Why Chris Evans Turned Down the Role of Captain America 'A Few Times'

In 2011, Chris Evans made his first big-screen appearance as superhero Steve Rogers/Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger. It may now seem impossible for Marvel fans to imagine any other actor in the role, but Evans once admitted that it took a lot of convincing to get him to sign on for the part.

While appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2016, Evans revealed that he actually turned down the project "a few times" before finally saying yes. When asked by Kimmel why he was so reluctant to play such a popular superhero, Evans replied that, "I was scared."

In addition to admitting to "having some social anxiety with this industry," Evans explained that his main hesitation was in signing what was ostensibly a nine-picture contract. "In doing movies one at a time, if all of a sudden you decide you don't want to do it anymore, you're afforded the opportunity to take a step back and recalibrate," Evans said. "When you have a giant contract, if all of a sudden you're not responding well? Too bad, you've got to suit up again. That was scary."

Though he initially declined the role, Evans said the offer just kept coming back to him. And after talking to family and friends about it, he realized what an amazing opportunity he was being offered—and what was holding him back.

"I was saying no out of fear, really," Evans said. "You can't do anything out of fear. You can't be doing something because you're scared. It ended up kind of clicking to me in the way that whatever you're scared of, push yourself into it."

Evans's Captain America has gone on to become one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most popular characters, though it's largely rumored that Avengers: Endgame will mark his final outing as The Captain. Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, and Keke Palmer are just a few of the actors whose names are swirling as possible replacements for Evans.