1997–2004: Early roles Evans's first credited appearance was in a short
educational film titled
Biodiversity: Wild About Life! in 1997. In 1999, Evans was the model for "Tyler" in
Hasbro's board game
Mystery Date. The special edition of the game included an electronic phone, which Evans is shown speaking into on the game box. In the same year, Evans made his screen debut in a television film,
The Newcomers; a family drama in which he plays a boy called Judd who falls in love with a girl (
Kate Bosworth). Evans also had a lead role in the television series
Opposite Sex which lasted for eight episodes. Lastly, Evans acted in an episode of
The Fugitive titled "Guilt". In 2001, he starred in
Not Another Teen Movie, a
parody of
teen movies, in which he plays a high school footballer. The film garnered mainly negative reviews, but grossed $38 million domestically and $28 million overseas for a worldwide $66 million. In 2004, he had a lead role in
The Perfect Score, a teen
heist-comedy about a group of students who break into an office to steal answers to the
SAT exam. The film was critically panned; Matthew Leyland of the
BBC thought Evans' performance was "bland", and the cast had "little chemistry". Also that year, he co-starred in the action-thriller
Cellular, with
Jason Statham,
Kim Basinger and
William H. Macy. Evans plays college student Ryan, who must save a kidnapped woman (Basinger), after randomly receiving a phone call from her. Although the feature received a mixed response,
Slant Magazines review opined that "Evans proves himself a sufficiently charismatic leading man". In a retrospective interview, Evans remarked that some of his early films were "really terrible".
2005–2010: Breakthrough In 2005, Evans starred in the
independent drama
Fierce People, an adaptation of
Dirk Wittenborn's 2002 novel of the same name. He also starred in
London (2005), a romantic drama, in which he played a drug user with relationship problems.
London was negatively received by critics;
Variety magazine described it as "noxious", and thought Evans' character was the worst, and film critic Roger Ebert called the film "dreck". For his first
comic book role, he portrayed superhero
Johnny Storm / Human Torch in
Fantastic Four (2005), based on the
Marvel Comic of the
same name. Upon release, the film was a commercial success despite a divided reception. In his mixed review,
Joe Leydon of
Variety praised the cast for their efforts and thought Evans gave a "charismatic breakout performance". Two years later, he reprised the role of Johnny Storm / Human Torch in the sequel
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007).
Toronto Stars Rob Salem thought the film was a "significant improvement" from the first, and the critic from
Chicago Reader thought the cast were "amusing enough" to carry the sequel. In 2016, reflecting on his experience of the
Fantastic Four films, Evans said they left him "a little uneasy – because the movies weren't exactly the way I'd envisioned them". He voiced the character
Casey Jones in the
animation TMNT (2007), based on the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series. The film was released by
Warner Bros. Pictures and
The Weinstein Company, to mixed reviews from critics but was a commercial success, grossing $95 million worldwide. Next, he starred in
Danny Boyle's science fiction thriller
Sunshine (2007), about a group of astronauts on a dangerous mission to reignite the dying sun. It garnered generally favorable reviews; Roger Ebert wrote the cast were "effective ... they almost all play professional astronaut/scientists, and not action-movie heroes". He also had a role in the comedy drama
The Nanny Diaries (2007), in which he plays the love interest to
Scarlett Johansson's character. His final release of 2007 was in the science fiction animation
Battle for Terra. It premiered at the
2007 Toronto International Film Festival, followed by a wider theatrical release in 2009. Critical reception was largely mixed. In 2008, Evans appeared as Detective Paul Diskant in the thriller
Street Kings, with co-stars
Keanu Reeves,
Forest Whitaker, and
Hugh Laurie. He was cast in
The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, co-starring
Bryce Dallas Howard and
Ellen Burstyn. It is a romantic drama based on
Tennessee Williams' 1957 screenplay. The feature received negative reviews, and
The Village Voice critic called Evans' performance "
catatonic". The following year, he played a character with
telekinetic abilities in the science fiction thriller
Push, with
Dakota Fanning and
Camilla Belle. The film's response was generally negative, while
Mick LaSelle of
San Francisco Chronicle criticized the story which "makes no sense", and predicted that Evans, "one of these days he's going to make a good movie". In 2010, Evans appeared in
Sylvain White's
The Losers, an adaptation of the comic book
series of the same name from the
DC Comics imprint Vertigo. Evans was drawn to playing
Captain Jake Jensen because the character "doesn't take things too seriously. He's the one that kind of loves life and he's always looking for a joke". Although the film gained mixed reviews,
The Guardians critic praised the cast for their "breezy charm" and for Evans' comic relief. Evans appeared in another comic book adaptation,
Edgar Wright's
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), in which he portrayed
Lucas Lee, one of
Ramona Flowers' seven evil exes. The film was a
box-office bomb but received positive reviews from critics and found a second life as a
cult film. He starred in
Mark Kassen and
Adam Kassen's drama,
Puncture, which was filmed in
Houston, Texas. The film premiered at the 2011
Tribeca Film Festival as one of the spotlight projects for the 10th anniversary of the festival. Evans portrays
Mike Weiss, who was a real-life young lawyer and drug addict. Upon release, critical reception was divided. Consecutively, Evans was cast in the romantic comedy ''
What's Your Number?'' (2011) opposite
Anna Faris, an adaptation of
Karyn Bosnak's book
20 Times a Lady.
Nathan Rabin of
The A.V. Club gave the film a grade C+, and opined that Evans' and Faris' chemistry was "frisky".
2011–2017: Captain America and directorial debut In 2010, Evans signed on for a multi-film deal with
Marvel Studios, to portray Marvel Comics character
Steve Rogers / Captain America. Evans initially turned down the part, but he consulted with
Robert Downey Jr., who encouraged him to take the role. At Marvel's persistence, Evans accepted, and he went to see a therapist afterwards. The first film to be released was
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). The film was a critical and commercial success, earning over $370 million worldwide box office. In their positive review,
The Sydney Morning Herald thought the film was a "fresh twist on 20th-century history", and praised Evans' "confident-but-subtle treatment" displayed in his role. A year later, he reprised the character in
The Avengers, with a large
ensemble cast that included Robert Downey Jr.,
Mark Ruffalo,
Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson and
Jeremy Renner. The feature was another commercial success; it grossed $1.519 billion and became one of the
highest-grossing films of all time. For his last release of 2012, he played
hitman Robert Pronge in the
biographical film The Iceman, about the murderer
Richard Kuklinski. Evans' role was originally intended for
James Franco, but he dropped out before filming began. Writing for
The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney complimented Evans' versatile performance, which was unlike his Captain America persona. Returning to the science fiction genre, Evans was cast in
Bong Joon-ho's
Snowpiercer (2013), which is based on the French graphic novel
Le Transperceneige. Bong was initially reluctant to cast him, but changed his mind after seeing Evans' performances in
Sunshine and
Puncture, which showed a "sensitive" side. The film was critically acclaimed, with the critic from
Salon magazine describing the cast performances as "sensational". '' in 2014 In 2014, Evans starred in
Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the sequel to
Captain America: The First Avenger. Evans prepared by undertaking three months of strength training and learning all the fight sequences. Similarly to the first film, it was well received and a commercial success, grossing $714 million worldwide. Peter Howell of
Toronto Star thought Evans was "impressive" for bringing the comic book character to life, despite the plot being "a little too complicated". Evans has said
The Winter Soldier was his favorite Marvel film because he started to understand his character and enjoyed working with directors
Anthony and Joe Russo. In March 2014, Evans said he may consider doing less acting so that he can focus on directing. In the same year, he made his directorial debut in the romantic comedy
Before We Go, in which he also starred, opposite
Alice Eve. The film tells the story of two strangers who meet at
Grand Central Terminal, and form an unlikely bond overnight. It premiered at the
2014 Toronto International Film Festival;
The New York Times critic, Ben Keninsberg, opined that it was a moderate effort and the actors' chemistry made it watchable. In the same year, he starred in another romantic comedy, opposite
Michelle Monaghan in
Playing It Cool. The following year, he reprised his role as Captain America in
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and in
Captain America: Civil War. Both of these films were box office hits, grossing $1.4 billion and $1.1 billion worldwide, respectively.
The Hollywood Reporter later learned that his salary for
Civil War was $15 million. In 2017, Evans starred in the family drama
Gifted, about an
intellectually gifted seven-year-old who becomes the subject of a custody battle between her uncle (Evans) and grandmother (
Lindsay Duncan). The film received a favorable response;
Empire magazine opined that Evans played his part with "conviction" despite a predictable plot. In the same year, he was invited to join the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
2018–present: Avengers films and beyond In 2018, he starred in the sequel
Avengers: Infinity War, and in spring 2019, the fourth sequel
Avengers: Endgame. Both of these were directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. Evans admitted that he and Scarlett Johansson did not see the full script to
Avengers: Infinity War before filming, saying, "We had to fight to get an actual paper script. There were giving us either pages or bits on an iPad. It's been tricky." the reviewer from
Time magazine criticized the film for its lack of pacing and substance. When
Avengers: Endgame completed filming in October 2018, Evans explained that it was emotional: "For the last month of filming I was letting myself go to work every day and be a little overwhelmed and a little nostalgic and grateful. By the last day, I was bawling. I cry pretty easy, but I was definitely bawling." Evans made his
Broadway debut in the play
Lobby Hero, directed by Trip Cullman, which opened in March 2018 at the
Helen Hayes Theatre as a part of
Second Stage Theatre's first Broadway season.
Ben Brantley of
The New York Times labeled it a "terrific Broadway debut" and found his performance to be a "marvel of smooth calculation and bluster". Evans was nominated for a
Drama League Award. In 2019, Evans played an Israeli
Mossad agent in the
Netflix thriller
The Red Sea Diving Resort, loosely based on the events of
Operation Moses and
Operation Joshua in 1984–85. Frank Scheck of
The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a mixed review; he thought Evans gave a "sincere" performance, despite observing weaknesses in the film's pacing and tone. Later that year, he starred as Ransom Drysdale, a spoiled playboy, in
Rian Johnson's mystery film
Knives Out, which received critical acclaim and grossed $309 million worldwide. In
NPR,
Linda Holmes wrote of Evans's performance: "it's a special treat to see him tear right into this rich-brat bit, both preternaturally handsome and cheerfully obnoxious, a one-man cable-knit charm offensive." In 2020, Evans starred in
Defending Jacob, an
Apple TV+ crime drama miniseries based on the
novel of the same name. He played Andy Barber, an assistant
district attorney whose son is accused of murder. Daniel Fienberg of
The Hollywood Reporter praised Evans's performance, stating that he "is sturdy and conveys the right measure of empathy and fear". He had a cameo in
Adam McKay's
Netflix comedy, ''
Don't Look Up, which featured an ensemble cast. In 2022, Evans voiced the titular character in the Disney/Pixar animation Lightyear, which gained mostly favorable reviews, and starred in the Netflix thriller The Gray Man, an adaptation of the 2009 novel of the same name directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. The Gray Man'' received mixed reviews, but had strong viewership on Netflix. Evans starred alongside
Ana de Armas in the Apple TV+ action comedy film
Ghosted (2023), from director
Dexter Fletcher. Several critics panned the film, Evans performance and his lack of chemistry with de Armas. Both Evans and de Armas was nominated for Worst Actor and Worst Actress category. His next film was the Netflix crime drama
Pain Hustlers, also received poor reviews from critics. He then reprised his role of
Lucas Lee in the animated television series
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and
Johnny Storm / Human Torch in a cameo in
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). Evans starred with
Dwayne Johnson in the action comedy
Red One. The film received generally negative reviews and Evan's performance was particularly criticized, describing his role as flat and forgettable.In 2025, he starred alongside
Margaret Qualley and
Aubrey Plaza in the black comedy film
''Honey Don't!''. The film and his performance also received negative reception. In December 2025, Evans was revealed to be reprising the role of Steve Rogers in
Avengers: Doomsday (2026). ==Personal life==