“It’s terrifying to me”: Playing Captain America Didn’t Make Chris Evans Brave Enough for 1 Event That Scarlett Johansson Has Flawlessly Delivered for Years

Chris Evans can’t seem to gather the courage to host an SNL episode.

If Chris Evans hated one thing about his role as Captain America, it was the time he spent making public appearances for the promotions. Evans shared that his anxiety made him a less-than-ideal candidate for such appearances. He mostly avoided appearing in shows where he had to perform in front of an audience, which meant he was one of the few MCU lead stars not to host an SNL episode.

His co-star Scarlett Johansson has found herself in the SNL Five-Timers Club, hosting the show for a total of six times. However, he has company among the OG Avengers as Mark Ruffalo also turned down a hosting gig because he was scared.

Chris Evans Avoids Hosting SNL Because He’s Terrified Of It

Fans have seen Captain America valiantly walking toward Thanos’s army with a half-broken shield, but do not expect the same from Chris Evans. Forget the army, Evans says he finds it very uncomfortable to perform in front of an audience. It’s the exact reason why he has refrained from hosting SNL, despite his The Avengers co-stars stepping into 30 Rock every now and then.

Firstly, Evans struggles with anxiety in general as he revealed in a 2022 interview with MTV News. Secondly, the actor has convinced himself that comedy is not his forte at all. Well, fans who have seen Not Another Teen Movie, Knives Out, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World would say otherwise. But Evans just can’t see how he would shine in a room full of comedians.

During the promotions of Ghosted last year, Evans’ co-star Ana de Armas took up an SNL hosting gig. Evans did not make an appearance and ET Canada questioned the actor about the same. He admitted that it was terrifying to him and that he had “avoided hosting SNL like the plague”. He added that a hosting gig would provide him with a lot of sleepless nights.

He shared that he didn’t want the everyday anxiety and chose to be comfortable in his bed at his house. He shared with ET Canada (via Variety):

[A] cameo I can handle. I’ve avoided hosting SNL like the plague for years now just because I’m so scared. It’s terrifying to me. To me, it would just be one of those things that every single night I would wake up in a cold sweat.

It would provide a lot of sleepless nights for me. I just know how I would feel … it would just be an everyday anxiety, constant regret. Why did I do this? I could have been comfortable at my house, in my bed, not worrying about this.

He also added that some of his “very very funny friends” once told him that he was “not a funny person”. It is high time that Evans changed his friends circle as they couldn’t be more wrong. Fans sincerely hope that Chris Evans accepts that offer from Lorne Michaels and just gets over his stage fright.

Scarlett Johansson Hosted SNL Six Times While Another Avengers Star Is Scared Just Like Chris Evans

Scarlett Johansson, the SNL Five-Timer, may also hold the record for the most sketch appearances by a female artist outside of the SNL cast. A Reddit fan cited the observation from the SNL Network podcast and counted 52 sketch appearances of the actress excluding her monologues. Johansson’s last hosting gig was in 2019 but she surprised fans with a recent appearance as Senator Katie Britt (via @nbcsnl | X)

Not to mention, Johansson met her husband Colin Jost at Studio 8H. However, there’s one more OG Avenger who is scared of the hosting gig — Mark Ruffalo. While Hulk fearlessly attacks even Ragnarok, Ruffalo can’t face a large audience and crack jokes. He admitted this to Marc Maron in his WTF podcast, where he also shared that he rejected Lorne Michaels on his offer. He shared: I’ll never be asked back. I don’t think Lorne Michaels likes it when you say no. It just scared the living sh*t out of [me]. I don’t know.

Ruffalo added that he was dyslexic and would not be able to handle the quick format of the TV show. He shared that he had been watching SNL his whole life, but just didn’t want to be “the host who sucks.”

Watch Ruffalo and Evans fighting side-by-side as Hulk and Captain America in the MCU movies, now streaming on Disney+.