Chris Evans has revealed that he used his role as Captain America to attract politicians to his passion project. Evans revealed, in an episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers.
The actor established a website that lets lawmakers explain political issues and legislation. The site is called A Starting Point. He described it as a ‘civic engagement platform’. It allows politicians to speak about everything from artificial intelligence to education and the environment.
Questions about budgeting, finance, taxes, and more will be answered by participating politicians. Evans hopes that this site will help people to understand emerging laws and policies. He saw the idea as a win for everyone involved. Although he says it took him a lot of work to earn politicians’ trust.
Evans revealed convincing people was difficult and described it as an ‘uphill battle’. He said intially he just thought of writing a letter and said who would not want to be a part of this. The actor explained but they were trying to cultivate a new relationship. He said they have nothing to show just words and there was apprehension.
In a video, Evans talks to an unknown figure and says there are so many celebrities that have been successful at tricking members of the Congress. He assures them that he would be happy to get a coffee or jump on the phone.
‘There were some people I thought would participate who wanted to nothing to do with us,’ he told Seth, not naming names. ‘And there were some people that I thought never in a million years would sit down with us, and they showed up and answered everything.’
Chris Says Captain America Helped Him
However, Evans says he had a secret weapon to win the trust of some members. He revealed being Captain America did not hurt and that was the string they were playing the whole time. The self-professed ‘news junkie’ said it was nice to use that got them to the door without adding any pressure.
He explained that in the film world, when he walks in a movie set, there is an expectation. Evans continued saying he thinks there were not much expectations from him in the D.C., but that is were he thrived. ‘In the film world, when you show up, if you’re making a movie or in a rehearsal, first day of filming, there’s an expectation,’ he went on. ‘I don’t think anyone expected much out of me in D.C., so when the expectations are low, that’s where I thrive.’
Evans along with his partners made sure politicians know they are doing this for the long haul. He said, ‘If we’re duplicitous, if we get you to answer a question, then we eviscerate you, you’re not coming back’. The actor explained further the nature of this is to provide something for everybody.
Evans said, ‘What’s that saying, ”A good idea is when everybody wins”? Everybody can win here, but it wouldn’t happen if we’re trying to slam people.’ The website was founded in 2017 and the actor had made almost 10 trips to Washington D.C. He noted that every time it got easier and that everybody was sweet and lovely.
American People Should Know The Players
Evans explained that if it is not designed to be duplicitious and when you give them a platform, they do respond to it. The Marvel superhero said he got the idea of the website when he was searching for a ‘policy or law’. But he ended up getting confused. He explained, ‘It felt like there was a hole there, that there was something missing,’ he recalled. ‘I’m sure there are plenty of people who are interested in politics, and it’s daunting.’
Evans explained why he went for politicians and not experts. He said he felt that choosing ‘experts’ was a subjective matter that would just drag him ‘into the weeds.’ He says that when you go online there are so many questions about something because of which he wants to remove as much subjectivity as possible. The actor explains that he wants to allow the connectivity between elected officials and the electorate exists more clearly.
Evans says that politicians might not be experts but they are deciding which policies should be in the system. He explains they are the ones affecting their lives. The actor further said that American people should know who the players are.
A Starting Point allows politicos to present two sides to a debate, or examine issues. It should be issues they think deeply about without bothering about who their audience is. Chris mentioned a conversation about the benefits of mail-in voting. It featured U.S. representatives Eric Swalwell and Dusty Johnson.
The actor said that they disagreed with each other but started each statement saying, ‘Ok, I hear what you’re saying’. Evans considered it as the gold standard for civil discourse.
‘Just that statement—it’s like a breath of fresh air,’ he said. ‘Somehow I think listening has become conflated with weakness or capitulation, and that just shows you are a thorough thinker’. Chris said he wanted to help people and explained how he thought this would be helpful. The actor said some people are divided and leaning on information and truth might be a more effective starting point.
Chris first played superhero Steve Rogers in the 2011 Marvel Studios film Captain America: The First Avenger and has reprised the role in several Marvel Cinematic Universe films.
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