We have had plenty of great articles on Cap recently, each of which attracting a number of great comments. These have got me thinking about the character and about the article I wrote “A new America” a while ago. I am a big enough man to admit most of what I said in that article was wrong.
So what do we want from a live action Steve Rogers? There are several aspects of this character being talked about; physical condition, hair/eye colour, acting talent and even the costume. There is so much to get right and so many people with guns cocked, locked and ready to rock, that the studios cannot afford failure. It’s no wonder we are flooding the Editorial page with Cap related articles.
When it comes to the costume, I have read concerns on how any costume variation will translate into live action. My response is – nicely! We all have our favourites but it doesn’t really matter which costume is used, they will all work if handled right. The way to make a comic costume work in live action doesn’t necessarily mean a change, you simply show its purpose. Batman Begins is the best example of this I have ever seen. We see why he wears a cape, why he shapes his cowl, every aspect of the suit is given a purpose and that is why we accept it. So does Captain Americas’ suit have purpose other than hiding identity? Of course! Why was he created in the first place? Just to be a hero? No. Captain America is a walking billboard for the American dream, a single man unifying a nation and bringing hope to the country he fights for. His suit is his flag, the symbol of inspiration for all who see it. If that is put across in the right way then it won’t matter which variation of the costume is used. Jokes can even be made about him standing out like an ABBA tribute band at Oz Fest!
What kind of person should play Cap? Well, Cap must have Blonde hair and Blue eyes but the actor doesn’t need to. Hair dye and contacts are easy ways of achieving this so why narrow down the potential candidates for something so easily fixed. His height and build are very important. He needs to be at least 6ft but to me, Steve Rogers shouldn’t be as muscular as many pictures you see. Most images you find on Google show a muscle bound goliath of a man but Captain America should be a man in peak condition, for strength, speed and agility. This means more toning than bulk is required. I’m thinking Brad Pitt in Troy or Hugh Jackman in Origins for the sort of shape required.
What about nationality? It’s a touchy subject but lets remember this man will be playing Captain America in a fictional movie. He will not be the real life, living embodiment of the American ideals. If he can play a convincing American then he gets my vote on that part. Another grey area is one brought up with Will Smiths name. Can Steve Rogers be black? No, he can’t. I am in no way racist but as much as we might like to think otherwise, the Governments during WW2 were. We all know Captain Americas origin, do you really think the Government of that era would choose a black man to become their symbol of hope? Again, I personally have no trouble with this but to make a believable movie Steve Rogers must be a white American with blonde hair and blue eyes.
So now lets talk about acting talent. No one, and I mean no one wants to see a bad performance. Having said that, I have spent too long under the delusion that the actor who plays Cap needs to be able to go toe to toe with, or have the screen presence to take the focus off RDJ, Ed Norton and Samuel L Jackson. I no longer believe this is such an important factor. Let’s think about the dynamic of the group, or at least their dynamic for their first movie outing. Thor is the God Of Thunder, yet the others don’t believe him, they just see him as someone with amazing power but with an equally delusional sense of grandeur. I’ve not seen Hemsworth act but this means he isn’t going head-to-head for the leader role. Bruce Banner won’t exactly be gunning for the top spot either, he wants to keep his head down. Ed Norton is a talented enough actor to fade into the background when necessary. This leaves Cap and Iron Man gunning for number one. How do these two start off in the Avenger team? Tony Stark believes he is above the team, he didn’t want to join but he eventually did simply because he thought it was the right thing to do. He doesn’t want to take orders and thinks he knows best. Steve Rogers has the best strategic mind in the group but has just been thawed out into a strange new world. He is unsure of everything and everyone including himself and the other members are equally unsure of him, a stranger they spent so much time searching for. The ONLY member of the team who acknowledges Caps worth is Nick Fury. Because of this Captain America doesn’t need to “out act” Iron Man. It would even be more realistic to have Cap shouted down by Iron Man when trying to put forward a plan. The entire movie could be Iron Man ignoring Caps advice only to fail and admit Steve Rogers is the man to lead the group to victory. Even when Cap is the established leader of the Avengers the enigmatic one is always Iron Man. Therefore the actor chosen to play Captain America doesn’t need to be on par with Oscar winner/worthy actors. He just needs to be able to do play his own role convincingly, anything else is a job for the director.
So that’s my thoughts. The actor needed for Captain America is not as muscular as most people think and doesn’t need to be the world class thespian we expect. The sooner we understand this the less chance there is of misplaced disappointment.
