Having played Marvel’s paragon of American values for Joe and Anthony Russo on Captain America: Winter Soldier and Civil War, Chris Evans is finally getting a chance to stretch a bit and play a different kind of character.
Specifically, a character with facial hair. In the Netflix original movie The Gray Man, Evans plays a former colleague of a CIA assassin, played by American treasure Ryan Gosling, who’s discovered “dark agency secrets.”
Evans’ assassin must then lead a manhunt to find and kill Gosling. When the MCU veteran was asked how he got into character as a psychopath, he answered like any truly great actor who immerses themselves into their craft: By growing a mustache.
“My mustache! What can I say? Certain characters just come to life through something simple, whether it’s wardrobe or a prop. The second that we cut that mustache I was like ‘Oh there he is, there’s this psycho.’ But seriously, I’m excited for audiences to see Ryan in a true action movie and to have so many good characters and so many good performances and to blend those worlds of action and drama.”
With a budget of $200 million, The Gray Man is set to be Netflix’s most expensive original film, and premieres at a time when the streaming service could use a hit outside of the superannuating Stranger Things series. The company has recently laid off hundreds of employees and found itself losing steam to competitors like Disney Plus and its endless stream of Star Wars and Marvel shows.
The Russo brothers’ next film, The Electric State, also set at Netflix, will star Stranger Things breakout star Millie Bobby Brown and has a similarly supersized budget, which has already caused controversy among fans.
The Gray Man opens at select theaters July 15 and premieres on Netflix July 22.