Chris Evans Was Worried About Being Captain America for so Long Because He Was Losing His Hair
Chris Evans became synonymous with Captain America ever since he was cast in the role. But he was once worried that his receding hair might pose a problem to playing the first Avenger.
Chris Evans had a lot of reservations about playing Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Although it may be difficult to imagine anyone else as Captain America now, Evans originally wasn’t sure he wanted to don the costume. The studio reached out to Evans early and asked him to test for the part. But Evans would respectfully decline, knowing the level of fame that would’ve come with playing the superhero.
“My suffering would be my own,” Evans once told The Hollywood Reporter about his decision.
But another, more superficial reason why Evans was reluctant to play Captain America was due to his hair. According to the actor, he believed that he might’ve been going bald.
“I have no problem saying this, but I’m losing my hair,” Evans once told E! News (via Contact Music). “The fear is this [role] can span 10 years so I can be doing this character until I’m 40. I’m supposed to be like this superior human. He can’t be balding. How horrible would it be if this superior man has male pattern baldness?”
How Chris Evans eventually decided to play Captain America
Marvel didn’t stop approaching Evans after he turned them down the first time. The studio kept asking him to reconsider the proposition, which he eventually did. He spoke with the studio’s producer, Kevin Feige, personally. Evans would even ask Iron Man’s Robert Downey Jr. for further advice regarding his situation. After overcoming his fears, Evans accepted the role, and all of his fears were quickly put to rest.
“It was the best decision I’ve ever made, and I really owe that to Kevin Feige for being persistent and helping me avoid making a giant mistake.” Evans said. “To be honest, all the things that I was fearing never really came to fruition.”
Speaking with GQ, Evans shared that he’d even gotten close with the role over the years. So much so that some of the Captain America character rubbed off on him.
“I love playing that role,” Evans said. “I feel connected to it in a way that when you revisit a character so many times you can’t help but try to absorb some of their traits and measure yourself against them.”
Evans’ Steve Rogers was shown to not only be the pinnacle of human athleticism, but almost morally incorruptible. His morality was something Evans especially thought he could learn from.
“In terms of, you know, morality, in terms of your personal integrity and the man you want to be?” Evans said. “I’d like to believe I have more in common with Captain America. He sets a pretty high bar.”
Would Chris Evans ever return as Captain America?
After Avengers Endgame, the MCU seems to have moved on from the old guard of superheroes to focus on a new generation. Evans has since decided to expand his film resume further with features outside of Marvel’s superhero projects. Still, he wouldn’t mind revisiting the role at one point given the right circumstances.
“Yeah, maybe,” Evans said. “I’ll never say never, just because it was such a wonderful experience. But I’m also very precious with it. It’s something that I am very proud of. And like I said, sometimes I can’t believe it even happened. And I wouldn’t want the black eye if it felt like a cash grab or if it didn’t live up to expectations or if it just felt like it wasn’t connected to that original thing. So, no time soon.”
