Thanks to Italian site
Comicus, we have the following interview with
Thor's stuntman and actor, David Mattey. Below are a few excerpts, but for the full version, be sure to follow the link at the bottom of the page!
How did you get involved in Thor? Did you have to audition for it?
I originally auditioned for the role of Volstagg in Thor, though I was in Hawaii at the time so I had to record my aud and send it via the internet. Once back in LA I read for a few other parts in the film as well. I got a call out of the blue on a Friday evening to come in the next morning for a fight rehearsal, but at the time I didn't know what the project was. I only found out once I got there that the Stunt Coordinator was Andy Armstrong and we were working on fights for Thor.
What are your feeling about stage designing? And about the cast?
The design was fantastic - I've been on sets where all that is there is a green screen and you have to imagine the environment, but the sets I was on were really amazing - massive, immersive, just really incredible. Everyone I worked with in the final cast was great - we didn't have a lot of hanging out, socializing time, and that was because everyone was focused on the work we were doing, but what time we had was great. Chris Hemsworth had a lot on his plate just on the fight side of things, and he did fantastic job - really nice guy, very physical - just what you want for a superhero.
Can you tell us something about Kenneth Branagh? What kind of instructions did he give you before starting a shot?
It was clear from talking to Kenneth that he had done his homework. He always knew why he wanted something a particular way, and it was based on information about the characters that he had clearly spent a lot of time and effort thinking about. As a result, we got a lot of great information to help with the development of each character.
What can you say about the action shots you took part in? What degree of action are we going to see?
I can't say anything specific about any of that, but I can say we spent several months before the cameras rolled setting up and rehearsing fights and action sequences. I think the stuff you can see in the trailer should give you a pretty good idea the level of action to be expected, and what is in the trailer is only a small fraction of the good stuff.
Thor is set to be released on May 6, later this year!