Most fans know Chris Evans as the superhero Captain America, who headlined his own trilogy of films and the Avengers series as well. But now that Chris Evans has hung up his shield, he’s put his attention on other things outside the realm of acting, like launching a political website. Now, he’s opening up about why he wanted to pivot to politics.
Chris Evans spoke in depth about his new political website A Starting Point, a bipartisan site to help better inform the public on current political issues. This new focus may take some fans by surprise, but Chris Evans genuinely seems to want to help find common ground. When asked about what sparked his interest in politics, the actor had this to say:
It’s not that I’m interested in politics. It’s more I’m trying to help and politics to me seems like this weird broken machine that we’ve all kind of given up on. But the truth is, if we give it a spitshine, this thing might actually work. And that starts with participation and engagement. Again, it’s become such a toxic landscape it breeds this exhaustion. People just can’t be bothered.
According to Chris Evans, the current political landscape has become more about winning against the other side and less about listening and finding common ground. Based on his comments on Real Time with Bill Maher, he believes the current way of doing things isn’t going to work. That, it seems, has been a big motivator for Chris Evans to launch A Starting Point. His goals appear to be helping to solve problems, getting people involved, and keeping citizens from getting too overwhelmed with the political landscape.
Anytime an actor starts diving into politics, the natural next question is whether they’re planning to run for office. Sure enough, the discussion turned to the question of Evans possibly running for office himself. Here’s what he said:
I just don’t know enough. That’s another thing we’re scared to say. I just don’t know enough. I wouldn’t disservice or disrespect the position by thinking that I could handle it. I’ve thought about somehow helping in that capacity but it would require a lot of homework.
Of course, plenty of actors have pivoted to politics. Perhaps the most famous was Ronald Reagan, a long-time Hollywood actor who became the governor of California and later the President of the United States. But other famous actors, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse Ventura, Al Franken, and even Clint Eastwood served as politicians during periods in their careers.
But Chris Evans doesn’t seem to want to serve as a politician, but rather work as a facilitator to help fix system that he views as being broken. While it's not exactly close to what we're experiencing right now, this is somewhat reminiscent of the deep divide in Captain America: Civil War, in which Captain America and Iron Man are at odds over the Sokovia Accords, a political document putting a check on superheroes. In that case, however, Captain America was on his own side rather than trying to help bridge the gap.
Of course, this also doesn’t mean Chris Evans is putting an end to his acting career. Quite the contrary. He recently starred in the TV miniseries Defending Jacob and is rumored to possibly be starring in The Little Shop of Horrors remake, among other potential acting gigs. A Starting Point looks to be mostly a side project that he’s passionate about but not something that’ll become a full-time job. For more movie news, be sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend.
