Chris Evans laughs off retirement reports

Captain America star Chris Evans has laughed off reports suggesting he's planning to retire from acting after honouring his Marvel Studios contract, insisting his comments have been misconstrued.

The movie star recently told one media outlet that he was planning to take a step back from acting to concentrate on directing, but he assures fans he has no plans to walk away from the spotlight altogether.

Appearing on breakfast show Good Morning America on Monday (31Mar14) to promote Captain America sequel The Winter Soldier, he explained, "I said that I directed last year. I really responded to it. I really enjoyed it. I'd love to focus a little bit more on that.

"By no means am I planning on retiring. It's kind of a silly statement. But I certainly am going to try to focus a bit more on directing at this point."

That said, his remarks are still out there - he told Variety magazine, "If I'm acting at all, it's going to be under Marvel contract, or I'm going to be directing. I can't see myself pursuing acting strictly outside of what I'm contractually obligated to do."