Sir Anthony Hopkins recently spoke to the L.A. Times about the charm of his Thor character, Odin:
"I don't just play a father, a play the god-father." Hopkins said he is enthused about working with the cast that is led by Chris Hemsworth (who played the doomed father of James T. Kirk in "Star Trek") as the Thunder God and Natalie Portman as his mortal love, Jane Foster.
"I'm very interested in that relationship between fathers and sons," Hopkins said. "My father's relationship with me was cold. He was a hot-blood character but to me, cold. When I was young, he expressed his disappointment because I was bad in school and all of that. He didn't mean any harm, but I felt I could never meet up to his expectations."
He said he has high hopes for "Thor" ("Kenneth Branagh is such a terrific director and a wonderful guy to work with.") especially because he finds a personal resonance in the Odin role.
"He's a stern man. He's a man with purpose. I play the god who banishes his son from the kingdom of Asgard because he screwed up. He's a hot-headed, temperamental young man --- probably a chip off of the old block -- but I decide he's not really ready to rule the future kingdom, so I banish him. I'm harsh and my wife complains and I say, 'That is why I'm king.' He's ruthless, take-it-or-leave-it. Women are much more forgiving; men are not so forgiving. I know in my life, my karma is, 'If you don't like it, tough, move on.' And I move on. I'm a little like Odin myself."
