becoming one of the world's most popular characters.

When Marvel first began gearing up for the bulk of the MCU's first phase following the massive success of Iron Man, they very quickly approached Chris Evans with opportunities to test out for the role of Steve Rogers. Evans was a comic book movie vet, having played the Human Torch in the original Fantastic Four film and its sequel. Plus, he was a dead ringer for Steve Rogers. However, something was keeping Evans from taking the role at first.

As Evans told The Hollywood Reporter, he "started having mini panic attacks on set" while filming Puncture. "I really started to think, 'I'm not sure if this [acting] is the right thing for me,'" he said. That, combined with the obligations that come with signing a multi-movie contract made Evans hesitate to pull the trigger on what would inevitably be a defining era of his career.

However, Marvel didn't let up in its negotiations. The studio even altered the terms of its plan, reducing the number of movies he would be in to just six and increasing the associated salary. However, it wasn't until he took a tip from Robert Downey Jr. and some other close confidants that he finally accepted Marvel's offer.

"It was the best decision I've ever made," Evans said." And I really owe that to 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."