Chris Hemsworth, star of Marvel's highly anticipated
THOR, has offered countless interviews outlining the aspects of bringing the Norse God of Thunder to the big screen next summer. And now Hemsworth has offered
Movies Online more & beyond including balancing Thor's hubris with heroism, the challenges of wielding Thor’s mighty hammer, and things that surprised him.
How important is the relationship between Thor and Jane in the film? Is it set up for later films? "Well, there’s a lot of pressure with something that has existed for so many years before you were involved and already has a fan base. But, you don’t let that affect the way you approach the film. For me, you do it as well as you can whatever it is, whether it’s a small film or whether it’s something like this here. But it’s as exciting and daunting as each other." In your performance and the way you think about Thor, how do you balance his hubris with his heroism? Do you think one exists in spite of the other? " I think I do. I think it’s his ongoing battle, taming the berserk kind of warrior that is in him. Certainly that’s a big part in this film, he’s still got to be that warrior. He still has to have those elements. That’s what makes him Thor but also, you don’t want to watch a guy on screen that is just a jerk all the time. You’ve got moments of it, yeah, that’s kind of cool and bad, but then it just gets old. So finding that balance, and then at times, sneaking a bit of it back in at the right time. " Are there prosthetics involved too? "Well, the costume is a big heavy chainmail leather costume, but when it’s me, it’s me. It’s not fake arms." Do you have a favorite Thor story from your research? "The stuff with The Avengers I really liked. There’s one particular one where they approach him and Thor’s sitting on a beach in a party or something. There’s fire and people sitting around playing guitar. Thor’s there drinking a beer and up walk out SHIELD and I think Iron Man. They’re like, “Supposedly you’re a god and we want you to join our team.” He’s like, “Psh, I’m not joining nothing.” I think one of them says something like, “I don’t believe he’s a god anyway.” Thor makes big rain and thunder and they scurry away. I enjoyed that moment." What fighting techniques did you go through for Thor’s hammer swing, and what did you end up with? "A lot of different stuff because it really is a very impractical kind of weapon in a sense. There’s a big huge head on it and a tiny little handle. So we talked about boxing a lot actually. I’d done a lot of Muay Thai for years and Muay Thai is much more on your toes and legs involved. Boxing is more of a grounded sort of technique. We’d talk about Tyson, low to the ground and power through the legs. A lot of that I think influenced Thor and certainly big open shoulders, big shoulder movements. It becomes a very gritty kind of street fighting stuff at times and he happens to have a big old hammer in his hand as well." What’s your favorite thing about Thor that drew you to the role? "Being part of a franchise so I can pay rent. I mean, look, when this came along, this film, I was knocking on every door trying to get a job. Once having the job, I’ll tell you about what excited me. I love the Norse mythology aspect of it all. I think the Viking era is fascinating. He has a great journey. He’s a brash, cocky young warrior and he’s got to learn some humility along the way. Anything to do with brothers and fathers, I have a great relationship with my brothers and fathers and stuff to draw from. That stuff always lights a fire in me. Even when I see it on screen it affects me. The warrior aspect and the people involved was all appealing." How hard is it to keep it all a secret, and have you slipped up yet? " I don't think I have. There were some photos leaked at one point. I was like, “Oh God, hopefully it wasn’t me.” Look, the thing is this is already based on sort of comic books which the stories are there. Now which particular story we’ve decided to tell is I guess the secret, but a lot of the essence of it already exists and people know about it. That’s not secret." At any point in the movie will you say “verily” or “I say thee name?” "Nay. Like in the comic books, it’s much more Shakespearian old English speak. We didn’t go down that path. We certainly made them standard sort of English accents. It was certainly well spoken and very formal but it wasn’t Shakespearian. " What are your hopes for how Thor will fit in to the Avengers team? "I hope it works. Look, I think that’s going to be great. A lot of people are like, “Oh, I want to see them fight and who would win?” But I’d like to see the dinner party with Iron Man, Captain America and Thor. What the hell would they talk about?" How did you take to the stunts and action? "I love that stuff. I played a lot of sport in my life and any time I can get in there and do that stuff, you’re getting paid to do that it’s ridiculous." Were you surprised by anything you were able to do? "You know, there’s something I thought I could do and I couldn’t which was strapped into this harness, I had to pretend like I was falling through space. I basically was there on a couple of wires and they just spin you. You spin backwards. I thought that’s something that at the show grounds you pay five bucks for and it’s just going to be fun. Two spins later, I was like whooooaaaaa. We stopped and I was like pale. They’re like, “You want to stop?” I was like, “No, just keep going until I throw up I guess.” He just kept spinning and going, “You all right, Chris?” It’s like [gasps], “Go again, go again.” Eventually we got what we needed and I just had to sit down for a couple hours. It was hideous. " Believe it or not, there's more that you can check out in the full interview over at
Movies Online, including the process of working with Director Kenneth Branagh, examples received from the comics, preparation for the role, and challenges of the fans knowing so much of the backstory.
Kenneth Branagh's epic take on
THOR storms into theaters next summer, May 6, 2011!
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