REFINERY29 – Okay, so technically he’s an uncle, but that doesn’t mean this clip from upcoming movie Gifted isn’t choc-full of adorable dad-isms from Chris Evans’ character Frank Adler. Frank, a single man, is determined to raise his niece Mary, played by Mckenna Grace, the way her mother would have wanted, giving her a normal life and the chance to be a kid.
Although Mary is a child prodigy, Frank doesn’t want to send her to a special center where she’d be challenged. Instead, he wants to keep her in public school with her teacher Bonnie, played by Jenny Slate. This leads to a nasty custody battle with his mother, who thinks Mary should be given the special treatment her intelligence deserves.
But what does Mary want? Well, in the clip above, a better outfit.
“Come on, I made you a special breakfast,” Frank says, knocking on Mary’s door.
“You can’t cook,” she retorts.
He finally gets her to open the door, where she stands in a bright red dress and big sneakers.
“You look beautiful,” Frank says.
“I look like a Disney character,” she replies, adorably stomping away.
This is perfect, because apparently the actor was kind of like a dad IRL. While filming in Savannah, he would organize game nights for the cast and crew.
“At first I was like, ‘What a fucking nightmare,’” Jenny Slate said in an interview with Vulture. “Chris is a different speed than me — I think he really did just jump out of a plane for an interview.” However, she came around. Dedicated fans know that the two ended up dating for some time after wrapping filming.
The movie, from the same people who made (500) Days Of Summer, is hitting theaters on April 7. Other cast members include Octavia Spencer and Julie Ann Emery, and you can watch the trailer here.
