In an interview with Variety, Captain America's Chris Evans has stated that after his contract with Marvel is up, he will step back from acting and pursue his aspirations in directing. The star signed a six movie deal with Marvel, and has completed three. His deal will likley end around 2017. Captain America: The Winter Soldier arrives April 4, 2014.
"As Evans prepares for another spin in the superhero stratosphere, he admits to feeling somewhat ambivalent about being typecast as a comicbook star. The 32-year-old actor spent his winter hiatus from the Marvel universe directing his debut feature, an intimate $3 million love story tentatively called “1:30 Train,” which focuses on a young woman (Alice Eve) who misses her ride home at Grand Central Terminal and spends the night talking to a street musician (played by Evans). He shot the film on Manhattan’s Lower East side over the course of just 19 days, and recently finished editing a rough cut."
"'I’ve known for a while I wanted to direct,' Evans says. 'But (time) never really opens up. There’s another movie to do, there’s another acting job. It just got to a point where I was like, you know what — I have to do this.'"
"Traditionally, superhero roles are both a blessing and a curse for up-and-coming actors. They can confer recognition on unknowns (like a young Hugh Jackman, cast as Wolverine in 2000’s “X-Men”), but they also can restrict career options due to typecasting. But with the onset of Hollywood’s mega-franchise mania, potential drawbacks to playing a superhero have become less of an issue as actors regularly dabble in other artistic ventures, whether they be independent films (as in the case of “Harry Potter’s” Daniel Radcliffe), Broadway (“Spider-Man’s” Andrew Garfield) or directing, the career Evans is chasing."
Read the whole story at Variety
Also check out Variety's Q&A with Robert Downey Jr here