Chris Evans breaks free from any Hollywood casting limitations, seamlessly fitting into various genres such as romantic comedies, thrillers, dramas, and animated films. Evans has portrayed various characters throughout his two-decade career, including a heroin addict, an astronaut, a resentful ex-boyfriend, a malicious playboy, and a foster father. After his most recent appearances in Pixar’s Lightyear and the action film Ghosted on Apple TV+, we thought looking back at some of the best Chris Evans movies would be a good idea.
Evans’ Most Well-Liked and Impressive Works
Evans’ career soared after he landed the iconic role of Captain America in the MCU, a character he played throughout the decade. Beyond being America’s greatest boy scout, Evans has done various projects showcasing his versatility. Let’s dive into it.
Not Another Teen Movie (2001)
Evans, a newcomer to the Hollywood industry, played Jake Wyler in Not Another Teen Movie in his first “loveable schmuck” role. In the film, Wyler is the popular high school jock with the ideal life and cheerleader girlfriend—until, of course, the most unpopular (but bright!) girl in the school gets a makeover and catches the jock’s attention.
Evans’s ability to be douchey and endearing at this point in his early career is the perfect prelude to his eventual roles as the leading man in other romantic comedies like What’s Your Number. Evans’s character was written on purpose as a parody of other popular teen romantic comedies like Pretty in Pink, American Pie, and 10 Things I Hate About You.
Cellular (2004)
In the motion picture Cellular, Evans played the lead in an action thriller. After receiving a phone call from a kidnapped woman (Kim Basinger), the movie follows an unassuming man named Ryan (Evans) as he sprints through the streets of Los Angeles, exposing LAPD corruption and crime organizations. Evans’ first step into the action genre as he adopts a more serious demeanor is fantastic, even though it was not well received by critics.
Snowpiercer (2013)
Snakes in the air? Imagine Chris riding a train. The destiny of lower-class rebels depends on Curtis Everett (Evans) in Bong Joon Ho’s political sci-fi thriller Snowpiercer from South Korea. The year is 2031, and as humanity has failed to control the impacts of climate change, the last survivors must build a mostly functional society while riding a train that continuously circles the frozen world.
Rich passengers ride in luxury cars at the front of the train, while people of lower means are jammed in the back, creating an unequal social hierarchy. When Everett leads his band of rebels to the front of the train, chaos ensues as he reveals sinister information.
Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014)
Captain America: Winter Soldier takes the unshakably self-assured hero down a dark path as he struggles to reconnect with his best friend-turned-HYDRA-assassin Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). Along the way, Cap finds himself at odds with the unjust policies of the government that he once held in high regard. In a callback to a promise he made to Bucky in his first film (“I’m with you ‘til the end of the line”), Evans does a heartbreakingly good job at portraying Cap’s fierce loyalty to his friends even when they’ve gone too far off the deep end. Oh, and if we could give Evans an award just for that super cool elevator fight scene alone, we would.
Gifted (2017)
Gifted is a sentimental film that completely removes Evans from his usual elements in the action and romantic comedy genres. Evans plays Frank, a man taking care of his prodigy niece (McKenna Grace) who is then taken into a taxing custody battle with his own mother.
It’s a complete tear-jerker that showcases a softer paternal side to Evans as he uses his range to give a tender performance that doesn’t stray too far into melodrama.
The Gray Man (2022)
The Gray Man revolves around the best dealer in death at the CIA is Six, a highly accomplished assassin in the deep-cover Sierra program. Nevertheless, a mission goes wrong, and Six is now on the run from the CIA with sociopath Lloyd Hansen hot on his heels. Six needs to be at his most vicious to evade Hansen, who will do whatever to bring him down, with the help of operative Dani Miranda and handler Donald Fitzroy.
Evans delves into gleeful villainy with his portrayal of Lloyd Hansen – a sadistic, narcissistic, and sociopathic manhunter who takes perverse pleasure in the darkest aspects of his work. His days as Cap are now a distant memory. Evans said it himself, “It does seem that I’ve aggressively gone 180 [degrees] from Steve Rogers, but it just kind of unfolded that way.”
Knives Out (2019)
In Rian Johnson’s hilarious murder-mystery flick Knives Out, Evans dropped the shield and grabbed the knife in his strongest performance to date. Evans’ extraordinary range of abilities is all on display as he transitions from a seductive charmer to a calculated cold-blooded killer in his role as the devilishly attractive and affluent family outsider Ransom Drysdale.
His ability to show a man’s decline into lunacy after playing the hero for so long under Johnson’s astute witticisms and dark comedy makes this performance immensely entertaining to watch. Evans’ cunning performance stands out among a stellar cast that also included Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Daniel Craig, Toni Collete, and Ana de Armas. Or even the “donut hole?”
Upcoming Chris Evans Projects
Chris Evans stands as one of the most iconic superhero performers in history, celebrated not only for his magnificent and illustrious portrayal of Captain America in the MCU but also for his roles as Johnny Storm/Human Torch in the two Fantastic Four movies. Despite his active career since the late 1990s, there have been ups and downs for Evans since his departure from Marvel. Nonetheless, there is much more to look forward to from this talented actor.
Red One, a forthcoming 2023 film from Amazon Studios, stars Chris Evans and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Red One, an action-adventure Christmas story directed by Jake Kasdan, is a film that the studios and creative team are hoping will become the start of a holiday franchise. The movie, which will be released this year, was filmed in Atlanta from the end of 2022 to the beginning of 2023.
Pain Hustlers, a Netflix original movie starring Emily Blunt and Evans, debuts on October 23, 2023.
David Yates’ conspiracy drama is inspired on the 2018 New York Times article “The Pain Hustlers.”
The story centers on high school dropout Liza Drake (Blunt), who finds work at a struggling pharmaceutical start-up in a run-down strip mall in Central Florida.
Summing it up!
Chris Evans has starred in numerous excellent and is a gifted actor who has brought to life a variety of characters, including the endearing and valiant Captain America and the cunning and evil Ransom Drysdale. He has delighted and inspired audiences all around the world with his performances, and he will undoubtedly remain a significant player in Hollywood for many more years to come. Evans has acted in a number of other well-known films in addition to these, such as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and The Losers. He is a talented performer who can succeed in many different genres.
