It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… oh, wait, that’s the other guy. Just because Captain America doesn’t have the same flashy intro as his superhero cousins doesn’t mean there isn’t a similarly rich history of actors donning his iconic red, white, and blue suit. Here are six actors who have taken on the Cap and the ways they’ve made him their own.
1. Dick Purcell
Purcell has the distinction of being the first actor to portray the Cap onscreen, playing the role in a 15-part serial released by Republic Pictures in 1944. In the serial, Captain America is a district attorney named Grant Gardner and a real standard issue 1940s hero. Purcell portrays Gardner as a sharp, well-spoken, even-keeled, man-with-a-plan concealing his double life as Captain America. The Cap, on the other hand, is a bit more menacing (or, at the very least, no-nonsense), forcefully taking down enemies and fleeing the scene (though he’s a bit hard to take seriously in that suit). While few modern audiences may be familiar with Purcell’s performance, his level-headed approach certainly paved the way for later interpretations.
2. Chris Evans
When most people think of Captain America, Evans immediately comes to mind. Evans starred as Steve Rogers/Captain America across 11 films between 2011 and 2019 (including cameo appearances), starting with “Captain America: The First Avenger,” which envisions Captain America’s origins as Steve Rogers. The franchise takes the prototypical Captain America from the 1940s and fleshes him out to 21st century standards: Steve Rogers is an all-American young man desperate to fight in World War II. Plagued by a difficult childhood and a previously unimpressive physique, the chips on Rogers’ shoulders only serve to make him more empathetic and invested in doing the right thing as he becomes Captain America.
Evans gives Rogers an even-keeled demeanor and an unrelenting pursuit of what is right. While being an all-around do-gooder might have had the potential to become stale in the wrong hands, Evans was able to breathe life into the character in a way that kept him fully engaging for audiences. As screenwriter Christopher Markus told us, “We could dial back on the outright jokes in the script because [Evans] brings a likeability and warmth without having gag lines to punch it up. In the beginning, when we were writing in a vacuum, we felt the pressure that he’s getting too stiff. Give him a joke. Chris very wisely even took out a few of the wisecracks.”
In later films, Evans was given an additional acting challenge when Rogers becomes a fish out of water, reawakened in the 21st century with all of his 1940s sensibilities intact. Though the character was different from the tough-guy jock roles that had populated his résumé previously, Evans reportedly found the role refreshing, finding he had a lot of similarities with the Cap. “I love playing that role,” Evans told GQ in 2023. “I feel connected to it in a way that when you revisit a character so many times you can’t help but try to absorb some of their traits and measure yourself against them.”
3. Anthony Mackie
Spoiler alert: At the end of “Avengers: Endgame,” a now-elderly Steve Rogers literally and metaphorically hands his shield to his friend Sam Wilson/the Falcon (Mackie), making him the MCU’s next Captain America. Mackie continued playing the role on the miniseries “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” and again in 2025’s “Captain America: Brave New World.”
While Sam Wilson was a known figure in the MCU, having appeared in several films since 2014, his Captain America was uncharted territory. Unlike his predecessors, Wilson struggles with the promotion, unsure if the nation is ready for a Black Captain America. Mackie reportedly found parallels in his own life to portray the character, telling Variety in 2021, “The fear of representing a country who doesn’t represent you, you know, was something that’s not only unfathomable, but hard to overcome. My dad always used to say greatness is as far as you can see it... There are limitations that we place on ourselves because of our surroundings. And, you know, I did that to myself, and that’s definitely what Sam Wilson goes through.”
Mackie also wanted to make sure his Captain America wasn’t all toxic masculinity. In that same interview, he remarked, “Something that’s always been very important to me is showing a sensitive masculine figure. There’s nothing more masculine than being a superhero and flying around and beating people up. But there’s nothing more sensitive than having emotional conversations and a kindred spirit friendship with someone that you care about and love.”
How to Get Cast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe4. Wyatt Russell
Russell donned the Captain America shield for the 2021 miniseries “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” as John Walker, the man appointed by the U.S. government to be the next Captain America. Walker is, in a lot of ways, the anti–Steve Rogers. He’s got the same shiny veneer, but underneath, he’s hot-headed, reactionary, and rougher around the edges. But despite having his own unique take on the character, Russell admitted to studying Evans’ performance—if only because he felt that Walker would want to emulate Rogers’ take on Captain America. “I think [John Walker’s] idea of what Captain America should be is embodied in the body language of what, you know, that is,” he said in an interview with Variety. “So hopefully, in John’s world, he looks up to Steve Rogers and wants to embody that. So when you’re seeing him do his version of it, it’s kind of, you know, is it really who John actually is, or is John trying to be someone that he’s not.”
5. Josh Keaton
Keaton lent his voice to Steve Rogers’ Captain America on the animated Disney+ series “What If...?,” which places MCU characters in alternate timelines and explores how things might play out. Keaton faced his own unique challenge because unlike the other entries on this list, he wasn’t trying to play his own character who embodies the spirit of Captain America, but instead was asked to literally play Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers.
Keaton said in an interview with TSC News Podcast that the bulk of his preparation was watching Evans in the role, even referencing his performance during a recording session: “[I] made a little library of Chris Evans so any time he said something in a movie, you know, I would kind of categorize it...so that if I had a similar situation come up within the dialogue in ‘What if…?’ I could just kind of refer back to my little library and say, ‘OK, these are kind of the situations, so this is kind of what he would sound like in that situation,’ and then I would just have to work from that.”
6. BONUS ENTRY: Tom Kenny
While there are a handful of other actors who have voiced Captain America in animated appearances, there are none quite so unexpected as Kenny, who voiced the Cap (and a few others) on “The Super Hero Squad Show.” A chameleon of a voice actor, Kenny gives his Captain a booming delivery that’s perfectly aligned with the animated show’s comparatively goofy tone—but still, there’s something surprising (and slightly humorous) about knowing that this Captain America shares a voice with SpongeBob SquarePants.
Ready to become the next Captain America or take on a similarly epic role? Check out our comprehensive casting call database today!