After over a decade of portraying Steve Rogers in The Marvel Cinematic Universe - and doing a damn fine job of it - it's hard to imagine anyone other than Chris Evans in the role, but it very nearly didn't happen.
In the buildup to the announcement that Marvel Studios had found its Captain America, the trades reported that it was far from a sure thing, and the actor had not committed to a deal. As it turns out, Evans actually decided to pass on the role until his mum had a word!
After a lengthy interview with the actor, Esquire writer Brady Langmann had a chat with Lisa Evans, and she shared a very interesting anecdote about convincing her son to play the Sentinel of Liberty.
"His biggest fear was losing his anonymity. He said, ‘I have a career now where I can do work I really like. I can walk my dog. Nobody bothers me. Nobody wants to talk to me. I can go wherever I want. And the idea of losing that is terrifying to me.’ … I said to him, ‘Look, you want to do acting work for the rest of your life? If you do this part, you will have the opportunity. You’ll never have to worry about paying the rent. If you take the part, you just have to decide, It’s not going to affect my life negatively — it will enable it.'”
It seems we all owe a debt of gratitude to Mrs. Evans! Be sure to check out the interview in full HERE.