Chris Evans Responds To Quentin Tarantino's Assertion That Marvel "Actors Are Not Movie Stars"

Chris Evans Responds To Quentin Tarantino's Assertion That Marvel "Actors Are Not Movie Stars"

You may recall an interview from last year in which Quentin Tarantino claimed that Marvel's characters, not its actors, are the stars of the movies. Now, Chris Evans has responded...

By MarkCassidy - Sep 20, 2023 08:09 AM EST
Filed Under: Captain America

Last year, Quentin Tarantino was asked about some of his fellow filmmakers' attitudes towards Marvel/superhero movies, and while he admitted to enjoying some comic book films (he's a big fan of Thor: Ragnarök), he also outlined his major problem with what he described as the "Marvel-ization of Hollywood."

The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood director was asked about his recent assertion that he has no interest in being a "hired hand" for Marvel Studios, and gave the following response.

“You have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters. But they’re not movie stars. Right? Captain America is the star. Or Thor is the star. I mean, I’m not the first person to say that. I think that’s been said a zillion times… but it’s like, you know, it’s these franchise characters that become a star.”

While there is certainly an element of truth to this (the character does tend to become bigger than the actor), would anyone really argue that Chris Evans, for example, shouldn't be considered a movie star because he played Captain America?

As it turns out, Evans actually agrees with him - to an extent, at least.

“That was the beauty of working on Marvel films. You never really had to be front and center,” Evans said during an interview with GQ magazine. “Even in your own films sometimes. Quentin Tarantino said it recently and I was like, you know, he’s right. The character is the star. You’re there, but you don’t feel the burden of it.”

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige doesn't quite see things the same way as his former collaborator, however.

“I think it’s something [Chris] was telling himself, and I think it’s something many of the Avengers, including Robert, would tell themselves, which actually was very helpful to the process. But in certain cases, including Chris’, it’s not entirely true.”

Many other directors - including the likes of Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola - have raised similar issues to Tarantino, but many view their assessment of the current state of Hollywood as being a little unfair when so many other types of films are being made alongside superhero movies.

As for Evans, while he did leave the door open for a potential return to the MCU as Steve Rogers, it sounds like he's in no rush to get back in front of the camera.

"Ultimately, I really hope to just maybe act a little bit less in my life,” he tells the mag. “I have a lot of other interests. Look, by no means have I climbed any sort of a mountain in this field. I have no Oscars and I’m not lumped with other names that are at the top of the mountain in any way. But I also feel very satisfied.”

Evans can next be seen alongside Emily Blunt in Pain Hustlers, which is set to stream on Netflix from October 20.

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marvel72
marvel72 - 9/20/2023, 8:10 AM
Best Captain America ever.
OmegaBlack13
OmegaBlack13 - 9/20/2023, 8:10 AM
I think a key issue here was that people were getting mad at Tarantino because they didn’t realize that movie star doesn’t just mean “person who gets lead roles in movies”. Chris Evans is not enough to sell a movie, as we can see by that thing with Apple he did or The Grey Man.
Nate212
Nate212 - 9/20/2023, 3:12 PM
@OmegaBlack13 - Considering The Gray Man is getting a sequel, this is wrong. He might not have been the lead actor, but people praised his performance, even if they disliked the film itself.
MarvelZombie616
MarvelZombie616 - 9/20/2023, 8:10 AM
It's taken out of context, but it's still not true entirely.

If you are a bad actor, people will not see the character.
You have to be a great actor and if you are, you are also s movie star.

And in the sense of the word Tarantino is wrong.
If you star in a movie, you are a movie star, plain and simple.
Mrtoke
Mrtoke - 9/21/2023, 2:24 PM
@MarvelZombie616 - you can star in a porno, don’t make you a porn star
MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 9/20/2023, 8:16 AM
To take a single quote or so and neglect Tarantino's actual argument gets irritating, and all the more refreshing to see these stars agree with him.
WakandanQueen
WakandanQueen - 9/20/2023, 8:27 AM
Movie stars is kind of a thing of the past. The only people recognized widely as movie stars nowadays have been in this for decades. I guess some people are quite close to getting there, in terms of being recognizable and getting lots of attention on a project just because they are in it. But that doesn't even translate to selling tickets nowadays. I'm actually quite happy with the age of characters being the stars. Evans made Steve iconic though.
Vision85
Vision85 - 9/20/2023, 8:33 AM
It's pretty hard to argue with Tarantino beccause even his objective opinions are very well thought out. He was on the money for sure, but also it isn't really a reflection of the actors involved. I think in many ways it is somewhat enviable to be able to detach from the "star" and invest in the characters. Like, it's hard to watch a Tom Cruise film if you aren't a fan but he has been in some great films. It's a shame to have that hurdle to overcome.
Toonstrack
Toonstrack - 9/20/2023, 7:19 PM
@Vision85 - "objective opinions" is an oxymoron.
Vision85
Vision85 - 9/21/2023, 5:03 AM
@Toonstrack - i meant subjective 😅
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 9/20/2023, 8:35 AM
Yet everyone knows the actors that play these characters names and see movies based on having those actors in them.
The character is the Star and not the actor could be said for a lot of Hollywood. Not just super hero films.
The comment all together was just moot.
Matador
Matador - 9/20/2023, 10:32 AM
@slickrickdesigns - I don't know; in Pulp Fiction the big draw were the actors in that movie not really the characters. When the trailer for Pulp Fiction was shown what drew the crowd the actors or the characters of the movie?

The Marvel movies bring in the crowds through it's flashy visuals and story telling but it's both it's the characters and the actors too.

Remember when they replaced The Hulk actor and War Machine actors not batted an eye they went to see the characters.
mountainman
mountainman - 9/20/2023, 8:47 AM
Complex issue. While mostly true, what actors younger than 50 are drawing people to movies based on their name alone?

The biggest movie stars today have been at it for decades. The only younger person that I could think of that may actually be drawing people to theaters based on their name is Timothy Chalamet. I guess we have to see how Wonka does to see if this theory may be true or not. Is there anyone else under 40 that is drawing audiences in consistently?

I’d say that the modern movie landscape has favored filmmakers or franchises over the actors. They aren’t seen as the draw that they used to be.
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