WATCH: Why Chris Evans said ‘no’ to ‘Captain America’ role at first

MANILA, Philippines – Chris Evans is the one of the stars of a massive, multi-billion franchise, and has taken what most likely is the role of a lifetime as Steve Rogers or Captain America himself.

While the premiere for Captain America: Civil War fast approaches, it’s hard to believe as you discover that he almost said “No” to playing the Marvel superhero. (WATCH: New ‘Captain America: Civil War’ clip premieres at 2016 MTV Movie Awards)

He confessed to Jimmy Kimmel on his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, that he was reluctant at first, saying, “I was scared because at first it was some 9-picture contract, and there are parts of me that have a little bit of social anxiety with this industry.”

Prior to Captain America, he was known for starring turns in films like Not Another Teen Movie (2001), Fantastic Four (2005), and Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010), to name a few.

“Doing movies one at a time, if all of a sudden you decide you don’t want to do them anymore, you’re afforded the opportunity to take a step back and recalibrate,” Chris added. “When you have a giant contract, if all of a sudden you’re not responding well, too bad, you gotta suit up again. That was scary.”

He said that he refused to take on the role, but had discussed the matter with family and friends. He said, “It started to kind of make sense that I was saying no out of fear.”

“You can’t be doing something because you’re scared. So it ended up kind of clicking to me in the way of looking at it as ‘Whatever you’re scared of, push yourself into it.'”

In an interview with Variety in 2014, he admitted that he had plans to retire from acting after his Marvel films and to take on directorial roles. He said, “If I’m acting at all, it’s going to be under Marvel contract, or I’m going to be directing. I can’t see myself pursuing acting strictly outside of what I’m contractually obligated to do.”

Later, on ABC’s Good Morning America, he backtracked, calling his initial statements “kind of silly.” He added, “I certainly am going to try and focus a bit more on directing at this point.”

Civil War, which will see the Avengers divided on the matter of an earth-shattering Superhero Registration Act, will premiere on April 27 in Philippine cinemas. – Rappler.com