Meet Hayley Atwell: ‘Captain America’ Star Stirs the Web

There's a new face in the movie "Captain America: The First Avenger" who is capturing the interest of fans across the Web. She's Hayley Atwell, and she plays Chris Evans's love interest in the new superhero flick.

Already, buzz on the brunette is growing on Yahoo!. The actress, who is getting rave reviews for the film, is also being sought in searches. Lookups on "Hayley Atwell Captain America" have already seen gains, along with "Hayley Atwell" and "Hayley Atwell photo."

Atwell is London-born and has performed on stage and screen. She was in the 2009 West End production "A View from a Bridge." She's not completely new to film, either, having made her big-screen debut in the 2007 Woody Allen movie "Cassandra's Dream." She also appeared in the period film "The Duchess."

The brown-haired beauty has received acclaim for her role as Peggy Carter, Captain America's commanding officer and love interest. Screen Crave called her performance "excellent" and adds, "She's also incredibly charming."

The 29-year-old admits she was incredibly hands-on for her "Captain America" role: The actress improvised a natural reaction to reach out and touch Chris Evans's chest after he's transformed from shrimp to super-soldier. She told PopSugar, "That was an instinctive moment. I literally couldn't help myself, because I hadn't seen him with his top off until that moment." Director Joe Johnston loved it. He told the star, "Do that again."

Evans's wasn't the only buff bod on set: The actress trained for two and a half months before the shoot and throughout the five months of filming to physically look the part. She told the Hollywood Reporter, "It was very important, in playing Peggy, that you could tell she had strength and that she could hold a machine gun."

The British talent has earned accolades for her acting, with award nominations from the British Independent Film Awards, the London Critics Circle Film Awards, and a Golden Globe nod for the TV miniseries "Pillars of the Earth." Maybe not surprisingly, MTV Networks' NextMovie.com named her on its list of "Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2011."

She certainly has our attention.

See Hayley Atwell along with Chris Evans talk to Yahoo!:

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