The girl who stole Captain America's heart: Actor Chris Evans on the bond with ten-year-old actress who plays his niece in new movie Gifted
Chris Evans is the last dude
you'd expect to get misty eyed over his leading lady, unless that lady
happens to be a ten-year-old by the name of Mckenna Grace. The pair star
together in the independent movie Gifted
Chris
Evans is looking tough-guy fit: honed and toned with biceps bulging.
He’s Captain America on screen, the last dude you’d expect to get misty
eyed over his leading lady.
Unless that
lady happens to be a ten-year-old girl by the name of Mckenna Grace.
The pair star together in the independent movie Gifted. Evans plays
Frank Adler, the uncle who cares for niece Mary (Mckenna), whose mother
is out of the picture.
Mary’s a mathematical genius, while Frank, according to Evans, is a ‘lumbering gorilla’.
‘I don’t think he knows how to convey emotion properly,’ he said sadly.
Uncle
and niece muddle along — with a bit of help from a neighbour (Octavia
Spencer). Mary is soon hailed as a maths prodigy; and then a tug-of-love
battle begins, as others seek to take the child from him.
There’s
no denying Evans, 35, and Mckenna have great chemistry. It’s difficult
for the camera to lie when adults act with children; and sometimes
there’s a palpably uncomfortable vibe. But not in Gifted.
‘Mckenna’s
a force to be reckoned with: a real firecracker . . . very wise for her
age!’ Evans enthused. ‘She’s a fresh new soul who made it very easy for
everyone — and she tells jokes!’
The pair play an uncle and
niece, who muddle along — with a bit of help from a neighbour, played by
Octavia Spencer (pictured) There’s no denying Evans, 35, and Mckenna
have great chemistry.
Chris Evans shot to fame in 2011 as Steve Rogers, who is transformed into Captain America in the Marvel franchise.
You
hear this kind of gush all the time; and normally I’d put a stop to it.
But in this case I happen to know that the people on Gifted got on very
well.
Evans puts it down to the time
spent rehearsing before director Marc Webb rolled cameras. ‘There was
time to develop a bond, and trust built very quickly. That’s the key. We
trusted each other.
‘Mckenna’s mum was
with her and we all hung out and ate together when we could,’ Evans
told me. He got on well, too, with Lindsay Duncan, who has a key role in
the picture which opens here next Friday.
Evans said: ‘There was time to
develop a bond, and trust built very quickly. That’s the key. We trusted
each other. The crew would burst into applause after scenes with
Lindsay'
‘The crew would burst
into applause after scenes with Lindsay. That normally never happens! I
felt like I was back in the theatre at summer camp,’ he joked.
Chris
and his siblings did shows at school and in community theatre in the
colonial town outside Boston, Massachusetts, where they were raised.
‘Each
of us probably did about 20 plays; and by the time I was 16 or 17 the
woman who ran the theatre retired and my mother took the gig,’ he told
me.
Mckenna's character Mary is soon
hailed as a maths prodigy; and then a tug-of-love battle begins, as
others seek to take the child from him
Although
he’s soared as a movie star, Evans believes it’s important to return to
the stage when he can. Next March, he will appear alongside Michael
Cera in Kenneth Lonergan’s The Lobby Hero, as a police officer.
Lonergan
has perfected the art of drawing drama out of real life (an ability
that earned him an Oscar for his last film, Manchester By The Sea). As
Evans continued chatting, it occurred to me that he has just the chops
for a Lonergan character.
I mention
Anthony Hopkins’ mantra about not being able to play real life if you
don’t live it (Nicole Kidman says it a lot, too).
Next March, Evans will appear alongside Michael Cera in Kenneth Lonergan’s The Lobby Hero, as a police officer
‘That’s
exactly it!’ he said. ‘You don’t want to look back and say: “Yeah, life
was great, but I f****** missed it.” Or: “I was there, but I wasn’t.”
You know, this business can become more about binary and maths and
having a cold heart if you’re not careful.
‘So I do step away occasionally. I go home to Massachusetts to rest.’
A
nd he takes his rescue dog Dodger with him. Evans said he had a DNA
test done to determine his breed, and when it came back it said ‘part
Boxer, part Lab, part Pit Bull . . . and part Pomeranian’. The idea
clearly tickles him. ‘I mean, who knew?!
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