Team Cap gets big Singapore welcome at MBS

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

She packed her bags, left her home in Muar, Malaysia, and slept at a relative's place here - all to attend the blue carpet event yesterday for Marvel's Captain America: Civil War.

Student Khu Jin Wen, 18, showed up at 7am even though the event was scheduled to start at 5.45pm at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.

"Chris Evans is my favourite actor. I told myself I must see him just once in my lifetime," Miss Khu said.

360º video of the Captain America: Civil War Blue Carpet event

 

She did that and more, managing to take a selfie with actor Sebastian Stan, 33, who played Winter Soldier in the movie, which opens here next Thursday.

"I'm very excited. I can't believe I met them in real life. They aren't just characters on a screen anymore," said Miss Khu.

Along with Stan, Evans, 34, and Anthony Mackie, 37, who play Captain America and Falcon respectively, were welcomed by deafening screams from the huge crowd, who packed all three floors of the shopping mall.

The actors, who walked down the blue carpet to take selfies with fans and sign autographs, were joined by the movie's co-director Joe Russo.

Mackie proved himself a man of the people by ditching protocol and leaping over the barrier to sign autographs among the public. He was quickly surrounded, the only indicator of his location being the lights from the TV camera crew that was following him.

 

 

Mirroring the plot of the movie, the cast had split into two teams - Team Cap and Team Iron Man - to "challenge" each other on the international stage.

Evans is leading #TeamCap for the South-east Asia tour, while Robert Downey Jr is fronting #TeamIronMan in Europe.

On the Singapore stage, the three stars from #TeamCap bantered easily and jokingly insulted their rival team, with Iron Man bearing the brunt of it.

"Nobody understands how many people we have here right now ready to scream for #TeamCap," said Mackie, as he held out his mobile phone to film himself and Evans with the crowd as the backdrop.

"This one's for you, Iron Man. Everybody ready?" Evans asked as the crowd broke into a chant.

STARSTRUCK: Mr Paul Khoo (right), who took part in a cosplay competition held just before the actors went on stage, managed to get his Captain America shield signed by actor Sebastian Stan. 

INCREDIBLE

Touched by the turnout, Russo said: "This is why we do it, because of all you here. It's incredible..."

He proceeded to pull a teenager from the front row of the VIP section to bring her on stage, where she hugged and snapped pictures with the actors.

Several fans from the 26 beneficiaries of Marina Bay Sands' corporate social responsibility programme, Sands for Singapore, made it to the stage as well.

Four from the group of young fans were invited to go on stage to ask the actors questions.

Nur Qumaira Adam, 15, from the Singapore Association for the Deaf, asked Evans through a sign language interpreter: "Do you love Singapore as much as Singapore loves you?"

Evans, who was visibly taken aback by the crowd, replied: "The feeling is hard to match but I think I can.

"Thank you Singapore, thank you. Look at this, this is unbelievable!"

But the stand-out moment came after Evans delivered his answer .

Mackie tapped Qumaira on the shoulder and made a hand gesture over his face.

Both Qumaira, her interpretor and Evans looked shocked and somewhat impressed that Mackie knew sign language.

A quick prompt from Ong revealed what Mackie had told Qumaira – "You're beautiful" and "Thank You".

Watch the moment below.

 

 

G.B. Durgesh, 11, from the Students Care Service, asked Stan, who plays Captain America's best friend Bucky Barnes in the movie: "Is Captain America really your best friend?"

Stan replied: "Well, I really hope Falcon hears this but he is. Of course, he's my brother."

He proceeded to give Evans a brotherly hug before lifting Durgesh and giving him a good squeeze.

"I can't believe that happened. I'm just so happy... It's a moment I will never forget," Durgesh said later.

UP CLOSE: Actor Sebastian Stan giving a young fan G.B. Durgesh, 11, a big hug on stage. 

But not everyone left happy.

Miss Nicole Ferguson, 17, who managed to secure a prime spot along the carpet by turning up at 9am, ended up on the periphery.

"As the day progressed, they kept taking the carpet apart and making the space smaller and smaller.

"And suddenly where I was standing wasn't anywhere close to where they would walk by anymore," she said.