Chris Evans TURNED DOWN Captain America several times due to his mental health

Anthony Mackie will soon pick up Captain America's shield to become a new version of the character in Captain America: New World Order.

Following the events of Avengers: Endgame and Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson has become Captain America, taking over from Steve Rogers.

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Until Mackie establishes himself as Cap, Chris Evans will always be the most beloved version of the character.

When casting for Captain America: The First Avenger got underway, Chris Evans was asked to audition by Marvel and he said no several times. At that point in his career, Evans had already appeared in a Marvel product, Fantastic Four and its sequel, both of which did not receive critical acclaim.

READ MORE: Five actors almost cast as Captain America before Chris Evans

It was around that time that the actor's anxiety became a major problem with regard to his career.

“It was the first time I started having mini panic attacks on set,” he told The Hollywood Reporter about his time on the movie Puncture.

“I really started to think, ‘I’m not sure if this is the right thing for me, I’m not sure if I’m feeling as healthy as I should be feeling.'"

Evans was uneasy about taking on the role of Captain America as at the time of the first movie, he was being asked to commit to a 10-picture deal within the MCU, which would thrust him into a new stratosphere of fame, which he wasn't prepared for.

He would eventually accept the role after 10 pictures went down to six, while he was offered it outright rather than auditioning.

Evans leaned on Hemsworth for help

While some of The Avengers were already established stars like Robert Downey Jr. Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo, Evans and Chris Hemsworth rode the same journey to superstardom at the same time.

“It was nice having Chris Hemsworth around because he was going through it, too," he revealed.

"I mean, at the time Downey’s Downey and Scarlett’s Scarlett . And Ruffalo and Renner, at the time, were crushing it, too. Hemsworth and I were very new and we also had the stand-alones and so I think we shared in our anxiety, and at least that made it a little bit more comforting.”