Chris Evans at the premiere of "Push" held at the Mann Village Theater in Westwood, Calif. on January 29th.

Those real-life experiments in telekinesis, clairvoyance and telepathy inspired the Summit Entertainment action-thriller Push. Set in a deadly world of psychic espionage where the ability to move objects using only the mind, see the future, create new realities and kill without ever touching the victim can turn a person into a lethal weapon, or a target. A shadowy government agency, known as the Division, is rounding up psychics for experiments designed to boost their powers and assemble the most commanding army the world has ever seen. Unfortunately, up until now, no one has ever survived these trials.

Nick Gant (Chris Evans), a second-generation telekinetic, or “mover,” has been in hiding since the Division murdered his father more than a decade earlier. When Cassie Holmes (Dakota Fanning), a 13-year-old clairvoyant, or “watcher,” seeks him out in Hong Kong, she asks for his help in locating a briefcase that she claims holds $6 million. To find it, they also have to find Kira (Camilla Belle), an escaped “pusher” (someone with the ability to influence others’ actions by implanting thoughts in their minds) who is the only person ever to live through the Division’s experiments. But, Cassie’s presence soon attracts the attention of the Division’s human bloodhounds, forcing them all to flee for their lives.

Chris Evans, best known as Johnny Storm, aka Human Torch in the Fantastic Four films, spoke to MediaBlvd Magazine about telekinesis, working in Hong Kong, and which ability he’d like to have in real life.

MediaBlvd Magazine> What interested you in this movie?

Chris Evans> First, it was the script. It’s a really intricate plot. If you’re reading a script and you put it down and say, “I’ll finish it later,” that’s probably a bad sign. This was a script that I finished in an hour, and I wanted to read it again. The pace was wonderful, and there were a lot of twists and turns. By page 70, I was like, “How are they going to get out of this?” They really get themselves into a pickle, and it’s a really nice resolve.

MediaBlvd> What are your feelings about telekinesis? Is it just science fiction, or do you think there’s something to it?

Chris> Absolutely! In order to act something, you have to believe it, to some degree. If you don’t believe it, you can’t portray it. So, before shooting, everyone did their share of research on the Internet about the legitimacy of psychic abilities and telekinesis. If you spend a couple days doing your research on it, whether you’re a believer or not, it becomes very difficult to maintain your skepticism. It’s out there, to some degree or another. I can’t say it doesn’t exist.

MediaBlvd> Did you have a consultant for this at all?

Chris> Now it seems like I can’t believe we didn’t. We absolutely should have. We didn’t, though. It was to each his own.

MediaBlvd> The dynamic of a young teen girl and an adult guy, who are not related, but become as close as family, is not something that is seen a lot in films. What did you think about that?

Chris> That’s one of the reasons I liked the movie so much. Even though it’s got this great sci-fi/action/special powers back-drop, there were some real relationships and some real character arcs. And, when I heard Dakota’s name, I thought, “This could be great!” She’s so good at doing emotionally relatable content. You root for her. You like her. You see her in a movie and you can’t help but feel connected to her. This type of arc, with those type of characters, I figured, “Man, I could really phone this thing in and it’s still going to work because she’s that good.” She could develop a relationship with a stalk of corn, and it’s going to work. It’s true. She carried this. She’s great at what she does.    

MediaBlvd> What surprised you about working with Dakota Fanning?

Chris> She’s one of the most phenomenal actresses. The girl is unbelievable. More so than that, as a human being, she’s just one of the sweetest, kindest people. She has a heart of gold. Her parents are amazing. Anyone who’s found that much success, that early, you’ve gotta start to think this is going to go awry, sooner or later. In a year, she’s gonna be checking into Betty Ford and throwing water at people and showing up late. But, it’s none of that. In three days, she knew every single name, of every single crew member. She’ll talk with anybody. She’s just a genuinely wonderful person. And, the fact that she’s slapped with so much talent is not fair.

MediaBlvd> Now that she’s moving into more mature roles, what did you see her enjoying about the process of getting to play things a little more edgy and adult?

Chris> You should have seen her in the wardrobe she was in, when she came out, on the first day. I was like, “What are you wearing, missy? Put some clothes on!” She’s welcoming the kind of maturity her roles are offering her. She’s gonna make the transition so seamlessly. A lot of these actors, who find their success at an early age and then they have to hit that puberty hump, find it hard to make the transition. She’s going nowhere. She’s gonna to be here in 30 years.

MediaBlvd> Hong Kong is as much a character in this movie as any of the individuals are. Were you conscious of that while you were shooting?

Chris> That’s what Paul expressed, when I met with him prior to actually signing on to the project. He explained the necessity for shooting in Hong Kong, and he had a bunch of photographs and stills to give us a sense of what he was going for. And then, when we landed in Hong Kong, you pull into the city and say, “Alright, I get it!” Every single street was like the set decorator was already there. It really is a character.                               

MediaBlvd> Did it help you get into character, in any way?

Chris> No question! For a lot of these scenes, where we’re walking down the streets of Hong Kong, you can’t get lock-ups. You can’t own the street. You don’t have extras. So, you’ve just got a camera set up, and Dakota and I were just walking through the streets of Hong Kong. They were real pedestrians, just going about their lives. Having a tangible world around you is obviously going to inform your choices.

MediaBlvd> Do you have a particular memory of your experience Hong Kong?

Chris> It was tricky. It’s a fun place, for a little while. For three to four weeks, it’s great. We were there for about three or four months. That’s tough. There’s not a lot of luxury. On Fantastic Four, there were big trailers and all the amenities and, in Hong Kong, there were no trailers. If you’ve got to go to the bathroom, it’s three blocks down and two blocks over, and there’ll be a hole in the ground. You’ve got to check your ego at the door. But, that really lent itself to what’s going on in these characters’ lives. It was a tangible environment to play off.

MediaBlvd> Your character gets beaten up a lot in this film. Did you get hurt at all?

Chris> There were some rough stunt scenes, but that was part of the appeal. A lot of times, with the stunt work, you don’t get to play. You’ve got to take a backseat. But, Paul really wanted us in there, actually participating. That’s rare, and it was exciting. Granted, there were some scenes where I said, “You guys handle this one. I’ll be watching from the monitors.” But, it’s great, whenever you can get your hands dirty and actually feel like you’re a part of it.                       

MediaBlvd> In the beginning, sometimes your character doesn’t even know why he’s getting beaten up. Does that seem almost comical, at a point?

Chris> Yeah, it’s funny. I get thrown around, I hit the ceiling, I’m contorted, and then I walk out and I’m just limping. Honestly, I should be paralyzed. I shouldn’t be moving. This guy got chucked across a room. But, you’ve got to take some liberties with that.

MediaBlvd> As an actor, what’s more fun, getting beaten up or being the guy who does the beating?

Chris> When you’re shooting it, it’s much more fun to be the one getting beaten up and thrown around the room, and being able to actually play a part in the stunt. But, when you’re watching it, it’s much more fun to walk away and say, “I kicked his ass. That was me. I threw him around the room!”

MediaBlvd> Were you the one who wanted to save the fish, when you had to do the scene, running through the market with the fish tanks exploding?

Chris> Dakota saved many fishes’ lives. I was like, “Are they about to blow these tanks with the fish in them? I don’t know if we can do that.”

MediaBlvd> Were you surprised to be doing that scene yourself? Did you think stunt people would be doing it?

Chris> We were aware that we were going to be having a more hands-on approach to stunt work. The fish just didn’t sign off on it, so I didn’t think they should have to get blown up.

MediaBlvd> What attracts you to movies about characters with supernatural powers?

Chris> A lot of comic books are great because they have built-in audiences, and a lot of studios see dollar signs. It’s tough to not want to tap into those films. As far as picking films and avoiding trends, I don’t concern myself with that too much. Maybe I should. But, if a great script comes along and it’s a great director, even if it’s similar to something I’ve already done, I’m in the business of making good movies. Obviously, I want to stretch myself as an actor, but I’ve got plenty of time to mix it up with variety. I just want to make a good movie. If you read a good script, and you think the director has a good take on it, you just want to be a part of it. For the most part, I’ve stuck in a similar genre, but hopefully we get some good movies out of it.           

MediaBlvd> Since your power was ultimately accomplished by behind-the-scenes people, what physicality did you bring to it, to demonstrate that your character is doing what he does?

Chris> At the beginning of the film, he’s pretty clumsy with his powers. We’re not running around as skilled superheroes. Everyone is at a very basic level with their powers. For the most part, you’ve got to play a lot with your eyes. How do you act when you’re moving something with your mind? It looks silly and it feels silly. The best thing about the film is that we didn’t use a lot of special effects. If we were going to move a table, instead of doing it with computers, Paul just had rigs, so it was wonderful for the actors. If you make a little eye movement and the table goes flying, you’re like, “Okay, I’m starting to feel it a little bit more.” We had a tangible environment to play off of.

MediaBlvd> Out of all the powers in this film, what did you find the most interesting?

Chris> When people ask me, “Which power would you like to have?,” we all said, “Pusher ‘cause you can do the most with it, and get into a lot of trouble.” But then, Dakota made a point of saying that the problem with the Push is that it wears off, so eventually, anything you convince someone of, in about 10 or 20 minutes, they’re going to figure it out and you’re back to square one. That led me to say that I’d probably take telekinesis. But, the most interesting is Bleeder. It’s interesting. Sniffer was kind of gross.

MediaBlvd> What would you use the Bleeder ability on?

Chris> I’m not saying I’d find a practical use. I just think it’s interesting. Your brain bleeds out your ears.

MediaBlvd> What was that like on set, when those guys were just screaming silently?

Chris> We were rolling around and I was like, “This is hysterical!”

MediaBlvd> How was Paul to work with, as a director?

Chris> He’s great. We have a bit different approaches. I like a lot of rehearsal and he likes none, which is fine. On the day, you just trust that he’ll be able to shoot it because he’s got such an amazing eye. He’s a photographer, by trade. Even if you want to change something, at the last minute, you can just see his brain working, organically. He just knows how to make anything work. He has an eye for style.

MediaBlvd> What is the possibility of another Fantastic Four film?

Chris> I don’t think we’re doing another one. I think they’re done. If they were going to do one, I would have heard something. It’s been awhile since the second one, and those films usually come pretty quick, one after the next. So, I think they’re going to close the book on that one. It’s too bad, too. I had a fun time making those films.

MediaBlvd> Your Fantastic Four character was a smart ass, and Nick is so sincere and vulnerable. Was that contrast fun?

Chris> Yeah! I definitely relate more with the Fantastic Four character. I’m a more open guy. I like cracking jokes and having a good time, and Nick is very internal, shut off to the world, and pretty cold and rude, for the most part. It’s a different character for me, so it was fun.

MediaBlvd> Who would win if it was Johnny Storm vs. Nick?

Chris> Nick has some tougher friends. Johnny Storm’s friends work for good, and Nick’s friends are probably a little bit more grimy and dirty.

MediaBlvd> Does this hit the limit for superhero/superpower movies for you?

Chris> I think it might have to. If I do one more, I’m just going to be doomed. It’s unfortunate because it’s not deliberate to have that be the way it is. But if, all of a sudden, James Cameron is making another superpower movie and he offers me a role, I’m gonna take it.

MediaBlvd> Are you ready for Push 2, if it happens?

Chris> We leave you dangling. We’ll see. If that comes down the road, I guess we’ll see.

MediaBlvd> What do you have coming up next?

Chris> I’m going to do Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. It’s directed by Edgar Wright, who did Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, with Michael Cera and Brandon Routh. It shoots up in Toronto in April.

MediaBlvd> Who are you playing?

Chris> One of the evil ex-boyfriends, Lucas Lee. Michael Cera is the main character. He’s Scott Pilgrim, and he’s trying to date the girl of his dreams (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), but in order to do so, he has to fight her five evil ex-boyfriends. I’m one of the evil ex-boyfriends.