A List: Chris Evans

Chris Evans is a serious actor but that doesn’t mean he wants you to stop objectifying him.

By Brandon Voss

After working a whipped-cream bikini in the 2001 spoof Not Another Teen Movie, Chris Evans fried phone lines in Cellular and melted hearts as The Human Torch in the Fantastic Four films. Next seen as a telekinetic troublemaker in February’s sci-fi thriller Push, the 27-year-old revisits his steamiest photo shoot and outs his even hotter gay brother.

This may come as quite a shock, but gay men enjoy you.
I was well aware of that. I remember my mother saying, “Chris, do you know you’re #2 on some gay list [AfterElton.com’s Hot 100]. Brad Pitt is #12!” I was like, “What?!” I couldn’t believe it.

That was 2007. I hate to break bad news, but you dropped to #8 in ’08.
Aww, that’s outrageous! Who took my spot?

I forget, but Jake Gyllenhaal was #1 for both years.
What? Jake? Unacceptable. [Laughs]

It couldn’t hurt to play a gay role next.
I really wanted to be a part of Milk, but I lost out to James Franco. I guess if you’ve got to lose, he’s the guy to lose to. I did a movie called Fierce People where I played a sociopath who wasn’t gay, but he does rape a teenage boy. You come to find out he didn’t do it for sexual reasons; he just did it because he could. He really was a sick character.

I’ve actually got an idea for a gay musical sequel to Cellular called Blackberry Storm. You in?
Absolutely. Sounds like a nailbiter.

I hear there might also be a queer subtext in Push.
Yes, those with powers try to keep it under wraps. They’re being hunted by the government, so everyone’s trying to lay low. Now I understand the gay man’s struggle. [Laughs]

Click here to follow The Advocate on Twitter. 1 2 3 4 NEXT Page 1 of 4

READ COMMENTS (24) MORE People EMAIL PRINT

RECOMMEND

‹‹Previous Article in Category | Next Article in Category››

Reader Comments

Back to top
Name: kenn
Date posted: 3/22/2009 9:11:00 AM
Hometown: la

Comment:
whaaaat! fire your publicist that's so stupid your hot and you should flaunt it there's nothing wrong with posing shirtless your publicist is crazy maybe he/she/it wants you for herself hands off whoever you are! hope to see more shirtless photo of you chris if iwas as hot as you i'd definitely flaunt my stuffs
Back to top
Name: Timothy
Date posted: 1/27/2009 11:53:00 PM
Hometown: Grand Rapids

Comment:
The fact is the gossip sites, including Perez Hilton, use gay rumors as their way of preying on and ruining careers. They've created a market for "who's secretly gay?" type trash. No in this day "Jewish Rumors" wouldn't hurt Chris Evans but "Scientology Rumors" would. If he said he embraced his brother's faith but didn't want to go to an L Ron meeting for fear people would start publishing he was one of them. I think people would think it was reasonable. Plus its not like you have to worry about going to a Jewish temple and having a Drag Queen jump up and french you as a camera goes off. Granted some gay bars may be respectable places, I can only speak of the few around here. ;) I myself prefer the local micro brewery that serves food.
Back to top
Name: Melissa
Date posted: 1/14/2009 12:40:00 PM
Hometown: Simi Valley

Comment:
Okay, someone is a little sensitive today. Chill out, put yourself in his shoes and then re-think your comment.
Back to top
Name: Joey
Date posted: 1/11/2009 12:48:00 AM
Hometown: Miami

Comment:
I just think his comments are being overanalyzed. It's seems to me that his fear comes from the risk of losing acting jobs and seeing his face spread all over the Enquirer with all sorts of lies. I don't think anybody wants that. If he wasn't a working actor in Hollywood, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have a problem going to a gay bar with his brother and his gay buddies.
Back to top
Name: ThomasT
Date posted: 1/8/2009 1:45:00 AM
Hometown: Los Angeles

Comment:
He is not winning any points with me here. Screw him. We don't need to keep supporting people who fear being mistaken for gay. We cannot keep making excuses for people who feel the need to distance themselves.
Back to top
Name: lalala
Date posted: 1/7/2009 10:12:00 PM
Hometown: Los Angeles

Comment:
Granted, I am not famous... but I am a real person living in the real world, and when someone asks me if I am gay (which occurs daily since I put a FIGHT THE H8" bumper sticker on my car) I always answer the same way: "Same difference." I think Chris, and any celeb, could respond the same. If you'd like to think I'm gay, what's the harm? what's the problem? It doesn't get in the way of my (coincidentally) hetero preferences or status at all.
Back to top
Name: Aaron
Date posted: 1/7/2009 10:02:00 PM
Hometown: New Plymouth, New Zealand

Comment:
Guys, Chris said nothing but nice things about his brother and even supported gay marriage in that interview. So what if he doesn't want the paps on his back? Also, can you imagine what would happen if Chris freaking Evans went to a gay bar? He'd get totally swamped. Gay men all over the place absolutely love this guy.
Back to top
Name: Mark
Date posted: 1/7/2009 9:07:00 PM
Hometown: Springfield

Comment:
Chris is a jerk, it is like having a black friend but not going to their church, because what would my white friends think, total hypocrite.
Back to top
Name: Kyle
Date posted: 1/7/2009 1:55:00 PM
Hometown: New York

Comment:
Most actors don't want to be pigeon-holed as anything, they just want to be actors. I don't fault him for being circumspect.
Back to top
Name: Clint
Date posted: 1/7/2009 12:20:00 PM
Hometown: Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

Comment:
"If you're not ashamed of something, you wouldn't mind getting mistaken for it." That's a great point, Steven. I do realize what others have said too. It's true, Evans has the media to deal with. However, it's only reinforcing homophobia to play to homophobia. If every man had the attitude of not caring, whether or not he is perceived as gay, because there is nothing negative attached to being gay, there'd be nothing for the tabloids to report on. We're not going to fight homophobia/heterosexism, by using it as the reason to think or act a certain way.

PREVIOUS 1 2 3 NEXT

More Online Only

Commentary Progress in the Midwest
A city native and strong supporter of Kalamazoo's effort to keep an anti-discrimination law reflects on a hard-won campaign.

Commentary What Marriage in Maine Meant for Me

Dana Hernandez is a straight white married mother of two young children. But in campaigning for No on 1 and reporting Election Night outcomes for Advocate.com, defeat hit her like a ton of bricks.

Marriage Equality Terri White Stages Her Leather Encore

Last year, acclaimed stage performer Terri White was homeless and living in a public park. On Sunday, she and her partner held a leather-themed commitment ceremony onstage following her triumphant Broadway turn in Finian’s Rainbow.

Music Ghost Story

Out singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile discusses working with her childhood mentor, coming out publicly, and joining next year's Lilith Fair.

News View From Washington: GOP Upheaval

Now that the only pro-marriage equality candidate in New York's 23rd Congressional district, Republican Dede Scozzafava, has dropped out of the race, Tuesday's election holds any number of political lessons for both the GOP and the LGBT community.

Books Hot Sheet: Ditto Knocking 'Em Dead

This week might not bring anything to the screen other than a Boondock Saints sequel, but there are plenty of reasons to sit at home on the couch or head to your local concert venue.

News Features Sailor Speaks Out
Sailor Joseph Rocha endured years of hazing until he spoke out — then he was discharged for revealing his homosexuality. Nonetheless, the 23-year-old is itching to suit back up.

Music Rainbow High

Busy Broadway heartthrob, gay rights activist, and former Advocate coverboy Cheyenne Jackson chats about his Finian’s Rainbow revival, his politically charged cabaret CD, and laying around in his underpants (pic on page five).

Marriage Equality For Maine, The Time is Now
Money is on their side and the polls look optimistic, but volunteers fighting to preserve marriage equality in Maine are prepared for a fight to the finish.

Television Another Tough Broad

After being outed by a Nazi and locking lips with a hook-up three times in one episode, Christine Woods's tough-talking FBI agent Janis Hawk on ABC's FlashForward might just be prime time's best gay offering — who isn't in Glee club, that is.

Books In Sickness and in Health

Mary Cappello’s memoir Called Back takes readers on a white-knuckle journey through the experience of cancer treatment in America — especially disorienting to navigate as a woman and a lesbian.

Books An American Crime

Best-selling novelist Patricia Cornwell made headlines last week when she filed suit against a New York investment firm for losing $40 million of her money. But she'd much rather talk about her new book, hate-crimes legislation, and Angelina Jolie.

Comedy Gilded Lily

After conquering Broadway, movies, and television, out funny lady Lily Tomlin prepares for the final frontier — Las Vegas.

Entertainment News Ricky Martin, No Shirt and a Baby
Ricky Martin knows how to get the camera's attention. Take a look at the many pictures of Ricky uploaded to his Twitter account in the past three months, always shirtless, frequently carrying one (or both) of his babies.

Television Fresh Blood
With True Blood a bona-fide cultural phenomenon, producer Alan Ball offers tantalizing hints about what to expect on season 3.