Interview: Can Captain Americas Chris Evans Break Out With Serious Turn in Puncture?

It is often the case in this business that when actors are out promoting movies they have a filter on that keeps the real honesty at bay. That’s definitelynot the case with the blazingly truthfulChris Evans whose new indie film, Puncture , opens in limited release today from distributor Millennium and who is also coming off the summer hit, Captain America: The First Avenger which has grossed $364 million worldwide. He is currently back in ‘Cap’ mode shooting the all-star Marvel flick, The Avengers which Disney and Marvel release in May. Evans, in his guise of Captain America (aka Steve Rogers), is signed up for three Captain America and three Avengers films, having previously appeared in two Fantastic Four flicks as Johnny Storm, The Human Torch. So it’s no wonder in his down time between superhero travels he is proud to get the chance to do a small , true-life drama like Puncture in which he gets to play Mike Weiss, a drug-addicted lawyer who takes on a giant health supply company while trying to overcome his own problems with the needle and other demons. When I talked with him he made no apologies for doingthe films that pay the big bucks. But to drum up interest in this tiny film for which he is receiving the best reviews of his careerhe will even be out making personal appearances atthe Landmark theatre in Los Angeleswhere the movie opensthis weekend. “I’m going to keep doing everything I can. I usually hate press but that’s just because I make bad movies, problem is I’m just used to making movies where you’ve gotto lie. If you work really hard on something and you know it’s not something you would want to see you stillhave to find a way to sell it. It’s your job. It’s so rare to be proud of something,” he says while emphasizing he is not dissing movieslike Captain America which itself received good reviews and an impressive 78% overallfresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes (Puncture has a 78% fresh RTrating among top critics and 60% overall). “No disrespect to’Captain America’. I love that movie and had a fantastic experience but sometimes those studio films, some of the artistic integrity falls through the cracks,not on that one, but sometimes that does happen. But when you have a minute between these ridiculous films that have you under contract, you can do do a film like (Puncture).”, he says. He saysthe problemmaking thosebig studio behemoths thathe is so associated with now is thatyou sit in your trailer for five or six hours a day on a very tedious schedule that lasts six months. “This movie we had five weeks and you come to set and better know every single word of dialogue, you better know exactly what you’re going to do,you get two takes and we gotta move. And you come home everyday on these movies and you really feel like, ‘I made a movie today, I acted today’.You feel like you were part of something. You come home and you feel like you’ve created. Not to say you don’t feel thatway on ‘Captain America’ (laughs) but it’s just different on an indie film where everyone’s here for a passion.No one’s here for the paycheck,” says Evans who comes from a theatre-trained background but hasn’t gotten as much of an opportunity in movies to display his real acting chops – until now. “I’m pretty candid when it comes to this type of stuff. I have no reason not to be. My career has been spotty (laughs). You know, as an actor you do what you can and not all mymovies have worked out. It’s not easy to make a good movie, so it’s rare to be part of something you can be proud of and I’m proud of this. I have made movies for ten years and I amjust so used to making movies that you somehow excuse , in the press element of it, and try to find a flowery way to tell people to go see this piece of shit. Unfortunately that’s the way it’s been for me which is really too bad. But the first time I saw this movie I texted theseguys I was so happy and I said, listen I’m going to do whatever I have to do to get people to see this movie, and it’s obviously a limited release,” he says of the battle toget traction for the film. Although it’s got a couple of good bookings intop theatres in LA and NY, Millennium has a very limited marketing budget and the film’s one sheet showing a disheveled Evans holding a needle looks more like a horror film thana serious drama like ‘Leaving Las Vegas’ which it more closely resembles. It will be an uphill climb as Avi Lerner’s Millennium , which is known for more mainstream fare like the recent Conan The Barbarian (released thru Lionsgate), is not exactlythought ofasthe kind of indie house that knows how to nurture films that require special handling. But if themovie does manage to catch on in the indie marketplace Evans could even find himself in the year-end awards conversation. It’s the kind of raw performance other actors will relate to. As for future projects Evans will alsobe seen next week in 20th Century Fox’s romantic comedy, What’s Your Number? opposite Ana Faris. The sequel to Captain America likely won’t be slotted until 2014 leaving him plenty of time to find another challenging role like Mike Weiss. “I remember leaving the first meeting with directors Mark and Adam Kassen, saying ‘well, I hope you just keep me in mind’ and they said ‘Chris, we want you’ and I couldn’t believe it because I am so used to fighting for (good) roles. It ended up being one of the best professional experiences of my life,” he says.

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