In a recent sneak peek at the behind-the-scenes moments that helped create the Marvel Cinematic Universe's The Avengers, executive producer Jeremy Latcham revealed that Chris Evans' post-credits beard makeup 'looked terrible.'
Detailed in Marvel's recently published book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was revealed that The Avengers post-credit scene was surprisingly difficult to film. While on paper, the scene simply required the MCU's original Avengers to sit around a table and eat shawarma in awkward silence, the timing of the shoot complicated matters. While Chris Evans was able to return for the scene, he arrived with a bushy beard that Captain America lacked in the film.
While under normal circumstances the simplest solution would have been to shave Evans' beard, he had grown it for the sake of another film he was working on called Snowpiercer. Superhero movie fans might immediately think of the resemblance the situation bears to Henry Cavill's infamous mustache that had to be digitally removed for Joss Whedon's Justice League. Ironically, Whedon was also directing The Avengers, yet the solution they settled on was somewhat more practical than CGI. However, the results were perhaps equally ineffective.
In order to film the scene, they decided to cover up Evans' beard with makeup. Latcham revealed that a careful inspection of the scene can just barely expose the lackluster disguise. He said, "If you look closely, we pasted this special-effect skin makeup over it. But it was all bumpy and looked terrible, so we just asked him to lean on his hand to cover it up." Fans who watch back the scene will no longer be able to unsee the obvious efforts they made to hide Captain America's lower face. Despite the victory they had just achieved in the film, Steve Rogers looks uncharacteristically glum as he sits with his hand over his mouth.
The entire shawarma shoot was a surprisingly difficult operation to complete, despite it perhaps being the most relaxed scene from the film. For starters, it required the cast to sneak away from a press junket, changing into dirtied versions of their costumes before heading to the restaurant and then finally returning to change for a party. Additionally, Evans was not the only star to have undergone some changes that risked ruining the film's continuity. Chris Hemsworth had lost a significant amount of weight to the film In the Heart of the Sea, causing his armor to no longer fit. The solution for Thor was slightly more simplistic, merely requiring Hemsworth to hunch and lean forward to keep his costume in place.
Source: The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe