16 jul 2022 om 06:22
The general public mainly knows Chris Evans as the hero Captain America in several Marvel films, but the actor appears to like being on the dark side more. “I get more pleasure out of playing the bad guy,” Evans admits in conversation with NU.nl.
By: Michiel VosYet the 41-year-old actor, who appears in the new action film The Gray Man playing a sadistic bad guy, it’s not boring to play the good guy. “If you manage to get the hero right and it looks exactly as you hoped, it feels really good to be the goodguy.”
In The Gray Man Evans plays Lloyd Hansen, the nemesis of hit man Sierra 6 (Ryan Gosling) who works for the CIA. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo have already made several Marvel films with Evans and saw a villain in him in addition to the superhero.
Hansen is not only a ruthless killer, but also regularly calls wise insults at his opponents. Part of Evans’ fun on the set came from these comedy notes in the film. “I got to yell at a group of people. Joe Russo shouted the insults on set and all I had to do was repeat them.”
Where Evans shows his bad side, Ryan Gosling stays true to his heroic role. It is the first time that he plays in a real action movie. “I’ve always wanted to make one,” says Gosling. “I grew up with the classics from the eighties and nineties and those movies have a certain vibe that I’m a fan of. I got that same feeling with The Gray Man. That’s not easy to find, so I was especially happy to finally get to work in a real action movie.”
From duke to shady CIA boss
Evans is not the only one in The Gray Man shows a completely different side of himself. Actor Regé-Jean Page, known to the general public as the Duke of Hastings from Bridgertontakes on the role of villainous CIA chief this time.
It’s not that the actor chose this role because of his Bridgerton– shake off image. “I think that as an actor you always consciously choose a varied collection of roles and that has been the case throughout my career. The great thing about this job is that you get to create a different world every time, where it always feels like you does it first.”
Page is involved in a power struggle in the film with, among others, the character of actress Jessica Henwick. The villainy of their characters and their hunger for power appealed to the two actors. “We like to call the shots,” Henwick jokes.
“It gave us a lot of room to play creatively,” Page says. “These characters have no moral boundaries, so you can be very inventive. It makes you think about how a person can be so driven that all morals go completely overboard. You’re doing mental and moral gymnastics to shape such a character . That’s a feast for every actor.”
The Gray Man is now in cinemas. The action film will be released on Netflix on July 22.
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