Chris Evans

Interview By: Rob Alicea

RobAlicea@TheCinemaSource.com

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Chris Evans had a humble beginning. Growing up in Sudbury, Massachusetts, Chris discovered in high school that he wanted to pursue a career as an actor. Most know the story of how Chris got his foot in the door. The summer before his senior year of high school, Chris moved to Brooklyn, NY to work as an intern for a casting office. There, he made several contacts with agents, and even landed himself an agent before returning to complete his senior year. Since then, Chris has had several television appearances and has made a name for himself as the cocky stereotypical jock in Not Another Teen Movie, then onto the idealistic graduating high school senior in The Perfect Score and then finally as a leading man in the fast paced thriller Cellular, as well as many other roles in smaller films.

For Chris, playing the role of Johnny Storm, a.k.a. the Human Torch, has been a dream come true. Unlike Johnny Storm, Chris is a very modest guy. Being able to play very extroverted characters, for Evans, is more of an enjoyable experience than just “a day of work.” “I have to say, he did it extraordinarily well,” commented co-star Julian McMahon. On playing Storm in this summer’s Fantastic Four, Chris had this to say with a smile, “It was fun. He’s more energy than anything else. He loves life. I think that his arrogance is a by-product of that energy.”

What most people don’t know is the grueling schedule Evans and his other co-stars had in order to complete the Fantastic Four in time for its July 8th release – a date that had been decided upon before shooting ever began. “It took a lot of juice everyday,” Evans explained, “Your energy level just starts to take a nosedive around noon everyday.” Chris believes it

was the type of character that Johnny Storm is that kept him smiling and going so strongly for the duration of their six-month shoot. “You come to work everyday playing this guy and you still have all this energy to crack jokes; you can’t help but take that home with you.”

Fans all over are in agreement that Evans truly encapsulated the character that comic fans have enjoyed reading about for over forty years. As with Christopher Reeves as Superman, and surely to be Christian Bale as Batman, there is always the possibility that Evans will forever be known as the Human Torch. This did not affect the actor’s choice at all when deciding to portray him. “I’m sure I could fall into that little pigeon-hole,” Chris responded. Always keeping his cool and his confidence, Chris added: “If the movie does well and they’re making more, which would enable me to be pigeon-holed, it would hopefully enable me to control and navigate the choices I make in the down-time between these movies and choose projects that legitimize myself as an actor and show range and versatility.” This response is just one small testament to this guy’s maturity. Of course his undeniable boyish charm immediately rears its little head as he follows up with a chuckle and, “That came out better than I ever thought it would!”

“He’s infectious to be around,” said Michael Chiklis about his young co-star. Being the rough and tough Thing in the Fantastic Four, Chiklis said that he had to almost “play against it.” “I was supposed to be grumpy and he (Evans) put me in a good mood.”

For Evans, having the opportunity he has to create movies that he loves is almost as much a life-long fantasy of his as is the Fantastic Four’s amazing powers, themselves. Chris was once quoted as saying: “The fact is, there’s a lot of better actors than I am who are out there and aren’t working,

so I’m still trying to come into my own.” When asked about which superpower he would love to possess, he answered: “To see into the future; it’d probably put a lot of my fears to rest.” With the upcoming release of the Fantastic Four, recently wrapping up the film London, and a role in the film Sunshine recently announced, Id have to say if your fear has anything to do with the future of your career, its definitely an ill founded one.