Chris Evans, whose role as Marvel hero Captain America made him one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood, has spoken in a new interview about how he wants to slow his life down and get into something “simple” and “quotidian” like pottery.
The actor, 42, made his debut as the Marvel character, also known as Steve Rogers, in 2011’s Captain America and the role has defined much of his career since then, with him reprising the role in numerous sequels and the Avengers films.
Speaking wistfully in a new interview with GQ, Evans said he would like to work less.
“I like autonomous things,” he said. “I’d like to just smoke a joint, put on some music, and like, get into pottery. You know what I mean? Seth Rogen, what he’s doing. [The actor has started selling ceramics.] It’s good for you, man.
“You just go to your workshop and make something. And how satisfying, how simple, how quotidian.
“I love acting, but you can’t act alone. I chose a profession that requires not just a lot of different artists, but it requires an audience.”
When asked whether he would ever go back to Marvel, Evans said he wouldn’t want to if it “felt like a cash grab”, adding: “So, no time soon. And ultimately I really hope to just maybe act a little bit less in my life. I have a lot of other interests. Look, by no means have I climbed any sort of a mountain in this field. I have no Oscars and I’m not lumped with other names that are at the top of the mountain in any way. But I also feel very satisfied.”
Evans’s salary for playing Captain America is thought to have peaked at $20m (£16m) per film. The 2019 movie Avengers: Endgame marked the end of the road for his iteration of Captain America.
He has been thinking a lot about space. “When I don’t pay attention to myself at all,” he said, “and just, you know, question why black holes exist, that brings into perspective a macro understanding of the fact that I’m even here is a miracle. It’s like shooting a bullet with another bullet.
“I mean, the fact that any of us are here is unbelievable. And that kind of just brings me a sense of deep peace. And I don’t have any more thoughts or questions about my own career.”
Chris Evans— (Getty Images for Netflix)
Evans also talked about envying his dog Dodger’s obliviousness. “He’s just so honest, so pure, so good,” the actor said. “He has no idea that I’m famous. He has no idea. And he can’t know, which is like this, it’s like an airtight thing. I mean, he’s famous and he’ll never know. He can’t, it’s like an impenetrable character trait. He can’t be corrupted.”
Evans said he has not been on a movie set so far in 2023 and does not plan to be for the rest of the year.
The star has been focusing on his relationship. Evans married Portuguese actor Alba Baptista, 26, in front of friends and family at a private residence in Massachusetts earlier this month. The wedding was attended by Hollywood actors such as Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, and Jeremy Renner.
