Captain America's Chris Evans and The Queen's Gambit's Anya Taylor-Joy just toured the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) for their film Sacrifice.
Evans plays the part of Mike Tyler, a failed actor who's seeking out a fresh start when he and two other random people are abducted by Taylor-Joy and several other armed activists, who believe that if they sacrifice three people, they'll be able to find a legendary relic and unlock its supernatural power.
During TIFF, the Sacrifice cast members stepped up on stage for a Q-and-A segment to discuss the film and other projects.
While the actors were on stage, a reporter asked Chris Evans a question that could be interpreted as pretty rude.
The reporter asked:
"Did you have concerns about playing a part that was potentially a bit closer to home?"
Anya Taylor-Joy immediately reacted to the reporter comparing Chris Evans to the character he portrayed in the film, and she looked shocked as she turned toward Evans. The audience erupted into nervous laughter.
The reporter tried to clarify:
"...or if you felt like it was going to take... I don't imagine you in a bathroom on your phone, trying to go viral. I'm so sorry."
"Were there any concerns about shaping the fictional world of the film?"
Evans smiled graciously and gave a measured response:
"Sure. I mean, there's obviously, at face value, there's a little bit of an overlap. That could be part of the reason I might want to play the role."
You can watch the clip here:
Viewers were confused about the question.
Of course, the reporter may have been curious about Evans playing a failed movie star because of the obvious lack of a parallel between the role and his own career, and the audience's response, along with Taylor-Joy's expression, forced her to reword the question to tease out some of the nuance.
And Evans' full response was thoughtful and quite lovely.
But the internet is rarely a good place to explore nuance.
Some people might think Evans' recent films don't live up to his work as Captain America, but between this film and the upcoming Doomsday, it's not like he's slowing down anytime soon.