Chris Evans: I took a beating making Captain America

Chris Evans said he was red, white and bruised when he pulled on his stars and stripes costume to play Captain America in The Winter Soldier.

The 32-year-old all-American actor confessed he took a sound beating by performing his own stunts in the superhero sequel.

‘There are always injuries, whether you end up in a cast or not. Doing stunt work is physical stuff,’ he said.

‘Even when you block a punch, that punch lands somewhere so you’re always going home with bumps and bruises,’ the actor told Guilty Pleasures at the British premiere.

The latest film sees Evans’ captain get into multiple scraps as he fights off an army of villains, including Frank Grillo, 50, who plays Brock Rumlow.

‘That man can’t pull his punches. If you don’t block Frank Grillo’s punch, you’re going to get mashed.

‘He is an actual boxer. He doesn’t know anything but 100 per cent,’ Evans said, revealing some of the fight scenes got reasonably real.

Co-star Samuel L Jackson, however, was happy to avoid stunts as much as possible.

‘I used my stunt man extensively! I have no issues with him getting hurt, that’s why he is there. He loves it,’ the 65-year-old actor said.

‘He is from a stunt family. His father was a stunt man. His brothers are stunt men. It’s way better for you to stand in, they throw a punch, you duck out and then they fight,’ he laughed.

[Originally published Metro, Guilty Pleasures, Thursday 20 March 2014]