Chris Evans worked hard to get hard-bodied for Captain America: Civil War.
E! News' Erin Lim caught up with the 34-year-old actor at a press junket over the weekend, where he admitted to pumping extra iron for certain scenes in the film (in theaters May 6). In one action sequence, for example, Captain America uses his bare hands to hold a helicopter in place. "When you're in a T-shirt, you want to look good. I'm not going to try to pretend that I just walk around like that," Evans said of looking super ripped on-camera. "Yeah, you prepare."
Evans has been playing Captain America since 2011, so he's used to the diet and exercise regimen required to play the Marvel hero. "You want to make sure that you look the role. It's tough reading those comic books, because in the comic books he's like 6-foot-4, 240 [lbs.] or something. He's a huge animal. I'm nowhere near that," he said. "You want to make sure you do your best to at least get close to the idea that some of these comic fans have in their head."
Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, Captain America: Civil War's all-star cast includes Paul Bettany, Chadwick Boseman, Daniel Brühl, Robert Downey Jr., Martin Freeman, Frank Grillo, Tom Holland, William Hurt, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Elizabeth Olsen, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Sebastian Stan and Emily VanCamp. When the actors hit the gym together, it often turned competitive.
Don Cheadle, who plays War Machine, said one Avengers: Age of Ultron put them all to shame. "Chris Hemsworth comes in the gym and we're like, 'All right. I'll see you later.' He like lifts all the weights...and then he goes and gets one of those facials," he joked. "Let's not talk about that."
Cheadle held his own in other ways. "Off- and on-screen, I tend to kick a lot of butt. That's my thing," he told E! News, joking that he does all his own stunts. "All that flying stuff, that's me." In reality, Cheadle fulfilled a childhood dream whenever he got to do wire work and stunt choreography. "It's great because we now have the best toys and the biggest stage to do it on."
Watch the E! News videos for more from Evans and Cheadle.
Captain America: Civil War is in theaters May 6.