(1981-)

Who Is Chris Evans?

Born and raised in the Boston area, Chris Evans landed his first major film role in the spoof Not Another Teen Movie. He played the Human Torch in two Fantastic Four flicks, but it was his turn as another superhero that propelled him to fame in the enormously successful Captain America and The Avengers blockbusters. Evans also earned acclaim for his performance in the dystopian Snowpiercer and made a well-received Broadway debut in 2018.

Early Life

Christopher Robert Evans was born on June 13, 1981, in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in the nearby town of Sudbury. While his dad, Robert, provided financial stability as a dentist, Evans and his three siblings were drawn to the performing arts world of their mother, Lisa, a dancer turned youth theater director. As Evans recalled, “We were like the von Trapps [from The Sound of Music], all singing and dancing.”

A natural athlete, Evans wrestled and played lacrosse at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, when not invested in his school or community theater. He spent the summer before his senior year of high school interning for a casting company in New York City, making valuable contacts and honing his skills at the Lee Strasberg Institute. Eager to return, the aspiring actor sped through his senior year to graduate a half semester ahead of his classmates.

Movies and TV Shows

‘Captain America’ and ‘The Avengers’

In July 2011, Evans joined the burgeoning Marvel Cinematic Universe empire with Captain America: The First Avenger. As Steve Rogers, the scrawny but dutiful serviceman who undergoes a massive physical transformation to become the titular super soldier, Evans capably displayed the earnestness central to his character, along with the eye-popping physique and fighting skills requisite for a modern action star.

The First Avenger was just the start of the MCU run for Evans, who joined Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and other big-name actors, both in and out of costume, for the superhero blockbuster The Avengers (2012). Evans went on to headline the sequels of his own Captain America franchise with TheWinter Soldier (2014) and Civil War (2016), while also leading the charge for The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and surfacing in other Marvel features, like Ant-Man (2015) and Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).

Initially reluctant to wield the Captain’s shield due to the extended commitment, Evans was ready to move on by the time his contract drew to a close, with Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) showcasing his final performances as America’s super solider.

Early TV Roles: ‘Opposite Sex,’ ‘Boston Public’

Sent to Los Angeles by his agent in the late 1990s to audition for a show called Get Real (where he met Anne Hathaway), Evans instead wound up with a supporting role on Opposite Sex, alongside Milo Ventimiglia, as one of the few boys to attend a former all-girls academy. The teen comedy-drama lasted for only eight episodes in the summer of 2000, but still provided vital exposure for its young stars. Evans went on to make appearances in The Fugitive, Skin and the popular Boston Public. In 2008, with his successful film career well under way, he provided voice work for Adult Swim’s stop-motion series Robot Chicken.

‘Not Another Teen Movie’ to ‘Cellular’

Evans’ first major film role came in Not Another Teen Movie (2001), a spoof of high school dramas like She’s All That (1999) and earlier predecessors. As football star Jake Wyler, he follows the formulaic procedure of accepting a bet to date the nerdy, glasses-wearing girl, delivering a silly highlight by squirting on the whipped cream bikini made famous by Ali Larter in Varsity Blues (1999).

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He followed with another high school comedy, The Perfect Score (2004), as part of a group of students who steal the answers to an SAT exam, and then the action-thriller Cellular (2004), where he showed his future leading man chops by helping to rescue Kim Basinger from her captors.

‘Fantastic Four,’ ‘Scott Pilgrim’ and Other Comic Adaptations

Prior to his star-making turn in Captain America, Evans went the superhero route for Fantastic Four (2005), as Johnny Storm/Human Torch. The film was a commercial success, but a downturn at the box office for Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), along with another round of largely negative reviews, led to the cancellation of a third installment.

Returning to comic-sourced material, Evans provided voice work for the animated TMNT (2007), as the boyfriend of the Ninja Turtles’ colleague, April O’Neil. He later co-starred in the action comedy The Losers (2010), which drew mixed reviews despite a strong cast, and landed a supporting role in the entertaining Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), as an over-the-top version of the Hollywood action hero he had become.

Meanwhile, the actor took advantage of the all-American good looks and charm that made him a natural for romantic comedies. He played the “Harvard Hottie” of past and future co-star Scarlett Johannson in The Nanny Diaries (2007), before becoming the ideal match for Anna Faris in What’s Your Number? (2011).

Drama and Sci-Fi: ‘London’ to ‘Sunshine’

Coming off his early teen films, Evans showed he could handle weightier fare with London (2005), as a junkie struggling to get over his ex-girlfriend. He later took on Tennessee Williams in The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (2008), with Bryce Dallas Howard, and portrayed a real-life lawyer and drug addict who goes after the pharmaceutical industry in Puncture (2010).

On the sci-fi front, Evans co-starred in Danny Boyle’s little-seen but critically acclaimed Sunshine (2007), as an engineer on a space mission to jumpstart the dying sun. His effort was praised by its director, who called Evans “a bit of a Mary Poppins — he can pull anything out of the bag.” He then played a telekinetic in Push (2009), though his performance was drowned out by a confusing plot.

‘Iceman,’ ‘Snowpiercer’

Despite his Marvel commitments requiring much of his energy, Evans found the time for other screen projects to his liking. Iceman (2012) gave him the chance to overturn his squeaky-clean superhero image as a contract killer who assists Michael Shannon’s sadistic hitman. Snowpiercer (2013) placed him back in leading man territory, albeit as an antihero in a dystopian future.

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‘Before We Go,’ ‘The Gifted’

The actor made his directing debut with Before We Go, a tepidly received romantic comedy that premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Another rom-com, Playing It Cool (2015) also failed to make much of a mark, but The Gifted (2017) fared far better, with Evans playing the guardian of a mathematics prodigy.

‘The Red Sea Diving Resort,’ ‘Knives Out,’ ‘Defending Jacob’

Evans next starred as an Israeli agent in The Red Sea Diving Resort (2019), based on the real-life rescue and transport of Ethiopian Jews to Israel in 1981. Late that year, he again distanced himself from the wholesome superhero image by playing an obnoxious playboy in the murder-mystery Knives Out. He followed in 2020 with a return to the small screen in the Apple TV+ miniseries Defending Jacob, as the father of a teenager accused of murder.

Net Worth

Evans checks in at a cool $70 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. The bulk of his fortune has come from his Marvel Cinematic involvement, though it took a little while to get there, after reportedly receiving a relatively modest $300,000 for his first Captain America movie.

Romantic Life and Girlfriends

Evans was involved in an on-and-off relationship with actress Jenny Slate after they got to know one another on the set of The Gifted. The couple spent the 2017 holiday season together, though they reportedly split for good a few months later.

Earlier in his career, from 2001 to 2006, Evans was in a long-term relationship with Jessica Biel. He has also been linked to actresses Minka Kelly and Lily Collins.

Twitter

Outside of his movies, Evans has drawn the most attention for his unapologetically liberal tweets. When Donald Trump was elected U.S. president in 2016, the actor called it an “embarrassing night” in which fellow Americans “let a bully set our course.” He’s also tangled with former KKK head David Duke online, and slammed conservative news host Laura Ingraham for mocking student leaders who sought to curb gun violence. But not all of his tweets are of the politically charged variety, as he frequently pays tribute to friends and professional colleagues, and posts photos of his beloved rescue boxer, Dodger.

Chris Evans’s Height and Workout

At 6 feet tall but naturally slim, Evans displayed the results of long hours in the gym while progressing from the rangy jock of Not Another Teen Movie, to the beefier Human Torch of Fantastic Four, to the cartoonishly muscular Captain America.

Packing on the pounds was vital to the appearance of his laboratory-enhanced superhero, prompting a training regimen that included high-weight reps of squats, deadlifts and incline bench presses, as well as bodyweight exercises like dips and pull-ups. By the time of The Winter Soldier, he had incorporated gymnastics and plyometrics to his routine for more speed and agility, aiding his efforts in such scenes as when he beats up a group of men in a crowded elevator.

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Broadway Debut

In March 2018, while awaiting the release of Infinity War, Evans made his Broadway debut in a revival of Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero. As part of a small cast, which included his former Scott Pilgrim co-star Michael Cera, Evans showcased his easy charm while hinting at the turmoil beneath the confident exterior of his veteran cop, Bill. Although Lobby Hero had a limited run, Evans’s well-reviewed performance suggested he would eventually make his way back to the stage.

Personal Life & Interests

Evans isn’t the only member of his family who’s made a name for himself: His younger brother Scott also became an actor, holding down a regular role on the soap opera One Life to Live for two years, while an uncle, Mike Capuano, is a former mayor and longtime Massachusetts congressman.

The Hollywood star has been open about his battles with social anxiety, particularly when it comes to the publicity aspect of his profession. As he told Rolling Stone, “You’re in the SUV with your family, your people. And then you have to pull over in some weird parking lot and do the swap. There’s security and all these people. All of a sudden you’re out of your comfort zone. … It’s the little things that can tip you over.”

Evans, who splits his time between Los Angeles and Boston, is a serious sports fan who retains loyalty to hometown teams. In 2014, he narrated the NFL Network’s America’s Game, which recounted the New England Patriots’ run to a thrilling Super Bowl championship earlier that year.

QUICK FACTS

  • Name: Chris Evans
  • Birth Year: 1981
  • Birth date: June 13, 1981
  • Birth State: Massachusetts
  • Birth City: Boston
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Chris Evans is an American actor best known for playing comic book superhero Captain America on the big screen.
  • Industries
    • Film
    • Television
  • Astrological Sign: Gemini
  • Occupations
    • Actor

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CITATION INFORMATION

  • Article Title: Chris Evans Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/actors/chris-evans
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: September 7, 2022
  • Original Published Date: April 24, 2018

QUOTES

  • I used to have thoughts of wanting to climb to the top of something, or wanting to be somebody. But when you get the thing that you think you want and then you wake up and realize that you still have pockets of sadness, and that your struggle will reinvent itself, you stop chasing after those things and it’s liberating, because you realize that right here, right now, is exactly all I need.
  • I’ve stopped thinking about my trajectory, or my oeuvre, or whatever pretentious word you want to use. I’m just following whatever I feel creatively hungry for.
  • I wasn’t into comic books. I had to go and do my research once I signed on for all these things.