Evans, Pine, and every other Chris who played a Steve on the big screen
20 years ago, superhero movies weren't quite so prolific, to say nothing of superhero movies starring guys named Chris. But the nichiest of niches in the now-booming genre? Actors named Chris who plays characters named Steve.
Stick with us here.
Chris Pine helpfully broke down some Chris Logistics (Logischris? Lochristics?) on Saturday Night Live, but in light of his turn as Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman, we had to -- ahem -- wonder: When else has a famous Hollywood Chris played a Steve?
Our findings below may shock you.
Chris Evans / Steve Rogers - Captain America
Our reigning Chris is our reigning Steve as the scrawny kid from Brooklyn who just wants to punch Nazis. What Steve Rogers lacks in stature, he makes up tenfold in heart -- and eventually in stature, after a prototype procedure from Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci). This is the Steve that stole one Peggy's heart for decades, who even the brainwashed Winter Soldier couldn't forget, whose face adorned the cards in Phil Coulson's locker before they'd ever even met.
Chris Pine / Steve Trevor - Wonder Woman
As an unwitting soldier who happens upon Diana of Themyscira, Pine plays a pretty but still functional Steve without ever daring to steal the spotlight from our heroine (not that he could if he tried). He's sassy but not condescending, touched by her idealism but never mistaking it for naïveté. It's...wonderful.
Christopher Lloyd / Steve Chaffey - Three Warriors
Lloyd may have been history's first Chris to play a Steve on the big screen in the 1977 western Three Warriors. Interestingly, the title does not refer to a band of warriors a lá Three Musketeers, but to a horse owned by Michael (McKee Redwing) as he learns about his Native American roots.
Christian Bale / Stevie - The Secret Agent
We stretch our definitions of both Chris and Steve for this 1996 movie (directed by Christopher Hampton) in which Bale played Stevie, the brother-in-law of protagonist Verlock (Bob Hoskins), an Eastern European spy. Is Bale any good? Who can say, but the film also stars Patricia Arquette, Eddie Izzard, and Robin Williams as "The Assassin," which has totally distracted me from the list at hand.
Chris Hardwick / Steve Stevenson - Bunsen is a Beast
Not to be outdone, the persevering Hardwick played an animated character with not one but two Steves to his name.
Honorary mention: That time Chris Hemsworth played Chris Pine's dad
Never forget the Chris-ception that belonged to neither Marvel nor DC but to J.J. Abrams' 2009 Star Trek reboot. Hemsworth plays the doomed captain George Kirk of the U.S.S. Kelvin, which runs into angry Romulan territory -- forcing the captain to die with his ship right as his wife (Jennifer Morrison) gives birth. Their son grows up to be James Tiberius Kirk, played by none other than Chris Pine.
Topics Comics Wonder Woman
Proma Khosla is a Senior Entertainment Reporter writing about all things TV, from ranking Bridgerton crushes to composer interviews and leading Mashable's stateside coverage of Bollywood and South Asian representation. You might also catch her hosting video explainers or on Mashable's TikTok and Reels, or tweeting silly thoughts from @promawhatup.
