Inside Scarlett Johansson's Relationship With Chris Evans
Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans have known each other for over a decade, and the two truly have one of those Hollywood friendships that seems almost too good to be true. The best friends first met in 2004 when they starred in The Perfect Score together (via IMDb), and they've been hanging out and co-starring in films ever since.
Marvel fans already know the two stars are both heavyweights in the Avengers film franchise (per IMDb). Scarlett plays Black Widow, a former Russian assassin, and Chris stars as Captain America (who needs no introduction). But you might not know a few of these secrets about their friendship.
When Johansson and Evans first met, she had already been acting for years and he was brand-new to the scene. However, the two didn't actually interact very much. In 2014, Johansson told Variety, "Our storylines didn't cross paths too much. We did have one scene where we had to sing together. I was talking to Chris about it the other day, actually."
Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans are really just friends
While many fans and journalists alike have noted that the pair have amazing chemistry, the two insist they have always been just friends. Evans played Johansson's love interest when they teamed up in 2007's The Nanny Diaries, but she told Access Hollywood that kissing him wasn't that big of a deal (via YouTube). "Any excuse to get close to Chris Evans is delightful ... At this point, we're old and jaded, so it's like, 'Bring him on!' No big deal. Pop in the Tic-Tacs. Get the cameras rolling."
After Johansson convinced Evans to play Captain America, she gave an interview to the Los Angeles Times about how nice it was for them to work together again. "It's nice for Chris and I to get to do dramatic work together. We work well together, I think, and admire one another as actors, and we're used to being able to throw the ball back and forth because we've done that in the past in other films that we've done. We're also older actors now and more comfortable taking our time. You can wait for the emotion to come and let the moment happen."
They first worked together on the 2004 movie The Perfect Score
Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans go way back. They first starred in a movie together in 2004 called "The Perfect Score." The teen comedy was about high school seniors who steal answers for the SAT to get perfect scores. They shared a one-on-one scene, but, for the most part, their storylines didn't cross paths in the film. Even so, they managed to form an instant friendship off camera, as Johansson shared with Variety in 2014.
What led them to develop a friendship?
'We spent a lot of time talking about relationships. We spent a lot of time talking about our families, other people's relationships, like all of it," Johansson shared about filming "The Perfect Score" with co-star Evans on The Jess Cagle Podcast in 2021, via the Daily Mail.
That would be the first of many films this famous duo would co-star in together.
They've starred in seven movies together
Since 2004, Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans have starred in seven films together, and we can only hope for more. After 2004's "The Perfect Score," they starred opposite each other in "The Nanny Diaries." Johansson played a New York nanny and Evans played the love interest.
They went from a teen comedy and rom-com to the Marvel universe. In "Black Widow," both play Marvel superheroes. Johansson is Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff), and Evans is Captain America (Steve Rogers).
Over the years and through numerous films, they got to see each other grow in a professional and personal setting. "['Captain America: The Winter Soldier'] was the first time I had ever worked with him where he was the male lead," Johansson told Variety, adding, [Evans] is the only actor I can imagine playing the character. He makes something that could feel stale feel fresh. I don't know how he does it."
They would go on to star in three Avenger films — "Age of Ultron," "Infinity War," and "Endgame." They also starred in Captain America's "The Winter Soldier" and "Civil War."
She helped convince him to take on the role of Captain America
Chris Evans rejected the role of Captain America at first. But after a nudge from his friends, including Scarlett Johansson, he chose to wear the famous red, white, and blue outfit.
In an interview with Variety, Johansson shared Evans' trepidation about Captain America. At the time, Johansson had signed up to play Black Widow in "Iron Man 2." She recalled talking to him about both of their fears. "Of course, the pressure wasn't on my shoulders like it was on [Evan's]. I was playing a character that Marvel was invested in, but we didn't know if the audience was going to be totally behind the Widow at that point ..." she told the outlet. Meanwhile, Evans was gearing up to play a well-known and loved character, she added.
Evans admitted that he initially rejected the role over anxiety. Appearing on "The Hollywood Reporter" podcast "Awards Chatter" (via USA Today), he confessed his struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. That was around the time Marvel invited him to audition for Captain America. Evans eventually overcame his anxiety and said yes after Marvel offered him the role. "It was the best decision I've ever made," he told the outlet.
Scarlett supports Chris' directing dreams
Scarlett Johansson is all for Chris Evans thriving in the director's seat. In fact, she told Variety in 2014 that Evans would make a "wonderful director" in Hollywood. "At least, he'll make a great actor's director. He's very curious and he throws the ball back with fervor. He loves to rally the entire group," she added.
That same year, Evans' directorial debut "Before We Go" premiered, starring Evans and Alice Eve. They played two strangers in New York City who spent a long night together in the city that never sleeps.
What's next for Evans' directing career? Johansson asked the actor herself during an episode of the "Variety Studio: Actors on Actors" in 2019. "I'm dying to direct," Evans said, adding, "But I don't have the courage or focus to write, and the hardest thing is finding material." He mentioned his interest in stories centering around Buddhism concepts. "So 'Eat Pray Love' two then?" Johansson quipped. Evans laughed.
Let's be honest: What we want to see is Evans directing a film led by Johansson.
Chris Evans has said Scarlett Johansson is like a sister
Although they've played love interests on-screen, fiction doesn't always translate to real life, at least not for Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans. According to the "Captain America" star, Johansson is like a sister to him.
"She is a beautiful lady. She really got blessed. I love that girl, man," he told Playboy (via OK!), adding, "She's just one of the smartest people I know. It's great when someone with a razor-sharp intellect wants to have fun."
Johansson shares similar thoughts. She went into more detail about their sibling-like relationship on The Jess Cagle Podcast with Julia Cunningham in 2021 (via the Daily Mail). "We could talk for hours, and about all kinds of stuff, in a way the sort of like big sister relationship that Nat has sometimes with Steve — even though Chris is a couple of years older than me — but I think we sort of have that same dynamic," she said. Johansson was comparing their relationship to that of their Marvel character, Black Widow and Captain America.
Scarlett Johansson says she has an easy working relationship with Chris Evans
Scarlett Johansson has worked with her fair share of actors, and it's safe to say Chris Evans is one of her favorites.
In a Variety special called "Actors on Actors" (via YouTube), Chris Evans interviewed Johansson. They've co-starred in films like "Nanny Diaries" and the Marvel "Avengers" films. After all the movies and years of knowing each other, Johansson had nothing but nice things to say about Evans and their working relationship. "I feel it's always easy between us for whatever reason, because I think we have some similar approach maybe to performance," she said. It helps that they're friends off-screen, she added.
Their relationship also makes those often awkward on-screen kissing scenes easier, as Evans told Associated Press while promoting "Captain America." "A kissing scene can sometimes be strange when you don't know the person," he said, calling Johansson a good friend.
It looks like these two are not only great friends, but great co-workers, too.
They know how to have fun together
Sometimes, fans are delighted to catch glimpses of the playful relationship between Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson.
In 2015, cameras caught Evans pranking Johansson on "The Ellen Show." Evans snuck up behind Johansson and yelled her first name in her ear as she sat onstage with DeGeneres. At the time, the actress shared with the TV host how she knows Evans "too well," but she didn't see that coming and jumped out of her seat. "That was his idea," DeGeneres shared with the audience.
In an interview with Parade in 2014, Johansson shared that Evans has a great sense of humor. "Even though the circumstances of our lives have changed and we've moved and our careers have evolved, he's pretty much the same. We have the same kind of rapport between us, the same shorthand, he's just as goofy and earnest as he's always been," she told the outlet.