Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist - Chris Evans

Episode Date: July 19, 2020

Chris Evans is best known for his role as Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but his latest projects are a change of pace for the Hollywood star. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with the actor for a virtual conversation about his role in the new Apple TV series Defending Jacob and his step off the screen into public policy. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with a brand new episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. My thanks as always for clicking and listening along. As you know, we've been getting you some of our classic conversations here and hopefully you've been enjoying those and mixing in as often as we can new episodes over Zoom in this strange virtual world of communication we're all living in. And we've got one of those for you today with Captain America himself. Chris Evans. Chris has a new series on Apple, TV called Defending Jacob. It is excellent. Moving from his big budget superhero career in the Avengers, literally the highest grossing movie of all time, and then moving into this cool series where he plays a prosecutor whose son is charged with murder. We'll let him explain the plot and how it plays out. We should also point out, we got together back in May. This originally was going to run around then on Sunday today as a Zoom interview, but we held it because it happened right before George Floyd was killed. And we were busy covering other news. So if we don't touch on everything that's happened since that terrible day in Minneapolis, that's why. Also, Chris is

very outspoken on politics, has been for a long time. And he's got a new initiative, a website called a starting point that gets into public policy. It just launched this week. It features short videos from politicians that Chris interviews himself, breaking down some of today's biggest issues, just trying to get people to understand the issues in an election year, trying to get both sides equally represented, so you can understand what the other side is thinking, if it's not clear by sifting through Twitter

or watching cable news or whatever your outlet is, actually trying to offer some clarity on the issues. So very cool. We talk about his new series. We talk a little bit about politics. And I had to start because he is a Massachusetts man, asking him the most important question of them all. how he's dealing with Tom Brady's departure from New England.

It's got a sting. A fun conversation with Chris Evans right now on the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Chris, thanks so much for doing this. Appreciate it. Absolutely. Thanks for having it. The one most important question, we're going to talk about defending Jacob. We're going to talk about a starting point.

But as a Patriots fan, where are you in the grieving process right now with the loss of Tom Brady? I mean, I hate to say it. I kind of saw it coming. You know what I mean? And you prep for it either way. I mean, it's not even about him going somewhere else. It's just not having them, you know, one way or another. So I was anticipating and bracing for it.

And you know what? I could never, ever, ever harbor any will. He gave 20 years of some of the best football memories I'll ever have. So, you know, I wish him well. You're going to get the Brady jersey, the bucks going that far? Not going to go that far. But I tell you what, if the cats don't make it, the bucks are the next team I'm moving for. There you go.

Tough year. Brady and Mookie Betts in the same season. That's tough. I know. I know. Said the New York fan rubbing it in with every question. So let's talk about defending Jacob. I told you I just came out of my TV room.

I'm sitting here in the garage talking to you right now. Watched episode four. The show is awesome. It's so well acted and written. And the story is fantastic. Also set in Boston, which I know you like. When did you first hear about the material based on a novel and what grabbed you about it? Right.

Yeah, I was doing a show in New York, and my team brought me to pilot, because, you know, that's the way it goes with these types of projects. You only get to see a little piece, which is scary. It's a little bit of a leap of faith, but, you know, I got a little pitch. They give you this little breakdown of where it will go, and I sat down with Morton and Mark, who are the writer and director, respectively. And they were just really thoughtful and had a lot of great ideas of where the character can grow and how it'll evolve and what we're examining. I mean, at face value, it could look like just a procedural. But this really is from the perspective of the family and the guilt and grief that my character is kind of coping with. And it just felt like I wanted to work with those guys.

You know, at the end of the day, sometimes it's just about the people. You know, you got to work with them. Without giving away too much for people who haven't started the series, although it's rolling along at this point. You are an assistant district attorney whose life has turned upside down because suddenly the case you have to take on is your own son. That's right. There's a murder in the town. A boy, 14-year-old boy is killed by the high school and my son becomes the prime suspect. And so as you read through the material, you knew it was sort of a Boston-based thing that had to help a little bit, right? And kind of a natural thing for you? Yeah, yeah. I didn't even have to push that on him. I just said, oh, it's based in Boston. And where would we be shooting? Oh, Boston. Oh, you know, it's, that's always a deal sweetener. And, you know, I wanted to, I thought about throwing out the accent because I,

I'm waiting to use it. Yeah. It just felt it felt a little unnecessary. It felt like a weird flex, and I think it might have been distracting. So I'm saving it for the next gig. But yeah, yeah, I was lucky to sleep in my own bed. You might have blown it on the car commercial. He really went hard.

I know, that's true. It only has a comedic lens now. You gave the game away with that one. Also interested in the forum for this, Apple TV, which is putting out great stuff. at yours has been very successful. What was it about that forum? What kind of license do you have? You're the executive producer also. What's it like working on these new platforms? Well, I think anytime there's a new platform, they're going to be putting a lot of eggs on that basket and they're going to be, you know, putting all their focus and energy into it.

So you certainly felt good in terms of, you know, quality control and, you know, just, just cooperation in general, you know what I mean? There have been wonderful collaborators. The producing thing, I just feel like, to be honest, that's kind of just a weird next step in the career. When, you know, eventually they're like, oh, do you want to produce it too? Sure. Sure. And, you know, that really is, it's just a moniker more than anything else. If the project begins to derail, you do have a little bit more access to say, hey, I have a voice in this process.

But that never came close to happening. So truly, you know, that the producer title is really just that. It must be nice, too, to be able to move seamlessly. It used to be in the old days when you and I were growing up. You either did TV and you were a TV actor. did movie or you were a movie actor there's almost no line anymore between any no difference that line is completely blurred because it really is I mean not only is there you know the giant proliferation of streaming services but there's so many good risk

takers there's so much freedom in in the medium now you know they they take uh really big swings and and have really really creative people and like you said there there's no line anymore so talent across the board is cross-pollinating and making some really exciting stuff and personally I, you know, I hadn't done this kind of limited series format. And it really, I've said it in a few interviews so far, but you consume this medium, the same way you almost consume literature, you know, in chapters. And it's a real testament to the show based on how quickly it can suck you back in and, you know, how much you're thinking about it when you're not watching it.

And a show like this obviously has a fantastic engine. So I think it really checks those boxes. Do you play in the father of a son in a very intense? moment for a father and son. What do you tap into as an actor to get into that? Is it your own dad? How did you pull that off? Yeah, well, luckily I had a wonderful, wonderful, have a wonderful relationship with my father. So it wasn't easy. You know, I'm a bit of a sap with that type of dynamic and that kind of unconditional protection that goes into parenting. And, and, you know, beyond that, the kind of tangling of your identity with yourself within your family structure, whether your father,

mother, son, brother, sister. You know, it's a man who's not only protecting his son, but he's protecting his perception of himself, you know, the family he's worked towards is his identity. And that's to lose not only his son to jail, but it would be the, it would be the destruction of a belief system. And to me, that's really easy to tap into it because I hold my family, you know, deer is an understatement. It's everything to me.

And my identity is completely tangled up. Well, it pays off definitely in the role. Are you, as you stepped out to do this, there's a lot of the world that knows you as Captain America. Did you consciously say, I want to do something with knives out, first of all, and with defending Jacob that is decidedly not Captain America? Like, here's this other gear I have. Sure.

If that was the way it played out, it wasn't born of the concern of perception. If anything, it might have been the creative appetite that. that might have been hungry for something a little different. But I think the tail starts to wag the dog. If you start cutting your cloth according to the way you think other people see you, I don't think it's any way to navigate a career. It's certainly no way to create art. So sometimes things just kind of align where maybe it is nice to be seen a different way.

But for me, it just was exciting to try something that I don't always get the chance to do. It's interesting to hear you said. Almost every well-known actor I've ever talked to kind of laughs at that question saying, yes, I had this plan. First, I'll do these three movies. And then I'll do a little indie movies. They'll all see as this. And now, fool them. No, it's like something good comes up and you, and you jump at it, right? Yeah, yeah. And likewise, I mean, the inverse of that would be if all of a sudden another role came along where it's exactly like Captain America, if it's the right creative team and you're passionate about the role, I wouldn't say no to that either. So it's not, I try not to make it about perception. I mean, who knows, maybe in a couple of years when I can't get a job without being an old you're all thing differently.

But for now, yeah, I'm still just trying to let the wind take me a little bit. I mean, you literally came off the biggest movie in the history of Hollywood, literally, Avengers Endgame, $2.8 billion, whatever it was, and then spin into Knives Out, which is this incredibly acclaimed and nominated film. What's, just as an actor, you're doing the CGI and the costumes and all the pre and post-perts production that comes with one of those big movies to do a movie like Knives Out or a show like Defending Jacob, where it's just kind of you and the cast in that moment. Do you enjoy sort of mixing it up that way, at least? I think most of the variation between processes

happen, you know, beyond the actual, you know, in between action and cut, which sounds really really, you're going to hear about that from your friends in Boston. Chris Evans, between action and cut. That's the headline of this interview. There it is. Jesus. You're done. You're done.

Yeah, it really is when you're actually performing. It's not too different. You know, with the Captain America stuff, there's probably a little more fight training than there is in time's out. But for the most part, it's, you know, movies, movies feel like movies. For the most part, you know what I mean?

Obviously, there's different, you know, scheduling and luxury on different budgets. But for the most part, most part, once you're actually performing, it all feels the same to me. It must be pretty gratifying. I think at this point, you know, when you put out an Avengers movie, people are going to go see it. But when you try something new, like defending Jacob, you think it's good when you're shooting it. You think it's good when you read the script, but who knows how people are going to respond? It must be nice to get this kind of reception

critically and from a big audience on Apple. Yeah, I mean, it's definitely a relief. And it's nice just when you work hard on something to know that people saw it. And yeah, that's one of the real perks of not having a movie release in theaters. You can't prove box office. Nobody knows. Your word against mine. Yeah, no, it's really nice, actually. Like I said, everything about it has been such a great experience.

And, you know, for me, at least those lines are forever blurred. And wherever the next project comes, that's where it is. I'm laughing as you said that. I was interviewing Jason Bateman recently about Ozark. He said, yeah, the show's doing great. He goes, is it? I have no way of knowing. He goes, I literally have no idea how it's.

doing. Great. Thanks here. People say nice things in airports. That's all he's got to go on. All you need. Hey guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Stick around to hear more from Chris Evans right after the break.

Welcome back to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Now more of my conversation with Chris Evans. Now, do I want to talk about another project you're working on, which is completely different from this and is just out called a starting point, which I think is such a great idea. It has nothing to do with the movies, but it does have you have to do with you using your power and your celebrity to elevate conversation about issues and politics and getting them straight out of the mouths of politicians. So how do you describe it to people who were just coming to it and looking at it? Sure. It's tricky because it's grown. Initially, it was just designed to be kind of a, almost like a political dictionary. I grew up with Schoolhouse Rock, which was maybe. maybe dating myself a little bit.

But there was a day I was watching the news and I didn't understand something. I went to Google it. And it was just overwhelming how hard it was to kind of pin down just basic, concise information. And it just felt like there was a hole in the market for it. It's just a way that you can kind of, because I think a lot of people are curious about politics and maybe a little intimidated to try and find a way in. They don't know how to broach the topic as a whole, so they avoid it. And the initial plan was that this could serve as a friendly and,

intuitive access points for information. And then over the course of making the site, it grew a little bit. There were a couple more mechanisms that seemed to be pretty handy and unique that we grew on. And so you actually went to Washington yourself and literally knocked on doors. And you tried to get people to sit down and talk to you. How did that go? Sometimes literally knock me on doors. Yeah, I mean, it was, it was tricky at first, you know, because you send an email at first. And nobody reads the other. There's like, no, no, no. Well, they assumed that it was, they assumed it was a joke at first that it wasn't real. We made a video where I'm like, hello, it's me, please, you know.

And again, there was still, there was apprehension. But then once you get a couple people involved and they say, well, that was pleasant. You say, please, please, go spread the word, please. Slowly but surely, we started snowballing. And by our fourth or fifth trip, our schedule actually became pretty full. And it started to feel like, okay, if we can keep them invested and if we can show them the return, turn on this medium, if we can show them that this, this mechanism actually works in terms of creating connectivity to your, not just your base, but your constituents in general, then it can

really become this symbiotic thing and take on a life of its own. Yeah, I was telling you before we started, when we do Morning Joe, we make assumptions about our audience because it's MSNBC, people who follow politics very closely. And there are moments even on our own discussions where I'll be listening, sitting there hosting, and go, I got to remind everybody the fundamentals of what we're talking about because the news goes so far past that and it goes into partisanship and everything else. So I think it's important that we point out like this is not a partisan exercise. People make assumptions like, oh, a big Hollywood guy. Okay, what's he up to right now? This is just about getting information to people. That's it. You know, I think just, you know,

it's so hard to try and draw the lines in terms of, well, what are the parameters of who we speak to on different issues? You know what I mean? Who is considered an expert? How do we remove subjectivity from this equation and try and stay impartial as possible. And we do the lines along have you served. Have you been voted into public office, current and former? At least then you can say, well, these are the people who are writing laws, who are voting on them, who are actually creating policy that impacts your life. And if the electorate has a better connection to who they are, then we can steer politics

to reflect who we are as a people a bit better. So again, we hope it evolves in ways, but this is our starting point. I said it. Yes. Oh, man. This interview. We got two now. We got two.

What next. This is what we consider to be our starting point. Because, you know, look, between action and cut. Yes. Oh, we have a theme for this. This is good. This is good. Like, I almost choke on it when I saw it.

You're getting rusty in quarantine, man. It's amazing. You know, it's funny, just as we sit here talking, just yesterday, Twitter announced this new policy where they will put a correction effect. If somebody prominent, like the president tweets and they say, okay, here's a link to the information about that. So now we get to a point where people say, well, the link you put in to argue against that tweet, that's biased too. Like what article did you link to? So it's almost like you go into this wormhole you can't get out of it. It spirals eternally, you know what I mean? So that's certainly

the hardest thing that we have to try and navigate. And if you see the site, there are three sections to the site. Sections two and three are a little bit more incumbent upon them to come to the table with factually accurate information. And if they don't, then the public will hold them accountable. Section one is the one where we kind of brand it as fact check and a North Star True. If you're just looking for information, you know, for those who don't know, section one is just this litany of common political questions where every response is given by at least three Democrats and at least three Republicans to get a spectrum of perspectives. But those are the responses we fact check.

And one of the things we tried to remove from the site, because I do think it creates a swampier environment, is likes and comment sections. It's a dangerous reward mechanism, you know, because sometimes I can really galvanize a base, and you can really get a lot of momentum behind a certain point of view if, you know, you hit the right lightning rod words. But more often than not, you're just kicking beehives.

And I think it tends to obfuscate what is really important, which is just the actual information. You're not coming here just to kind of get thrown into a culture war. It's more about just, let me just get the information to understand what I actually believe. Yeah, there's an interesting moment in the video I watched where you talk to Cory Booker. He has a good experience with it. He says, okay, Chris is a fair guy. He's read it and he's interested. He picks up the phone and calls Tim Scott, the Republican across the aisle.

Next day he comes and talks to you. It's unbelievable. It was exactly what. what we hoped would happen happen at, you know, what we felt at the time at the highest level, you know what I mean? It was amazing to have him come in, and he was so gracious and answered so many questions for us. And then when we said, please, we need help. Do you know anyone?

He called Tim Scott right then and there, and the next day, Tim showed up. And he was fantastic as well. And that's just kind of how this gained momentum. And it was just a really exciting couple years. It's so different from what I normally do. And it just felt very satisfying to be of service. It seems like, too, because this is not a light lift. This is occupied a bunch of your time.

I mean, you're not just a face for this thing. You're doing it. You're doing the interviews. This is my thing. You know, me and me and Mark Kasson and Joe Keanui, it's three. I mean, we have other great people involved in it. But we're the ones pushing this rock up the hell, yeah. Well, I congratulate you.

I think it's a great idea. And I hope it breaks through. You have to come back and talk to us about it. So before I let you go, quarantine. What is quarantine? look like for you what's every day you and dodger just hanging out yeah it's just me and dodger you know it's tricky because i'm uh it's such a stupid thing let's see if i can get one more stupid i am i consider myself an introvert i am and uh it's such it's like when people are like i'm just a geek

but but i am a bit of an introvert so for the most part i i i you know it takes a while before i need social interaction it can take a couple weeks before i say oh god i have to get out of at his house. Right, right. My clothing's walking on its own. So, you know, it's, it's, it's been hard for me because I'm a news junkie and, you know, you can't, my finger is very much on the pulse of what's happening in the world and, and you can't separate your own experience from that.

So, you know, you feel the collective struggle of everybody. But on a personal note, even though it's probably an awkward, clunky pivot, but personally, this, this isn't too dissimilar to what I, I never go out any. You're right. Right. I just stay home and I never shower. So that's not true. I shower all the time. I don't know why I say.

I'm a very clean person. It's too late. We're going to cut off your answer right after you say I never shower. We got exactly what we needed out of this. Fantastic. I do have to ask you though, you're new to Instagram. Yeah. And you also tweeted that if people saw what you did in private, they would lock you up.

Would you like to explain what you meant by that? Well, I'm, I'm, you know, I'm a very happy guy in general and, you know, look, you put the right song on and, you know, how can you not get up? I'm a big proponent of just, you know, blasting music in the morning. And if it's the right tune and, you know, it's sunny outside, I start jamming and looking like a lunatic. You indicated it might be 80s themed. Are there particular songs that you go with? The other day was 80s.

I was really into Kyrie by Mr. Mr. Oh, wow. Kind of an underrated and underrated 80s tune. But I'm the guy that I'll play it, you know, 30 times in a row until I never want to hear the song again. So I'm still on the sweet spot. I think as soon as this is over, I'm going to go, blast it. But, yeah, that was the song the other day that was born to the tweet. I did not see that tune coming.

That's impressive. That's a deep track. Very nice. It's a tune. Very well done. Are you able to work in some sense out of this? Like work on scripts, read? Like, how do you go about your job as the rest of us are trying to?

Sure. I mean, reading a little bit, the problem is a lot of things are on hold because, you know, movies don't know how are we going to make them. So I think there's a lot of untangling they have to be there. Luckily, there's been a little bit of defending Jacob Press I've been able to do. And mostly for a starting point, you know, we were going to launch back at South by Southwest a couple months ago. So COVID obviously put that on hold. So these last few weeks has just been kind of rebuilding up to that launch. All right. You know what? This has been a great interview from action to cut. And I want to thank you for that. Oh my God. Damn it. That's on you, man. That's on you. Oh, come on. This is me.

I just literally, just cold interview. Just getting people. Thanks, man. This was really great. Chris, thanks for doing it. Congrats on all that's going on for you.

It's awesome. Thanks. Well done. All right. Thank you. My big thanks again to Chris for a fun conversation, really smart guy,

great guy, all the way from action to cut. You can catch his show. Jacob on Apple TV, and be sure to check out that new website, a starting point.com, as we roll into Election Day in November. My thanks, as always, for all of you for tuning in and listening. We will keep adding more of our new virtual interviews as often as we can. For now, though, be sure to check out our big library of conversations with all of my guests. And don't forget, of course, to tune in to Sunday today every weekend on NBC. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you.

next time on the Sunday Sit Down podcast.