The early returns made for a happy occasion Monday night at the early New York premiere in Tribeca, as the smiles on cast members' faces were indicative of how well the second installment of "Captain America" has been received.
In the film, Samuel L. Jackson's "Nick Fury" warns "Steve Rogers" – played by Chris Evans and also known as Captain America - not to trust anyone, as the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization that employs the superhero has been compromised.
"You don't know who's a good guy and who's a bad guy and who's on what side and you're trying to figure that out throughout the film," said Cobie Smulders, who plays former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Maria Hill."
Although the squeaky-clean "Rogers" is a safe bet not to be a villain – he was a hero in World War II and remains one when he's brought back to life in the 21st century – the same can't be said for his best buddy at the time, who looks like a villain now known as "The Winter Soldier."
Embodying the character was no easy task though.
"When I read it, I was a little scared because there were a lot of things that I didn't know how I was going to do them," said Sebastian Stan, who plays "The Winter Soldier."
Stan is not the first actor to be intimidated by his role in the Marvel universe. Evans originally turned down his lead role not once, but twice.
"Maybe the thing you're most scared of is exactly what you should be doing," said Evans. "Maybe you should push yourself into the part of your personal fear and in hindsight, in retrospect, it would have been the worst mistake of my life had I walked away from this movie."
Evans recently directed his first movie and told trade paper "Variety" he planned to quit acting once his Marvel contract was over.
One of his co-stars, however, is skeptical.
"He wants to make people nervous," said Frank Grillo, who plays the role of Brock Rumlow in the film. "He gets paid more if he says 'I'm giving up acting.' I'm on to that guy."
For now, he's not going anywhere. Evans films the next "Avengers" movie this summer.
