I didn't realize - you think you are doing a movie but then you realize it's a Columbia Pictures movie so it's probably going to have some publicity. Then you see a billboard and it's like, 'God! I'm on a billboard!' It doesn't hit all at once, it kind of unravels itself and it's still unraveling.
It seems like the studios are either making giant blockbusters, or really super-small indies. And the mid-level films I grew up on, like 'Back to the Future' and all those John Hughes movies, the studios aren't doing. It's hard to get them on their feet.
I'm much more starstruck by athletes than I am by actors, and I think I saw Kobe Bryant at a basketball party, and I just kind of froze. He's monstrous.
Growing up, I really liked 'Star Wars.' Han Solo would've been really cool to meet. But my stuff was real low-brow. I was watching 'Bugs Bunny.'
You know, the reward for 'Captain America' is amazing. It's always fun to see a giant spectacle film and see the fun stuff - the special effects.
I decided to make 'Captain America' because I realized I wasn't doing the film because it terrified me. You can't make decisions based on fear.
I'm not trying to steal the show. I tend to shy away from - I don't want to say the spotlight - how about responsibility? It's just very daunting. These movies are very intimidating. 'Captain America.' This is the stuff I struggle with.
As an actor, acting is like playing a sport. You do this thing that's intangible, and while it's happening, it's great. But then when it's done, there's really no tangible product. Someone else is capturing it and turning it into something tangible.
If I do cardio I'll disappear.
What did people do prior to cell phones? Read a book? If I'm stuck in a car, and I don't have my phone, I'm like, 'What am I doing?' Car rides used to be one of my favorite things.
Everything that Marvel does, it's a chess move. Nothing is by accident.
The Internet is a big place where a lot of people can voice their opinions, and my mother chooses to pick fights with random people from all over the world who don't have the nicest things to say about me.
I hate myself in interviews. All of a sudden, you stop and you're like, 'Chris, how dare you?' I don't live in Darfur. I have both legs. But you can't walk around all the time being like, 'I'm so grateful I'm not in Darfur.'
Just the life of doing what I do, being in the public eye, it's a stressful environment... You feel strange, self-aware, very foolish. Your third eye clicks on, just to try to maintain a healthy sense of perspective, and you think, 'What am I doing here? I'm just making a movie, and people want all these things from me.'
I like the feeling of making things. It's very very rewarding. And filmmaking is that type of experience, where you're forced to collaborate with so many people. You're involved in the beginning to end, you're involved with so many elements, and when it's done, you're like, 'I made this movie.'
The funny thing about directing is that you have your own opinions, but it's a collaboration. Directing is a group effort. Even though you might think something works, the smartest thing you can do as a director is try and weigh the opinions of the people around you.
The comic book world is so dangerous, you know what I mean? You say one thing and people - they're ravenous - they are very opinionated fans. But they're great fans.
I'll say initially acting was my first love, and that's what I pursued. But then, so far as even my first day on a film set, and just watching how things were set up, I just said, 'I think I want to be in charge.' I am very much type-A. I am a bit of a control freak.
I can handle the craziness some of the time, maybe most of the time. But I know I can't handle it all of the time.
If making movies was easier, there'd be a lot more good movies. So you kind of learn that if it's just a good script, or if it's just a good producer, that's not always enough. You need an entire team of creative people coming together.
