'Captain America' suit fits Evans

Steve Rogers is a scrawny guy who is transformed into a World War II super-soldier in "Captain America: The First Avenger," the latest comic book adaptation to invade theaters.

In a rather similar way, Chris Evans, the hunky actor who plays the title role, underwent super-scrutiny to fill the shoes of the Marvel superhero in the 3-D film, which hit screens Friday.

A big issue was the Captain America suit, which had to retain its retro patriotic zeal and yet look plausible to modern audiences.

"It was a little overwhelming," recalls Evans, 30. "The first couple of fittings you'd have, you'd go in there and you'd put on the suit. And then they would file in about 20 people to take notes. You have three or four people dedicated just to the gloves and three or four people just to the boots."

And then there was the matter of the iconic shield, which required many prototypes and screen tests.

"It's amazing how different shields changed the whole look of the outfit, so that was another process," says the actor, who wields the bullet-stopping weapon in dazzling action scenes.

Aside from the wardrobe, there was the challenge of capturing Captain America's personal qualities. Evans says he and Steve Rogers have at least one aspect in common.

"I think I have a pretty unsilenceable conscience," says Evans, who sounds guarded as he deals with the media blitz for his biggest cinematic role yet.

"I think part of Captain America is that he does things not for anybody else, not because he's waiting for praise or reward. He just does it because it's right. It's the type of thing that if he didn't do it, and the only person who knew about it was him, he wouldn't be able to live with that. It's too much.

"In some ways, sometimes my brain or my heart just won't let me not do something. If you know something is right, it just has to be done, then you have to do it."

In a month dominated so far by "Transformers" mayhem, "Captain America" could bring a welcome humanity back to the superhero genre, much as "Super 8" did for sci-fi adventures.

Although the movie has all the requisite state-of-the-art stunts and special effects, it's driven by the earnest goodness of Steve Rogers, a character who debuted in March 1941, before America entered the war

In the movie, Rogers starts out as someone whose heart and courage far outweigh his 98-pound frame. Then, in a stroke of fate that changes his life, Rogers is spotted by a scientist (Stanley Tucci) and becomes part of a top-secret Army project. Through a process involving a super-serum that enhances the existing powers within a person, Rogers is turned into the perfect human specimen, Captain America, and drawn into a battle against the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), a Nazi officer whose brush with a serum prototype has made him even more vicious and evil.

In a feat of acting and computer magic, Evans is able to portray the skinny Steve and the super Steve. As dazzling as the physical transformation is on-screen, it doesn't change the essence of the character, Evans stresses.

"I'd love to believe that even in the last frame of the film, you still kind of see the skinny Steve," he says. The character's journey takes him down emotional paths as well as to the war zones.

Evans hesitated to accept the role, which comes with a commitment to appear in more movies, including Marvel's upcoming "The Avengers" -- the superhero ensemble extravaganza starring Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson and Mark Ruffalo. He says he's proud of how the film turned out.

"It was a great experience as an actor. In that sense, it was rewarding and certainly the right thing to do. ... The other leg of the fear was about the potential lifestyle changes if, all of a sudden, the film was a success, the new challenges and hurdles that come with that. That's kind of yet to be seen."