Christopher Robert Evans was born on June 13, 1981, in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Sudbury. He comes from a close-knit family with strong artistic and civic influences. His mother, Lisa, worked as the artistic director at the Concord Youth Theater, while his father, Bob, is a dentist. Evans has Irish ancestry through his father and Irish and Italian roots through his mother. He was raised Catholic alongside his two sisters, Carly and Shanna, and his younger brother, Scott Evans, who also became an actor. His parents divorced in 1999. Public service also runs in the family—his uncle, Mike Capuano, served both as mayor of Somerville and later as a U.S. Representative.
From an early age, Evans showed a love for performance, particularly musical theater. He attended acting camp as a child and performed in school productions, including playing Randolph MacAfee in Bye Bye Birdie. Performing felt natural to him, something he later described as feeling “like home.” Before his senior year of high school, he spent a summer in New York City studying at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. He graduated from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School in 1999, where he was classmates with future actor Jeremy Strong.
Evans began his professional acting career in the late 1990s. His first credited role was in an educational short film in 1997, and in 1999 he modeled for Hasbro’s board game Mystery Date. In 2000, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting full-time, immersing himself in the competitive atmosphere of young Hollywood. That same year, he made his screen debut in the television film The Newcomers and appeared in the short-lived series Opposite Sex.
His breakout into mainstream film came in 2001 with the teen parody Not Another Teen Movie. Although the film received negative reviews, it performed well at the box office and helped raise his profile. In the early 2000s, he appeared in several films that received mixed or negative critical responses, including The Perfect Score and Cellular (2004), the latter showcasing his growing charisma as a leading man.
Evans’ first major franchise role came in 2005 when he portrayed Johnny Storm, also known as the Human Torch, in Fantastic Four. Despite mixed reviews, the film was commercially successful, and he reprised the role in its 2007 sequel. Around this time, he also appeared in a range of genres, from science fiction (Sunshine) to romantic drama (London) and voice work in animated films such as TMNT and Battle for Terra. Though many of these projects received mixed reactions, they demonstrated his versatility and willingness to experiment with different roles.
Between 2008 and 2010, Evans continued building his career with roles in films such as Street Kings, Push, The Losers, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. While not all were commercial hits, several gained cult followings or critical appreciation over time. He also took on more dramatic material in Puncture and appeared in the romantic comedy What’s Your Number?
A defining turning point came in 2011 when Evans debuted as Steve Rogers/Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger. Initially hesitant to accept the role, he ultimately signed a multi-film contract with Marvel Studios. The film was both a critical and commercial success, marking the beginning of one of the most iconic superhero portrayals in modern cinema. He reprised the role in The Avengers (2012), which became one of the highest-grossing films of all time, and continued portraying Captain America in multiple sequels, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). Endgame became one of the highest-grossing films in history, and Evans described filming his final scenes as deeply emotional.
During this period, Evans also expanded his career beyond acting in blockbusters. He starred in critically acclaimed films such as Snowpiercer (2013), directed by Bong Joon-ho, and Gifted (2017). In 2014, he made his directorial debut with the romantic drama Before We Go, in which he also starred. In 2018, he made his Broadway debut in Lobby Hero, earning praise and a Drama League Award nomination.
After stepping away from Captain America, Evans diversified his roles. In 2019, he starred in Knives Out as Ransom Drysdale, earning critical acclaim for playing against his heroic image. He also appeared in The Red Sea Diving Resort. In 2020, he led the Apple TV+ miniseries Defending Jacob, which received strong reviews for his dramatic performance. He later voiced Buzz Lightyear in Pixar’s Lightyear (2022) and starred in Netflix’s The Gray Man.
More recent projects, such as Ghosted (2023) and Pain Hustlers, received mixed to negative reviews, though he continued to explore diverse genres. He reprised earlier roles in animated and cameo appearances, including returning briefly as Johnny Storm in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). In December 2025, it was announced that he would return as Steve Rogers in Avengers: Doomsday (2026).
Over the course of his career, Evans has become one of the highest-grossing actors of all time, with his films earning approximately $11.4 billion worldwide. His journey reflects steady growth from teen comedies and early franchise attempts to global stardom as one of the defining superheroes of the 21st century, while also demonstrating his range through independent films, stage work, directing, and dramatic television roles.
