On Thursday, October 4th at 10:11 AM EST, Chris Evans issued this tweet on Twitter in Fayetteville, Georgia:
Officially wrapped on Avengers 4. It was an emotional day to say the least. Playing this role over the last 8 years has been an honor. To everyone in front of the camera, behind the camera, and in the audience, thank you for the memories! Eternally grateful.
Officially wrapped on Avengers 4. It was an emotional day to say the least. Playing this role over the last 8 years has been an honor. To everyone in front of the camera, behind the camera, and in the audience, thank you for the memories! Eternally grateful.
— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) October 4, 2018
I have to say that Chris Evans is an actor I’ve not yet met or had the chance to interview (because the Disney PR folks seem to be alergic to new media YouTube vlogger influencers like me) but who’s someone I feel like I’ve grown up with. To me, Chris Evans was The Human Torch before he was Captain America.
That Chris Evans could go from the not-serious, not at all patriotic, wise-cracking, practical joker that was Johnny Storm AKA The Human Torch to the exact opposite in Steve Rogers AKA Captain America is no small acting feat at all.
I recall when I first read that Evans was tabbed to be Steve Rogers, and my first reaction was “he’s wrong for the part. He’s a jokester.” But that was a reflection of just how much I considered Evans to be Johnny Storm. Boy, was I in for a suprise.
What Chris Evans has that basically made Steve Rogers is a kind of basic everyman good person quality that really gets baked into the roles he plays. To me, Chris Evans fits Captain America like the late Christopher Reeve fits Superman. I can’t see anyone else as Superman, and I can’t see anyone else as Captain America or The Human Torch.
And that’s no slight against the amazing performer that is Michael B. Jordan, and it has zero to do with race, but Evans as The Human Torch just plain worked. His portrail fit a classic storyline that Jordan’s version went off-script from. He was too serious, and the legendary playful relationship Storm had with Ben Grimm AKA The Thing was completely destroyed for something I didn’t recognize. None of that was Mr. Jordan’s fault. He went on to become Erik Kilmonger, and the rest is MARVEL history.
Now, Chris Evans becomes a part of that history, but his place will always and forever be a special one.
Thank you, Mr. Evans. And also thanks for helping to put Fayetteville, Georgia on the map as a movie-making place.
Hope to interview you, one day.