With Captain America: Civil War now in theatres, I thought the very first post for this new column #CouchLock would be about which Avengers enjoy a few puffs from cannabis.
When you’re a hard working superhero, it’s nice to be able to stop and smell the buds from time-to-time. In Hollywood, smoking pot isn’t anything new, but you’d be surprised on how many of these actors, who play within the Marvel universe, have enjoyed a nicely rolled joint.
Captain America (Chris Evans)
We might as well start with Captain America, the wholesome, flag-waving, superhero who, believe it or not, also possesses the power to roll fast and neat joints in less than a minute. A few weeks back a story was posted on Thrillist about a New York promoter who had an interesting run-in with actor Chris Evans.
“Chris Evans should roll every joint. He was at our table and someone wanted to get high but doesn’t roll. Chris crushed up weed in one hand and prepared the papers in the other. I blinked and suddenly the weed’s all in there and it’s neatly twisted into a cone. He even used a drink ticket to make a filter. It happened in less than a minute and he didn’t bother sitting. It’s one of the best joints I’ve smoked.” — Promoter, NYC
Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.)
Robert Downey Jr. has had a well-documented struggle with drugs and alcohol addiction. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, he was arrested on numerous occasions for drug charges including cocaine, heroin and marijuana. His Hollywood career almost went up in smoke before he had to put a stop to all of his vices. Although he loved to smoke cannabis, he had to give everything up, because whether it was weed or alcohol, it all had the potential to lead him down a dark path.
“It’s like I’ve got a shotgun in my mouth, with my finger on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gun metal.”
Robert Downey Jr. told Rolling Stone in 2010 that he began smoking marijuana at age eight and it went downhill from there. It’s unfortunate, but it’s the nature of the beast for some people who have addictive personalities.
Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson)
This is an easy one. The beautiful, and very talented, Scarlett Johansson is a cannabis connoisseur and even enjoys a nice puff on set from time-to-time. She has been caught by many paparazzi smoking some nice big joints while waiting for her next scene.
In fact, Black Widow has been enjoying the green stuff since high school. Back in the day, Johansson was “good friends” with FUN. lead guitarist Jack Antanoff, and according to old school mates, the pair were considered the Cheech and Chong of their HIGH school.
“She smoked elegantly,” a friend of the pair told New York Post‘s Page Six. “They enjoyed herbal recreation so much, their prom-night limo driver had to tell them to stop lighting up in his car.”
War Machine (Don Cheadle)
When Don Cheadle isn’t putting on the War Machine armour he’s starring in Netflix’s comedy House of Lies. Kristen Bell, who is Cheadle’s co-star on the show, was on Chelsea Lately and told Chelsea Handler that Cheadle got her stoned during shooting once.
Don Cheadle was also a guest on Chelsea and told the full story.
“We were doing a scene — we were supposed to be walking down the street in L.A. and we were supposed to be getting someone high so that we could mess with his head and try to steal some business from him,” Cheadle told Handler.
However, included with the stunt joints was a real one that Cheadle had added to the mix. Before the real cannabis was used, it was cleared by everyone on set. Even Bell supposedly agreed, although it seems she didn’t really believe that they were going to smoke legitimate pot.
According to Cheadle, filming ended with Bell crouched over, saying, “It was real guys, it was real.”
They tried to warn her.
Ant Man (Paul Rudd)
We’ll end this column with the biggest, er…smallest? and most prolific stoner within the Marvel stratosphere. Ant Man plays an important role in Captain America: Civil War and actor Paul Rudd is well known for enjoying everything that cannabis provides.
Often times art imitates life and Rudd has played the jovial, marijuana-smoking sidekick in several Hollywood movies including The 40-Year Old Version, Knocked-Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. In the movie Our Idiot Brother, he plays a hippie who gets thrown in jail for selling weed to a cop.
When asked by High Time Magazine if he did any method acting for his role in the aforementioned Our Idiot Brother, he answered,
“I will say that in several different incarnations, I’ve prepared for this role for many years.”
Make sure to check Trevor Dueck and Steve Stebbing out every Friday on Cannabis in Canada for Flix Anonymous. They review all the new film releases, give you their weekly stoner flick and more.