June 13th is Chris Evans‘ fortieth birthday, and to celebrate, I thought I would post his top five moments of the year. Like all of us, the actor has been in lockdown this year, but his tweets, interviews, and pictures came through during our pandemic blues in a very real way.
So, let’s dive into my favorite moments and tweets, and be sure to comment yours below!
No. 5 – The Shirt That Saved Humankind…or Something
That time he blessed us with, not only this interview, but with the tank-top, floral shirt combo that showed off just enough of his tattoos to drive all of Twitter a little b-a-n-a-n-a-s, as Gwynne Stefani would say.
The shirt combo is enough to make anyone stop and stay for a little while, and we appreciate his decision to put those two items of clothes together, the manufacturers for making them, the tattoo artist who made all this possible, and maybe the universe for aligning to that point on the timeline.
(Also, Angélique Roché is funny, quick, and adorable throughout so bonus points for that. Separate shout-out to Scott Evans’ mustache and the way it’s clearly holding him hostage.)
No. 4 – Civic Minded
How we come back from our whoopsie daisy moments speak loudly about our characters. The fact that Chris decided to use the attention he was generating from that now famous uh-oh moment said a lot about his sense of humor, but also his dedication to getting the gremlin out of office. Did he save America with this Tweet? …Probably not, but he certainly made us laugh as he encouraged us to remember our civic duty.
(A duty we should remember as the 2022 elections come up fast. Check to see if you’re registered to vote here)
No. 3 – Seriously, He Cares A Lot About Politics (And So Should You)
Chris has spent the past year showing his passion for getting people engaged. Some of his efforts have come under fire, but no one can neglect the reality that he’s doing more than most who complain about voter apathy and a lack of understanding of the important issues.
A Starting Point can’t cure apathy entirely, but maybe it truly is a starting point for young people – and even us geriatric millennials* – to get engaged with the issues that are affecting our lives. Apathy is a threat to decency, to making change against systemic oppression, and I appreciate Chris’s efforts to at least start a conversation young people might not otherwise would have had.
You can tell through this work and his many political tweets that he gives a shit, and giving a shit about the world is sexy.
(*Fuck you to whomever came up with this term, okay? Okay.)
No. 2 – SSSPPPPPACCCCCCCEEEEEEE
This one might be just a me thing, but anyone who loves space as much as I love space will always be a little bit more engaging to me.
Space is cool. It’s weird. It’s scary and it keeps surprising me. It is also endlessly beautiful, partly because our understanding of it keeps growing with every advance in technology we make. I love how with space, and science in general, we get to look beyond what we know and ask questions of the universe even as we’re awed by its beauty and power. I love how these topics encourage questions and wonder, but also encourage people to get to the why of things. Asking why is such a valuable skill to have.
I also definitely appreciate that Chris is using his platform to geek out over space and that through that love of space hopefully encouraging others to do the same. There’s power in a man who looks like him, who has that sort of hyper-masculine appearance, valuing science and curiosity openly and proudly. Younger people see this and hopefully emulate it, and it genuinely makes me happy whenever he posts about what scientists are doing to give us new understanding of our universe.
No. 1 – Puppy Pictures
I’m not saying that his most valuable contribution to society is that he adopted an adorable dog and loves him a complete sincerity so strong that we get an abundance of pictures of Dodger, but I’m also not, not saying that.
On top of encouraging civic mindedness and a love for science, showing sincere, open love for the beings and people around us is wildly sexy. Not only is it sexy, but I think also a really important way to model the behavior we want to see in the world. Men are at a higher risk of suicide, struggle silently with mental health issues, and are often told any sort of softness is a weakness – any love shown is a dereliction of manliness. This, of course, isn’t true, but it also is sadly, not shown as wrong by a lot of celebrities’ behavior. That Chris is doing it, and maybe helping other men see that it’s okay to be soft publicly, is really cool.
Also, Dodger is the cutest, and I’m just personally grateful to see his face on my screen any time I get it. A+ management of social media. Keep ’em coming, Chris!
And that’s my top five moments from the year. What’s your favorite Chris moment from the year? Comment below!
