The forthcoming release of Marvel Studios and Paramount’s Thor heralds the ascension of a new star: Aussie Chris Hemsworth, who rose from relative obscurity in 2009 with a minor role in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek to nab one of the most coveted parts in the current film industry. The movie, directed by Kenneth Branagh, tells of the origins of The God of Thunder, a prince of the mystical kingdom of Asgard who is banished to a life amongst mortals on Earth. Thor becomes one of humanity’s greatest defenders, as well as a member of the Marvel Comics collective known as The Avengers during his stay in our world.
As a longtime comic book enthusiast and all around movie geek, I was incredibly excited to talk to Hemsworth for an exclusive interview earlier this month. We discussed the source material, the costume, the cast and – of course – The Avengers! Read on for the full transcript and make sure to catch Thor in theaters on May 6th!
In Thor, you’re playing a hero that’s not entirely relatable to an audience, or to most other costumed superheroes for that matter. However, in my eyes the comic book character closest to the one you’re playing is Superman, in that you’re both outcasts from other worlds and are both inhumanly powerful. I’m wondering if you agree with that comparison and if you found it difficult playing such an alien type of character?
Yeah, I do agree. And the challenge was to make it relatable and find the human element within these gods we were portraying. The key was, and Kenneth Branagh said this, to make it personal. We find the truth in it. It’s a story about a father and his sons. We don’t get caught up in the idea that we’re playing gods, it’s just between two brothers. That was something we focused on. Also, Thor is humanized in this particular story. He’s now learning how to deal with that and his path to humility and finding his place in the universe and so on.
You’ve put a strong emphasis on the family aspect of the story in that response, which I’m glad to hear. I assume, then, that it plays a big part in the narrative?
Very much. The events of the story relate directly back to the relationship with their father and it’s a big part of the film.
There’s a wealth of source material to mine and I’m sure you got the chance to read through some classic comics in preparation for the shoot. Were there any specific story arcs that you read?
I read all sorts of variations. I was handed a stack right when I began and with the limited time that I had, I tried to soak up as much as I could.
As a continuation of my first question question, other than Thor comics, which I’m sure you’ve become quite familiar with, did you look at any other superheroes for influence or was it all Thor all the time?
It was all Thor basically. I didn’t want to blur the line too much. I didn’t read comic books growing up but I knew a little bit about Norse mythology and the viking era which always fascinated me. But with this, I was deeply immersed in the Thor world.
You had a truly incredible cast and creative team around to support your performance. Did that make things easier for you or was it nerve racking at all?
It was nerve-racking leading up to the shoot and trying to imagine how it was going to be, but the moment I got on set they all were just incredibly supportive and collaborative. There was no ego. I could’nt have been around better people. They elevate everyone’s performance, those guys.
Some superhero costumes are bulkier than others, but Thor’s armor just really looks incredibly jarring. Was it difficult maneuvering in that thing during the big action sequences? I just want to get an idea of what it’s like inside one of those things.
Yeah it was incredibly restricting and heavy and hot. Just during the walk to the stage, I’d be sweating in it, let alone during the action sequences. Obviously, the concern was, “if I do this, I don’t want to tear the thing.” But they said, “Just go for it, we’ve got other ones. We can repair it.” The action is what’s important. So we just went for it and that ended up being a workout itself because I was constantly moving against some restrictive object. But look, if it looks good it was worth every second.
I know there must have been a tremendous amount of green screen involved —
There actually wasn’t. We were very lucky. They built these sets and we had warehouses full of sets and chamber rooms. Honestly, we did maybe a week or two of green screen, if that, and the rest of it was on physical sets. It looks so impressive on screen because it’s not computer generated imagery; they actually built these things.
That’s great! That probably helped you get into character, then. Can you elaborate on what it was like to fight in these great halls?
That was amazing. You have these worlds to actually interact with and things would catch your eye and set your imagination off. You weren’t sitting there having to pretend what things looked like because they were right there in front of you. As an actor, it’s way easier.
Obviously when you signed up for this film you knew that you’d be entering a much larger Marvel Comics universe, but was there much discussion during production about what Thor’s place is amongst the other characters like Captain America and Iron Man?
Not really specifically. Among the comics I read were some things on The Avengers, so I gathered an idea around that. But no, the discussions were heavily rooted in Thor and what was going to come into play with The Avengers was just a continuation of what we were doing in this film, you know?
Sure. Now as far as I know, The Avengers is already in production. I could be wrong but I hope not —
(laughs) It’s in production. I think they start shooting in a few weeks and I go up in there a few weeks into the schedule after I finish the promotional tour for Thor.
Is there anything that you can tell us about the film thus far? How it’s going, what we can expect, etc.?
It’s huge. It’s massive. I’ve been blown away by the script that they sent us. To combine these larger than life characters and also these incredibly talented actors together, I feel like fan amongst this all. I’m giddy about what’s to come.
Do you have any idea or wishes about where you want to take Thor in future films both emotionally and/or psychologically?
I think Thor has a very interesting arc in this movie. When it ends, he’s not the same person he was at the beginning of the film. I’d want to continue to expand on that and watch him grow and have the character mature and find new challenges and objectives to come up against.
Has there been any word on possible release dates for The Cabin In The Woods and Red Dawn now that MGM is starting to sort out its affairs? We’re all anxious to see them at my office…
I’m really anxious for them to be released (laughs). I shot the films coming on a few years ago now. I’d love to see them come out soon. I’m hearing rumors about them getting out toward the end of the year. Look, they have to bring them out soon and they’re sorting their issues out at MGM now so hopefully we’ll see them before the end of the year.
