In just a year, Chris Evans has gone from superhero to protective dad.

The actor, known to millions as the heroic Captain America from the blockbuster Marvel films, now plays a very different character: a prosecutor facing murky moral decisions as he tries to shield his son from a murder accusation in Apple TV Plus's eight-episode "Defending Jacob" (first three episodes now streaming).

Evans, 38, who also played a spoiled playboy heir in last fall's "Knives Out," talked in an interview from his Massachusetts home, where he's abiding by the stay-at-home restrictions designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The Bay State native talked about a variety of topics, including the appeal of playing a father (for the first time) in the crime thriller/family drama that focuses on suburban Boston prosecutor Andy Barber (Evans); his wife, Laurie (Michelle Dockery), a private school administrator; and their teenage son, Jacob (Jaeden Martell), who is accused of killing a classmate.

View this post on Instagram

THR talked to #ChrisEvans about his first TV role since becoming an #Avenger. The actor plays the father of an accused murderer in Apple+'s 'Defending Jacob.' His interview is at the link in bio.

A post shared by Hollywood Reporter (@hollywoodreporter) on Apr 24, 2020 at 11:45am PDT

Q: What intrigued you about your "Jacob" character, Middlesex County assistant district attorney Andy Barber?

Chris Evans: I'm fascinated by people who are able to cope with guilt and shame differently. I think certain people who have traumatic childhoods learn early on how to develop a skill set that allows them to compartmentalize guilt. Andy is someone who has done this, and as a result has become a little ossified, a little cloudy, and then is confronted with a circumstance where all of a sudden all that guilt has to be exhumed in a very public forum.

Q: How did you feel about playing a father for the first time?

Evans: I loved it. I got to think about my relationship with my dad. And it's actually really pleasant to think about the lengths you're willing to go to protect your kid, and how that love is so unconditional and maybe a little blinding at times. It's this weird double-edged sword to explore a love that deep, but it's also unsettling to realize how far that can make you go and what you're willing to compromise to preserve that perspective.