Here's Why Chris Evans Wore Fake Feet In The First Captain America Film
With Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor-centric franchises all up and running, it was high time for Captain America to finally take the spotlight. On July 19, 2011, Captain America: The First Avenger opened in cinemas, enlightening audiences to the origins of the Star-Spangled Avenger. It went on to be a huge success, grossing over $370 million at the box office and garnering tons of positive press from critics, as evidenced by its strong 80% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Of course, the feature and its two sequels — 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier and 2016's Captain America: Civil War — likely wouldn't have earned their iconic status without their lead, Chris Evans. The former Johnny "Human Torch" Storm of the Fantastic Four franchise very nearly didn't take the part, having turned it down a handful of times before eventually giving it a whirl. As it turns out, signing the dotted line helped Evans make his mark on film history, proving himself over the years as the perfect candidate to play the Marvel Comics mainstay.
At the same time, no matter how tailormade the role was for Evans, sometimes he needed a bit of help to bring Cap to life. While his skinny, pre-Super Soldier Serum body (supplied by actor Leander Deeny) is famously not his, neither were his feet for one particular scene in The First Avenger.
Here's why Chris Evans had to undergo a minor prosthetic pedicure.
Even heroes need foot protection
In The First Avenger, audiences witness the moment Captain America was truly created, thanks to Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci). His experimental Super Soldier serum was meant to allow the United States government to enhance its troops biologically, granting them enhanced strength, speed, and durability — all of which Steve Rogers got to test out in short order. Almost immediately after his injection with the formula, though, a HYDRA agent breaks into the lab and assassinates Erskine, leading Rogers to give chase across the busy Brooklyn, New York streets. Since he had to remove some of his clothing, namely his shoes, for the procedure, he ran and leapt around on paved roads completely barefoot.
As one would imagine, bearing in mind the unforgiving nature of blacktop, director Joe Johnston wasn't about to make Chris Evans ditch his shoes for this sequence. Instead, the costume team came up with a pair of shoes that appear vaguely like human feet at a glance. Back in September of 2010, during the filming of The First Avenger, Daily Mail actually reported on this exact element of Evans' costume, providing a few clear photos of the actor wearing the "feet" on set. They're rather basic and don't look very natural up close, but, in motion, no one could tell the difference.
This is a classic case of Hollywood movie magic, and surely Chris Evans appreciated this alternative to tearing up his own feet on the pavement.