Chris Evans is conducting an interview on a Zoom call. It’s as awkward as any Zoom conference call can be when you’re forced to look at someone on a computer screen, but he’s a professional. He’s focused. He’s promoting “Defending Jacob,” Apple TV+’s hit limited series (although we only know that from third party tracking services and word of mouth).
READ MORE: “Defending Jacob” [Review]
“There’s a scene where we’re in the kitchen and she kind of says that after what happened in court that day, she doesn’t believe him anymore. She says the words out loud, ‘I don’t believe him,'” Evans recalls.
The veteran actor is describing a moment between himself and four-time Emmy nominee Michelle Dockery. She portrays his character’s wife, a woman who is slowly coming to believe that their son Jacob, played by Jaeden Martell, may have murdered one of his classmates.
“This is the hardest. This is the thing that no one wants. It’s the elephant in the room,” Evans says. “As long as we, at least to each other say we believe him, then we’re not compromising our morals. We’re just protecting our son. But if you openly say, ‘I don’t believe him. I think he did this,’ now our values are at stake. Now our principals are in the balance and how do you move forward, how do you move forward?”
Based on a best-selling novel by Willam Landay, the limited series was adapted by Mark Bomback and directed by Morton Tyldum. The pair were instrumental in getting Evans to return to television for more than a guest spot for the first time in twenty years. But that scene with Dockery? The demeanor in how he describes it shows he still has some passion for acting left in him after all those years in the Marvel Studios system. Or, he’s just a really good actor when talking to the press.
LISTEN: Morten Tyldum Discusses ‘Defending Jacob’ & Working With Chris Evans [Fourth Wall Podcast]
“That scene is very well written and Michelle is so good in it,” Evans says. “It was just a really fun day at work. I’d say it’s heavy material and it’s kind of a dark headspace, but in terms of the satisfaction that comes from a really fun, tight scene, that certainly happened that day.”
Despite its melodramatic structure, there are a number of unexpected narrative threads that weave through the series’ eight episodes. Evans’ character Andy is a District Attorney who has spent his life trying to be everything his father, a convicted murderer brought to life by J.K. Simmons, wasn’t. It haunts him and he can’t fathom that his son would go down a similar road.
“Look, I think Andy is a guy that had a traumatic childhood, and I think most people who have traumatic childhoods become a little ossified and they develop some really unfortunate tools of coping,” Evans suggests. “They don’t smile much. They don’t laugh much. They bury. They understand how to take guilt and shame and compartmentalize. They know how to stuff it deep down enough with no intention of addressing it. I don’t think Andy ever thought, ‘Man, when I get older I’m going to go to therapy and work through some of this.’ They just bury it.”
Evans pauses and continues, “As a result, they become a little taciturn and a little removed. I think that’s why Andy has a hard time creating friends because he’s not willing to be vulnerable and he’s not going to be accessible.”
As the story moves forward Andy refuses to believe his son could be the perpetrator, despite evidence and his own wife’s opinion to the contrary. And the idea that it could be genetic? A trait handed down from one generation to the other? That’s almost a red herring to Evans.
“To me, it was more about guilt. I’m fascinated by guilt,” Evans says. “I’m fascinated by how you can bury it, you can silence it, but you always hear that echo. It changes you. It has its way with you. You can’t turn your back on it completely, and you’re dealing with the guy who has spent the majority of his life trying to muffle this guilt he feels. Then to almost see the same type of struggle presented to his son, especially if the son is innocent, that this son can feel the same type of guilt in a myriad of ways.”
Another pause. He continues, “So, I don’t know. As much as I think the nature versus nurture element has hit upon a lot in the series, I was more intrigued by the compartmentalization and struggle we have with guilt.”
“Defending Jacob” is available on Apple TV+.