'Avengers: Infinity War': Chris Evans spills on Captain America's 'dangerous' beard

Brian Truitt | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Avengers, Strange & Guardians assemble for 'Infinity War' The Marvel Universe joins forces to fight Thanos in 'Avengers: Infinity War,' and the trailer is everything.

The straitlaced, usually clean-shaven Captain America looks wilder than ever with a beard in Avengers: Infinity War, and Chris Evans says there's style and substance to his Internet-approved facial hair.

Ever since the first Infinity War trailer dropped in November and introduced Cap's new whiskers, his beard has taken on a life of its own on social media. (According to research firm Fizziology, the follicular force generated more than 20,000 mentions on Twitter within seven hours of the trailer's debut.)

As a straight male, I am perfectly comfortable with my belief that @ChrisEvans is by far the sexiest Avenger. I’d do anything for Cap, and if he was rocking that sweet beard he wouldn’t even have to ask.#facialhairbros #MCU4Life pic.twitter.com/TRdpmrPXhL — Fireside Comics Podcast 🎙📻 (@FiresideComics) January 4, 2018

[me watching all the previous movies]



Ugh Cap is so boring and vanilla. He’s like the Avengers’ Cyclops.



[me watching the Infinity War trailer in which Captain America has a beard] pic.twitter.com/A6LYUevaL1 — OhNoSheTwitnt (@OhNoSheTwitnt) March 16, 2018

No one's more satisfied by this turn of events than Evans, who had been wanting Infinity War directors Anthony and Joe Russo to let him grow a beard for the past two Captain America films.

"He's such a monastic character and he has such a quotidian approach to his existence," the actor says of his star-spangled Avenger. "I imagine when he wakes up in the morning, there is a routine. Part of that is in his nature, part of that is just to keep his sanity, and that all kind of goes out the window a little bit after (2016's Captain America: Civil War). You see a guy who doesn't stop caring but just puts down some of that obligation."

Evans' super-soldier Steve Rogers had a nasty falling-out with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), aka the armored hero known as Iron Man, in Civil War: Stark learned that Cap's best friend, Bucky Barnes, who was brainwashed into becoming the Hydra assassin Winter Soldier, killed his parents years ago, and the two Avengers tussled mightily, with Cap coming out on top to save his BFF.

Now that relationships are frayed and he's a fugitive from authorities when Infinity War begins, Cap's in a place where his normal status quo — and razors — have taken a backseat. (That said, the beard is pretty tightly groomed for a dude on the run.)

"I don't think it's in his nature to be too much of a loose cannon, but there's a lack of formality," Evans says. "He's checked all that at the door and he's gone inside himself for a little while, and as a result, he's a little irreverent and maybe even a little dangerous."

Maybe sharing facial-hair tips will lead to Cap and Iron Man hugging it out? (You know, if the arrival of supremely deadly supervillain Thanos doesn't do it first.) While Evans won't spill any beans, he says, "just know that is a clearly important aspect in both of our story lines. In a lot of ways, Steve and Tony rely on each other: We're two sides of the same coin, fighting for the same thing just with very different approaches, but neither one of us are complete. In a way, we need the other person. Reconciliation is necessary but probably not easy to come by."

Avengers: Infinity War officially opens Friday, though theaters will show it Thursday night.