Why Chris Evans Has Been Avoiding Saturday Night Live 'Like The Plague'
At last count, 11 notable actors from the Marvel Cinematic Universe have hosted "Saturday Night Live." Several of them were famous prior to their appearances in the MCU, but they still count: Natalie Portman hosted "SNL" prior to playing Jane Foster in the "Thor" movies, Paul Rudd first hosted in 2008, seven years before "Ant-Man," and Samuel L. Jackson first hosted back in 1998. Scarlett Johansson has hosted the show six times (!), and, of course, Robert Downey, Jr. was actually a regular cast member on "SNL" during its notoriously panned 1985-'86 season. That so many Marvel actors hosted "SNL" prior to their superhero shenanigans merely seems to indicate that the casting directors at the MCU are savvy about snagging big stars. Surprisingly, Willem Dafoe — who was folded into the MCU in "Spider-Man: No Way Home" — didn't host "SNL" until 2022.
Other MCU actors, however, didn't appear on "SNL" until it was time to promote their movies. Jeremy Renner appeared on "SNL" in 2013, after the release of "The Avengers," and had a great deal of fun playing a disappointing version of Hawkeye. Likewise, Chris Hemsworth, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Chadwick Boseman all hosted around the time of MCU film releases.
One might notice, however, that Chris Evans, the actor who has played Steve Rogers/Captain America in several MCU movies, has yet to join his co-stars in the "SNL"-hosting game. It turns out there was a reason for that. Evans, as he revealed in an interview with ET Canada, is terrified of performing live. Despite the star's on-screen authority and steely action-hero determination, Evans still wrestles with stage fright and with anxiety in general. Additionally, and he felt this was key, Evans feels he isn't much of a comedian.
'Terrifying'
Chris Evans' newest film, "Ghosted," will be released on Apple TV+ on April 21, 2023. To promote the film, Evans' co-star, Oscar-nominee Ana de Armas will be hosting "Saturday Night Live" a week earlier on April 15. When ET Canada asked Evans why it will only be de Armas and not him co-hosting the famous sketch comedy show alongside her, Evans admitted that preparing for the fast-paced world of live TV comedy wouldn't sit well with him. The actor added that he could appear briefly, but cracking wise in several sketches throughout the night seems to be too much for him. He explained:
"[A] cameo I can handle. I've avoided hosting 'SNL' like the plague for years now just because I'm so scared. It's terrifying to me. To me, it would just be one of those things that every single night I would wake up in a cold sweat. A cameo sounds great, that's perfect. In and out ... get your toes wet. But hosting, I tip my hat to [de Armas]. She's going to be amazing. But it would provide a lot of sleepless nights for me. I just know how I would feel ... it would just be an everyday anxiety, constant regret. Why did I do this? I could have been comfortable at my house, in my bed, not worrying about this."
In a 2022 video interview with MTV News, Evans opened up about his lifelong struggles with anxiety. For many years, he said, he was deathly afraid of bad outcomes, seemingly in both his career and in his life. The massive publicity tours required by the MCU — paired with his films' overwhelming popularity — began to assuage Evans' nerves. He said that appearing in live events for Marvel was a sort of "classroom."
Not living in the moment
Chris Evans pinpointed what anxiety meant to him, and how he was able to hone his ability to live in the present. He found the ability to detach from the past and the future, dissolving his fears:
"You know this acting landscape has kind of forced you to home some ability in terms of stilling your mind. And in turn, you realize that a lot of the fear that breeds anxiety, never really happens, and it's your own making. [...] Like most of our anxiety in life, it's about these fears about what will happen. [...] You know, when you're able to still your mind and be present in your body, those fears melt away. [...] Anxiety, in general, is predicted on living outside of the moment, you know, analyzing the past and worrying about the future."
His insight is refreshing and perhaps inspiring for those who also wrestle with anxiety.
A secondary reason Evans has never wanted to host "Saturday Night Live," however, is a lot more direct: he doesn't think he's funny. Those who have seen "Not Another Teen Movie," "Knives Out," or "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" may beg to differ, but Evans has never seen himself as one of the funnier guys in the room. This was confirmed by peers. Evans explained in the ET interview:
"I'm not a funny person. Maybe I only feel that because I have very, very funny friends who once told me I'm not a funny person."
Evans' funny friends likely haven't seen some of the actor's more comedic work. Perhaps then they wouldn't be so quick to dismiss his abilities.