The Russo brothers revealed why they chose Chris Evans to play the villain in the upcoming film The Gray Man in a recent interview with Comicbook. Evans has previously worked with Joe and Anthony Russo, having played Captain America in four MCU films directed by the siblings. The Gray Man hits Netflix on July 22nd. During the conversation, the brothers discussed how Evans was cast in the film as Lloyd Hansen. “We didn’t have to sell Chris on the role; Chris sold us, in a way,” Joe said.
Fans of the MCU may be surprised to learn that the Russo Brothers have transformed Evans into a viciously terrible villain for their new film. Lloyd shares a lot more in common with his Knives Out antagonist than he does with Steve Rogers. Evans, according to the Russos, was the one who insisted on trying something new. After putting his shield away, he decided to take more chances.
The brothers reportedly asked Evans about his future ambitions as an actor at the end of his tenure in the MCU. Evans replied, “You know what? I’m comfortable enough in my life and the work I’ve done that I’m just interested in taking risks moving forward, and I just want to play challenging characters.” Joe further said, “So it seemed obvious to us that the right move here would be to offer Chris the sociopath and not the hero.”
The Gray Man had to have all the proper attributes for Evans to be the finest villain he could be in The Gray Man. Enter Ryan Gosling, whom the Russos believe is the ideal candidate to play Mark Greaney’s adored character. Anthony said, “We knew we needed somebody who knew how to disappear on some level. Gosling has such an interesting technique to him in that he has a minimalist style where he conveys a whole lot of emotion, thought, and complexity, with a lot of subtlety.”
Joe further added, “I would argue this role uses everything that Ryan is incredible at. It combines his great physical control; his really wonderful, quirky sense of humor; how he’s smoldering and intense onscreen and can communicate a lot while doing very little. Remember, Ryan was a dancer when he was younger. Playing an action hero is different from any other form of acting because all that stunt work requires incredible body control and extreme discipline.”