John Krasinski praised Chris Evans as Captain America and agreed that he could never play the character as good as him.

Before donning the suit of Mr. Fantastic Doctor Strange 2 after years of fan casting, John Krasinski was up for another MCU role. He was a leading candidate in the race of Captain America before Chris Evans made the role his own. The Office fame has explained how Chris Hemsworth’s godly physique made him feel insecure and eventually forced him to exit the race.

However, this story is totally different from that of Sebastian Stan who played the role of Captain America’s best friend, Bucky Barnes. While John Krasinski got insecure and eventually declined the chance, Stan worked so hard for his role that Bucky’s metal arm became too inconvenient for him.
Sebastian Stan as The Winter Soldier
Sebastian Stan gave an excellent performance in the MCU as Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier. One of the most unique traits of his character is the metallic arm he dons. That arm became a pain for Stan when his physique faced a drastic transformation in the Captain America threequel.

Sebastian Stan’s story is different to that of John Krasinski

Sebastian Stan joined the MCU as Bucky Barnes in Captain America: The First Avenger. Since then, he has been a significant face of the superhero universe. During a conversation with Men’s Health, our Bucky Barnes revealed that the metallic arm was a real trouble.
Winter Soldier with the iconic metallic arm
For Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the arm was a big trouble and he had to lube his arm for it. It was like putting a massive hammer attached to his hand. Although the arm became more convenient in the subsequent movies, Stan’s changed physique caused another trouble. He worked out so much that his physique became too big for the metallic arm during the Civil War shoot.

“I was so insecure being around these massive f–king guys, so I started lifting really heavy and ate a lot. I remember I showed up, and I was a little bit bigger than I had been in The Winter Soldier. The arm was a bit tight. I was losing circulation.”
On the other hand, John Krasinski left the audition for Captain America when a jacked Chris Hemsworth passed by him. Hemsworth had the perfect body demanded for the role of Thor. However, it made John Krasinski reconsider his decision and decline the thought immediately.

John Krasinski’s Captain America audition story

John Krasinski as Reed Richards in Doctor Strange 2
When John Krasinski visited The Ellen Show, Emily Blunt’s husband explained the whole story about what happened during the audition. Even though it was initially fun for him to go and try out the Captain America suit, things went wrong midway and he met Chris Hemsworth. The A Quiet Place actor elaborated:
“I went in and I tested for Captain America. Got to wear the suit. Which was really fun. This is a true story. […] I was putting the suit on, and I was halfway up, not wearing any other clothes other than this. […] And right at that moment, Chris Hemsworth walked by and he was like, ‘you look good, mate.’ And I was like, nope. You know what? It’s fine. We don’t have to do this. […] He was just like, jacked.”
But in the end, John Krasinski praised Chris Evans and agreed that he could never play the character as good as him. He also appreciated how things went as losing Captain America helped him to focus more on his much-appreciated project A Quiet Place. 

On the other hand, Sebastian Stan’s efforts proved to be fruitful as well. Winter Soldier has acquired a huge fanbase over time and has become a favorite to many. It will be very exciting to see how his character plays out in the future Thunderbolts.