Chris Evans will surely be a mega star after Fantastic Four comes out, but there’s a chance it could happen early if Cellular takes off. Evans plays Ryan, a beach dude who gets a phone call from a kidnapped woman and must search the city for her and her family.
Ironically, Evans’ own cell phone rang during the interview. He was kind enough to turn it off and laugh about the incident, saying he’d prefer to turn it off all the time, but then he has too many messages from angry agents trying to reach him.
Evans first starred on the short-lived TV series Opposite Sex. He then landed Not Another Teen Movie which became memorable for its content, though not its actors. After The Perfect Score, Cellular looked like his real starmaking vehicle, until news of his follow-up project almost trumped it. But catch Evans running around L.A. this weekend and just imagine him flying around in spandex next summer.
Q: How much running did you do?
Chris: That’s a good question. Someone should tally it up.
Q: Did you train to get in shape for the film?
Chris: I didn’t have to do- - you know what was a hard scene and oh my God, it was the most difficult. Honestly, I went home and was like, "This is the most difficult day of work I’ve ever had." The scene where I jump off the pier and land in the water below, and then I swim underneath the pier. I got to a point where your feet finally hit the ground and the water’s about waist high. And then you run for abut 20 yards and the water stays about your waist, running in water on sand with clothes. Is exhausting. You’re just trying to get your knees above water. You finish one take and my legs were just like jello. I said, "I literally need 10 minute guys. I can’t do this again."
Q: How many times did you do that?
Chris: Too many. We only did it about four or five times, but literally by the third time, I had to say to David, "Look, David, I don't know if I can do this again. I hate to be that guy, but I really don’t know. My legs are about to quit." I think they were expecting a bit more out of me. We got through it though.
Q: Did you like your costar, the cell phone?
Chris: Did I like the cell phone? Yeah, it was all right. I hate cell phones in general so it’s kind of ironic that I got stuck with one for a full shoot. It was all right. It made for an interesting costar.
Q: Do you remember when we didn’t have them?
Chris: I was just talking to my buddies about this. I can remember when there were no cell phones. There was no internet. What did people do? My younger sister’s in high school and they all have cell phones. Two way and they’re just-if you get punished, they take away your minutes for the month.
Q: What was more challenging, the physical or the mental aspects of the film?
Chris: That’s a good question.
Q: Maybe the mental?
Chris: I think that’s almost easier. The difficult thing is that your body does a lot of things. A lot of subconscious things go on when you’re on a phone. Your eyes and things happen that you’re not even aware of. And then when you’re driving, your body does a lot of subconscious acts, checking the mirror and your plane of vision. There’s a lot of things you do without even thinking about. So trying to get that flavor of things, phone and driving, that was the most difficult thing. Sometimes you’re trying to do a scene and act, and David would have to say, "Chris, don’t forget, you’re driving the car." Because you’ll be acting and I haven’t moved the wheel, I haven’t checked the [mirror]. So you try and remember all these things because you're not driving the car, you’re not on the cell phone. It’s juggling a lot of balls at once. You can’t just stare. And the most difficult thing is sometimes the camera’s on the hood looking at you, so you're trying to look through the camera. Like where is your plane of vision when you're driving? Where do you look and how often do your eyes glance? And you have no need to check these things because you're not in control of the car. So it’s troubling remembering what do your eyes do to keep you safe while driving, when you’re really driving. So a couple weeks before, you almost do studies of watching my buddies on cell phones, just watching them and where their eyes look. And when you’re driving, just noticing how often you check the rearview. Do you ever check to switch lanes, stuff like that. Little things that you jus try and add for authenticity.
Q: Whose voice did you have to work with?
Chris: They hired an actress who was actually wonderful and she just would sit by the monitor and read into the microphone. They gave me a little ear piece that I’d put in my ear and put the cell phone up to it so it would be blocked. In a lot of ways, it was like talking on a cell phone which was nice. And the actress they hired was great.
Q: Could you have done your portion of the film without an actor?
Chris: That might be tough. I don't think so. Sometimes you really have to react. That’s kind of the heart of acting is reacting, so I don't think I could’ve.
Q: Even the difference between a line reader and an emotional actor?
Chris: See, now if it was that, I’d rather nothing. At least I could use my imagination to some degree. That’s the problem with auditioning. Sometimes you audition for something and they have the worst person reading with you. How are you supposed to act if you’re giving me nothing? My acting’s based on reacting. You’re reading them like that? It would have either had to have been an actor or nothing.
Q: How was fighting Statham?
Chris: I mean, it would never have happened in real life. He could break me like a toy if he wanted to. But it was good because you’re working with someone who’s obviously experienced with stunt fighting. The guy’s done more quality stunt fighting work than most people I know. So he kind of just held my hand. If I had to punch him, it’s not even about my punch. It’s about his reaction. So he sold it all and made me look good.
Q: Did he give you any tips?
Chris: No, not really. He kind of gave the coordinators tips. We’d say how about a punch, how about a kick and a miss? And he’d say, "Well, how ‘bout we do this?" He’d do a little choreographed fight that just looked better. He just knows how to do this choreographed fighting really well.
Q: Did you see The Transporter?
Chris: I’ve caught a lot of pieces of it on cable. I haven’t seen it from beginning to end but I’ve seen enough to be like, "All right, this guy kicks ass."
Q: Did that intimidate you?
Chris: Yeah, a little bit. Even the fight scene, I kind of throw a couple punches and he throws some back. And then at one point, he grabs me by like the back belt part of my pants and the top of my shirt and throws me, and I swear to God, this guy threw me like I was a little kid. He just threw me and I was like Jesus, this guy is jacked.
Q: How about your scenes with William H. Macy?
Chris: Yeah, that guy is awesome, huh? He’s so good. I always say he could read the phone book and it’s genius. You put it on film and it’s genius. The guy is just so good and he’s just so down to earth. It’s a lesson in who the true stars are. I think you hear and you see a lot of these people- - the sad thing is in acting, they treat you nice. They treat you real well and I see how that lifestyle, you can get accustomed to it and eventually expect it. Which turns people into assholes. And it shows you the people who really have the acting chops, who can really back it up, and who are genuinely just nice, wonderful people and they’re the real stars. It’s people like Bill Macy who time and time again, you put him in a movie and whether the movie’s great or horrible, he is amazing. And he is just the nicest guy in the world.
Q: Did you learn anything from watching him?
Chris: I think the majority of the time, I would try to pay attention, but all I was thinking is "Bill Macy, it’s Bill Macy. Come on, Chris, be professional."
Q: Were you concerned about the film’s release date?
Chris: Yeah, that’s a big thing. It’s so funny how important the release date is. I’m still worried about the good times and the bad times and what’s smart and what’s not. As long as we’re not going up against anything too huge, I’m content. I guess I just don’t know enough about the timing of movie releases yet to know what was the perfect time for this type of genre. So for now I guess I’m happy.
Q: What’s the difference between going into Cellular without a release date, and Fantastic Four with the release date set in stone?
Chris: It’s much nicer having the release date set in stone. Every film I’ve ever done, every film from Not Another Teen Movie, Perfect Score and Cellular, all underwent really long, drawn out delayed processes. Teen Movie got pushed back six months, Perfect Score got pushed back eight or nine months. Cellular got pushed back like six months. It’s frustrating because you work and you want them to see your movie. You want them to see the product. You want to see what you’ve been working so hard on and it’s nice knowing all right, set, July, no matter what happens.
Q: Do you ever think it’s too much of a rush?
Chris: No, they wouldn’t do it if it was too much of a rush. These are studios that do this all the time. They must know what they’re doing. There’s no one who wants the film to be more of a success than them, so they’re not going to do anything to jeopardize the quality of the film.
Q: How is Fantastic Four going?
Chris: So far so good. It’s going great. We’ve only shot for about a week.
Q: Have they set you on fire yet?
Chris: No, not yet. I don't think they’re going to actually use real fire. I think most of my stuff is going to be computer generated. I’m ready. I’ll soak myself in gas and do it.
Q: Have you done any training?
Chris: They offered us a trainer and I said yes, please. It’s nice having an opportunity to train with a trainer. I’ve had a bunch of wire harness fittings where they put me in this really comfortable harness that doesn’t rip out your leg hairs at all. [joking] And they fly you around and it’s just trying to practice taking off and it’s just getting used [to it]. It’s a muscle memory with your balance and things like that. So it’s not too strenuous. I’m no working in the coal mines or anything. It’s pretty manageable.
Q: Did you audition with Jessica Alba?
Chris: No, no, I didn’t actually. I think Ioan did, Ioan Gruffudd who plays Mr. Fantastic. I think Michael Chiklis was cast first, then Ioan, then I was. The majority of Jessica’s stuff is with Ioan, so they brought Ioan in to read with Jessica. We’ve obviously met and hung out a lot. We’ve been up there for two or thee weeks right now and we’ve gone out of our way to make sure everyone has a really tight knit bond which so far has been great. Everyone’s great.
Q: Are you familiar with the comic books?
Chris: For the past three weeks, I’ve read nothing but comic books, it’s amazing. Everywhere I go, I’ve just got these comic books.
Two of the stars of "Not Another Teen Movie," a spoof of high school flicks of the eighties and nineties, visited Dallas recently, and though both are young, they're at rather different stages of their careers. For Chris Evans, who plays handsome jock Jake Wyler--a takeoff on the quintessential Freddie Prinze, Jr. character--it's his feature debut after training at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and doing stage work and some television appearances. On the other hand, Mia Kirshner, who plays Jake's sister Catherine, a nasty vamp modeled on Sarah Michelle Gellar's "Cruel Intentions" character, is a veteran with some fourteen films to her credit, including such somber fare as "Anna Karenina," "Murder in the First" and Atom Egoyan's "Exotica" (she also appeared on series television this season in both "Wolf Lake" and "24"). But both were delighted to be a part of Joel Gallen's raunchy comedy. "I couldn't have picked a better film," Evans said. "It's funny, and it's got a huge ensemble cast, and everyone got along ridiculously well. I keep saying it was like summer camp. I would have done it for free." When he was asked how he got the role, Kirshner interrupted with a joke: "He slept with the director." As for her, she explained, "I auditioned. Right after I auditioned, the casting director mouthed, ‘You got it.' It was like one of those Lana Turner moments. The director said yes right away, and it was really nice because I hadn't done a studio film in a while."
When last we saw actor Chris Evans on the big screen, he was helping to sendup teen movies as one of the stars of "Not Another Teen Movie." With his role as Kyle in "The Perfect Score," Evans becomes a part of the genre he poked fun at in that film.
Comic book superhero movie scoop