From American hero to cashmere-clad jerk: Chris Evans on his character in Knives Out
After nearly a decade of playing Captain America, Chris Evans does a complete 180 as Ransom Drysdale in the clever whodunit Knives Out. And it’s exactly his character’s terrier-kicking, fisherman’s-sweater-wearing evilness that attracted him to the role. “I’m usually tasked with playing guys who are a little more noble, and this guy is a little bit more vile,” says the actor, 38. “It’s fun.”
Here’s how Evans liberated his inner jerk.
He drew inspiration from real-life twerps
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t know people who are just like [Ransom],” says Evans. “He’s born into privilege and he’s also equipped with a victim’s mentality, and I think that combination is very dangerous. You don’t have to look far to find people who operate in this constant victimized, indignant state of recreational outrage where everything is never their fault. It just opens the door to a lot of s—ty behavior.”
He took up allll the space
“There’s a certain physicality of a person who is soaked in confidence, truly marinated in that kind of entitlement,” says Evans. “And it involves minimal eye contact, a constant state of recline, whether they’re sitting or standing…an unapologetic physicality [where] they make the space their own. They’re gonna put their f—ing feet up, they’re gonna own their oxygen in a way that is not just confidence, it’s an active indifference to the people around them. Which is a real weaponized trait.”
He embraced cashmere
“It’s been a long time since I’ve done a movie where I got to wear nice clothes! I usually wear such boring s—. The clothing, the hair, all of it helps tons [with getting into character].
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