Chris Evans is the Whole Reason the MCU Works According to Robert Downey Jr.

THR recently did an in-depth profile for Chris Evans as we’re only one month away from what is most likely the end of his run in the MCU as Captain America. This profile not only includes interviews from Evans, but those that work with him like Robert Downey Jr. about working with Evans. Well, Downey didn’t pull any punches in praising his Avengers co-star.

“At the root of it, he has true humility. I think it’s the reason he was able to kind of come to the front and be our team leader in the Avengers. I think a lot of his theater experience helped, too. Because it was like, ‘OK, I’m going to dress up, I’m going to go out, and I’m going to tell the truth.’ It’s very kind of old-school Spencer Tracy. Although I guarantee you Spencer Tracy never would’ve put on that getup.

I’ve been in hundreds of scenes with this guy. Nobody laughs more than him. Sometimes he makes me self-conscious, like, ‘Should I be more fun?’ There’s a little bit of, like, just trying to shake out the anxiety. And I’ve also seen him, over the last 10 years, go from being someone who had laughably real social anxiety to someone who has grown more and more comfortable in their own skin.

[Evans’] suspension of his own disbelief, regardless of whatever doubts he had, is the reason all these other worlds are able to be built. Starting with Avengers, and then Guardians, and Black Panther. People love to say — and I’ll eat it up — that I’m kind of the progenitor of this whole universe. But if you want to talk about it in terms of team building, and you want to talk about it as the most successful creative relay race in the history of cinema, he was the critical leg.”

I think it’s great when actors and friends are able to support and build each other up like this even if the one receiving praise sometimes blows it off. Be sure to catch both Evans and Downey in what is sure to be their final Marvel acting roles in Avengers: Endgame on April 26.