It’s hard to picture a world without Chris Evans, and the only reason we can say that is because he took a chance many years ago and stepped into a profession that seemingly went against every level of comfort he’d ever known.
Evans became an actor, even with anxiety that could be debilitating and a heart that seems to long for peace and tranquility, and it was a reflection of the other piece of his soul — one with boyish charm, excitement, and enough wholesomeness to make his name synonymous with Captain America. Chris Evans is as much Captain America as Steve Rogers himself, and while the role has given him the experience of a lifetime, he’s ready to pull the reigns on acting for a while.
Speaking to GQ, Evans thought hard about how to say what he has been feeling, as he didn’t want to come across as ungrateful or blasé about his career; he just has visions and ideas that are a little bit different these days:
“I don’t want to—I’ve got to frame this the right way. I was going to say, I don’t want to waste too much time in this industry, but that doesn’t really feel.… That doesn’t sound correct. I don’t want to occupy too much space in an industry that I’ve already poured 20 years into. Sometimes I wonder if I’m lacking some sort of—like, I think I’m a very driven person. I have a lot of energy. I wake up early, I get a lot done in a day, but it’s not always focused on acting. Sometimes reading a script is the last thing I want to do.”
The best thing about being human is that we’re here for this blip of time, so maybe that’s the most bittersweet thing about existence. What we do with that time, however, is what makes it so magical; we can do anything. We can try our hand at painting and drawing, and the next day, we can take guitar lessons. We can run, swim, jog, or sit on the sofa with a glass of wine and watch the leaves fall — we get to choose.
Evans doesn’t want to miss autumn
Evans shares that these days, he’s considering what goes into a project and, more importantly, what it means he might be giving up. There are a few things he’s not willing to miss out on, and rightfully so:
“Now it’s really about, well: What time of year are we filming? Am I gonna miss autumn? You know, I don’t want to miss autumn. I only have so many of them.”
If that didn’t pull at your heartstrings, we’re not sure what will. Evans only gets so many autumns. He wants to experience them, watch the leaves fall, play catch with his dog, and share the most beautiful season with those he loves most. If we had to guess, we’d say he loves a PSL occasionally, too; Evans is the king of our fall-loving hearts and goodness — doesn’t he look charming in a sweater?
Evans wants to try his hand at other things, as he explains, “I could just make furniture for nobody and be happy. He didn’t work a day this year, that’s right — Evans didn’t set foot on a film set in 2023, and it was refreshing; in fact, it was what he needed after spending the previous year working on three projects and moving around for several months to a year to ensure that his projects before that got done.
He hasn’t had time to enjoy the little things in a while, and he doesn’t regret the path of life that he’s taken, but Evans is evolving, and we think that might be the most heartwarming and mesmerizing thing about him.
He wants to appreciate life like Dodger
Evans again reveals his vulnerability by confirming that while fans worldwide may view him as a film star, he has never seen himself as such. In fact, if he had to reflect upon who he is as a man — and Evans does so very often — he’d much like to be in a realm of existence that matches that of his sweet dog, Dodger.
“What he’s not thinking about is yesterday. What he’s not worried about is tomorrow. He’s actively engaging in the moment in this really, really clean way. And this all feels a little basic, but he’s a little teacher, isn’t he? He’s like a little example of what we should be doing. And he’s just so honest, so pure, so good. 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.”
May we all be a little more like Dodger and Evans in our day-to-day lives: honest, pure, and good.