Chris Evans

Table of Contents

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Chris Evans

American actor

Written by Patricia Bauer

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Feb 5, 2025 • Article History

Quick Facts

In full:: Christopher Robert Evans

Born:: June 13, 1981, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. (age 43)

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "Defending Jacob" (2020); "Knives Out" (2019); "The Red Sea Diving Resort" (2019); "Avengers: Endgame" (2019); "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018); "Spider-Man: Homecoming" (2017); "Gifted" (2017); "Captain America: Civil War" (2016); "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015); "Playing It Cool" (2014); "Before We Go" (2014); "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014); "Snowpiercer" (2013); "The Iceman" (2012); "The Avengers" (2012); "What's Your Number?" (2011); "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011); "Puncture" (2011); "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" (2010); "The Losers" (2010); "Push" (2009); "Robot Chicken" (2008); "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond" (2008); "Street Kings" (2008); "Battle for Terra" (2007); "The Nanny Diaries" (2007); "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer" (2007); "Sunshine" (2007); "TMNT" (2007); "London" (2005); "Fantastic Four" (2005); "Fierce People" (2005); "Cellular" (2004); "The Perfect Score" (2004); "Skin" (2003); "Not Another Teen Movie" (2001); "Boston Public" (2001); "The Fugitive" (2000); "The Newcomers" (2000); "Opposite Sex" (2000)

Movies/Tv Shows (Directed):: "Before We Go" (2014)

See all related content

News •

Captain America stars Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford step into MCU’s brave new world • Feb. 4, 2025, 4:24 PM ET (Straits Times)

Chris Evans Denies Returning to MCU for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’: I’m “Happily Retired” • Jan. 31, 2025, 3:33 AM ET (The Hollywood Reporter)

Chris Evans (born June 13, 1981, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.) is an American actor who is known for his charismatic performances in superhero movies but who also earned respect for more-nuanced dramatic and comedic performances.

Early life

Evans grew up in Sudbury, Massachusetts, where his father was a dentist and his mother was involved with a local youth theater. Evans and his siblings were all interested in musical theater, and he attended an acting camp as a child. Before his final year of high school, he secured a summer internship at a casting company in New York City. Following his graduation in 1999, he landed roles in a short-lived television comedy, Opposite Sex (2000), and a little-seen family movie, The Newcomers (2000).

Superheroes: the Human Torch and Captain America

*Fantastic Four*(From left) Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Jessica Alba, and Ian Gruffudd in *Fantastic Four* (2005), directed by Tim Story.

Between guest roles on TV shows, Evans appeared in a teen movie spoof, Not Another Teen Movie (2001), and the teen caper The Perfect Score (2004). He then portrayed a young man who receives a phone call from a kidnapping victim (Kim Basinger) and attempts to rescue her in the thriller Cellular (2004). The film established him as a plausible action star. In 2005 Evans appeared in his first superhero movie, playing the brash Johnny Storm/the Human Torch in the Marvel universe story Fantastic Four. His credits from 2007 included the science-fiction movie Sunshine, directed by Danny Boyle; the comic drama The Nanny Diaries; and Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Among his next movies were The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (2008), scripted by Tennessee Williams; the action movie The Losers (2010); and the cult favorite Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010).

USA 2006 - 78th Annual Academy Awards. Closeup of giant Oscar statue at the entrance of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, film movie hollywood

Britannica Quiz

Pop Culture Quiz

*The Avengers*(From left) Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Robert Downey, Jr., as Iron Man, and Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk in *The Avengers* (2012), directed by Joss Whedon.

In 2011 Evans first played the character with whom he is perhaps most identified, the earnest World War II enlistee who becomes Captain America, in Captain America: The First Avenger. He reprised the role in a number of subsequent blockbusters: The Avengers (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).

Snowpiercer, Knives Out, and Deadpool & Wolverine

In addition to pursuing his career as Captain America, Evans gave an electrifying performance as a drug-addicted lawyer in Puncture (2011), based on real events. He also won praise for his layered portrayal of a rebel leader in Bong Joon-Ho’s dystopian fable Snowpiercer (2013) and as the unconventional guardian of a math prodigy in Gifted (2017). Evans made his directorial debut with the romance Before We Go (2014), in which he also starred.

In 2018 Evans first appeared on Broadway, in a well-received performance as a veteran cop in Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero. He was later cast as the spoiled and obnoxious son of a deceased patriarch in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out (2019), a classic murder mystery that was a box-office hit. He also played the father of a murder suspect in the TV serial Defending Jacob (2020). In the animated Lightyear (2022), a spin-off of Pixar’s popular Toy Story series, Evans voiced the character of Buzz Lightyear. His other credits from 2022 include the spy thriller The Gray Man, in which he portrayed a villainous former CIA agent.

Evans starred with Emily Blunt in Pain Hustlers (2023), about the opioid crisis. In 2024 he reprised the role of superhero Johnny Storm/the Human Torch in Deadpool & Wolverine, which also starred Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. That year Evans also appeared in Red One, an action Christmas movie in which Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) is kidnapped.

Patricia Bauer The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica