Birthday special: Did you know Chris Evans almost turned down playing 'Captain America' ?

Chris Evans a.k.a Captain America is celebrating his 40th birthday today. The actor has made his mark across the industry and garnered a massive fan following from his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

It is nearly impossible for any Captain America fan to see anyone else taking up the shield, although Sam Wilson is taking his legacy forward from 'The Falcon and The Winter Soldier'. But did you know, that there was a time in Chris life when he was hesitant to play the Marvel Superhero.

Last year, he himself revealed that he had doubts about his acting career back then and almost turned down the role -- that eventually catapulted him to superstardom.

"That was back when the superhero thing was just taking off. I had just been dumped and I needed it," he said.  He also revealed that he started having panic attacks while filming 'Puncture' in 2010.

"It was the first time I started having mini panic attacks on set," he said. "I really started to think, 'I'm not sure if this (acting) is the right thing for me, I'm not sure if I'm feeling as healthy as I should be feeling.'"

When Marvel asked him to give an audition for the role of 'Captain America,' in 2011's 'Captain America: The First Avenger,' he turned them down. But the makers come back again to him and this time he accepted. 

"It was the best decision I've ever made, and I really owe that to (Marvel chief) Kevin Feige for being persistent and helping me avoid making a giant mistake," Evans said, adding, "To be honest, all the things that I was fearing never really came to fruition."

He talked to his therapist, family and co-star Robert Downey Jr. to say yes finally! and we got our Captain America. 

Chris has played Marvel superhero since 2011's 'Captain America: The First Avenger' and following years the actor played the superhero in many of the sequels including 2014's 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' and 2016's 'Captain America: Civil War' - along with two 'Avengers' movies, including the hit 'Avengers: The Endgame'.