When Luke Evans lays eyes on the view from Le Bain, The Standard Hotel's infamous rooftop, he temporarily loses his cool. For a guy who oozes Welsh sophistication—that's a thing, right?—he takes just a few too many iPhone snaps to maintain what at first feels like your typical Hollywood aloofness. And, in fairness, it is a sight to behold: millennial pink furniture contrasts pleasantly with astroturf flooring and the blue of the late-summer Hudson. It's the ideal place to tuck into a round of just-right aperol spritzes, a summer cocktail habit Evans says he picked up after celebrating his birthday in Rome a few years back.

Stories like these—the must-be-nice tales of someone whose life is seemingly always Instagram fabulous—miraculously don't offend, thanks to 37-year-old actor's winning energy. He's what I'd call cautiously intimate, even in the most bizarre situations. You know, like chatting with a stranger on the roof of one of the poshest hotels in the world on a sunny, 75-degree Tuesday afternoon. But, hey, Luke Evans knows how to roll with the punches.

Tyler Joe

So the blonde hair, it's a new look for you. How are you feeling about it?

I like it! I mean, it's just nice to do something a bit different, and I guess when you're an actor, you have the license to do that. And then if you look weird, you can blame the role, you know? So no one's going to tell me I'm having a mid-life crisis.

But the Luketeers, how are they taking it?

I think most of them like it.

Tyler Joe

You never know who is gonna have these crazy online cohorts of followers―people who have given themselves a nickname. What do you think it was?

I don't know where it came from! I think I sort of realized it was an international thing when we went to South Korea for The Fast [and the Furious] 6 premiere. We knew nothing about South Korea, and we came through the sliding doors [at the airport] with my luggage and there were like 60 fans with Luketeer banners: "We're your Korea Luketeers." It was like, wow, this is amazing.

So you had your birthday party in Rome. Seems that you're a big traveler?

When I started doing this for a living, no one really warned me about the amount of traveling I would do. I always thought everything was shot in Los Angeles. So I've traveled everywhere, and it's been amazing. I used to think taking a flight was kind of a big deal, you know? I'm from the valleys of South Wales and when my family used to go on holiday, it was a big thing. Packing the bags, checking in, not losing your passport, going through customs, the X-ray machine, all that stuff used to be quite an intense thing. Now it's like catching a bus, I don't even think about it.

Tyler Joe

I feel like the more you get exposed to all these great places, the higher your standards become.

That sometimes happens, yeah. Although, when you're working, you're flying on someone else's buck. When you're flying on your own, you sort of go, 'You know what, I'd rather keep the dosh in my pocket to spend when I get there.' [laughs]

What was that word you just used?

Dosh.

What is that?

Money.

I like it. So how did you wrap your head around all the plot twists in 'The Girl on the Train'?

With everything you do as an actor, you obviously know the full story. But the person watching it doesn't, necessarily. So, you just have to discipline yourself to wipe the slate clean as you go along. And it's never the practice to shoot the scenes in the proper order. Sometimes you shoot the final scenes of a film before you've even started the beginning. So you get good at it because you have to sort of just eliminate the memories of something you've done as an actor, which you haven't done as the character yet. But it sometimes is a bit of a mind-f**k.

Tyler Joe

Full disclosure, I listened to the book on tape when I was on maternity leave. I was walking up and down the West Side Highway listening to the story.

Who was reading it?

Some British lady. Well there were different actresses. But what I loved the most about it was the sloppy heroine. She's a disaster, but you root for her regardless.

You do, although sometimes—I don't know if when you're reading the book it's different—you just want to shake her. You think, what are you doing? Why are you so crazy? Just stop drinking, just for a moment!

The second she hits rock-bottom is when she gets more to drink.

Yeah, which, unfortunately, is an addiction, isn't it?

I guess so. ...I think what's interesting about your character is that he's more of a physical presence than anything else. Did they say "we want you to tack on like 20 pounds for this?"

No, I think they just put me in the costume. We did the hair, we did the look, and I remember just coming to set the first day and Emily [Blunt] going, "You look exactly how I thought you should look."

The idea of assuming someone else's life is perfect, which happens in this book and movie, is such a modern thing.

Of course. Look at social media. It's what we do, right?

Someone like you, who has 300,000 followers, that's a lot of pressure. Like if you're having a sh***y day, do you just go silent, or do you project a different version of yourself?

Well usually if I'm having a sh***y day, I don't post anything. I don't go out just to tell everyone I'm having a great day, even if I'm not.

People do that, though.

I know, and I think it's a slippery slope to fabricate a different life. And it's unnecessary, you know? Everybody has a down day, no one's perfect; no one's having the most idyllic life. I mean, I guess everybody wants to project positivity to the outside world, but if we're honest, no one's going to have 24/7 bliss.

Tyler Joe

So your fans are very involved in your presence. They chat with each other, they "at" each other.

They love each other. They thank me for bringing them together.

Really?

Sometimes they talk to each other, and I'm like, oh, well this person is in Norway and this person is in South Korea and this person is in Australia, and they're just all connected and it's really lovely. They speak without actually involving me anymore, which is quite a lovely thing. Sometimes I engage with them.

I saw you liked someone's post.

Yeah, a like is sort of as far as I go, really. Sometimes I comment, but you have to be careful because if you do it for one, everybody wants you to say something.

The thing with fandom that always confuses me is like, what's the best-case scenario? What is it that you get out of loving someone this much? A like or a comment, and then what?

Yeah. When I was younger, I never had that fascination.

You've never been a mega-fan?

Yeah, I never followed a band, I never followed a—nothing. I think maybe it's because my mom and dad were not like that, and it was just me and mom and dad. We were very close; we spent a lot of time just together, just enjoying each other's company. I never had a magazine, I never listened to a certain band. Actually, I was listening to bands from the '60s and '70s with my dad, so I knew more about The Beatles than I did about what was topical in my life.

So switching gears: 'Beauty and the Beast.' I know that you're Gaston and that Emma Watson is Belle, but that's sort of all.

Yeah, that's what we want to give you. [laughs] I'll tell you a little fun fact about the film, though. Me, the little boy playing Chip, Emma Thompson, and Emma Watson, all have the same birthday. We were all in on the same day and they all sang us "Happy Birthday." That will never happen in my life again: Four of us having the same birthday on the same film, and we're all in on the same day. It was an extraordinary thing.

Tyler Joe

So, this is a column about having a good time. What was the most fun night of your life?

The most fun night of my life. Oh, God, I've had a couple of those. Let me think.

Were you wearing a Speedo?

I stay away from Speedos. That would cause me absolutely unnecessary publicity. … The best night of my life was watching the moon turn red on an island a year and a half ago. I think it was called the blood moon and it happens like once every—I don't know how long, but it was a beautiful night. It was a very magical moment.

I feel like the fans are gonna be like, "I got it."

Yeah, they'll get it.

Styling: Megan Lanoux for Exclusive Artists Management using Jack Black