You probably have never heard of James Preston Rogers, but at 6-foot-6, Rogers clearly towers above the competition. The former doorman/bouncer, who's only been acting for three years, is in the running in part thanks to a growing Internet campaign on MySpace, Facebook, petitiononline.com, IMDb and YouTube.
"The thing about Thor, he's probably going to be one of the most complete roles I'll ever get being 6-foot-six. It's probably the closest to (playing) Hamlet I'll ever get," Rogers joked in an interview with the Toronto Star(news paper)
With his blue eyes, blond hair and a well-muscled frame, Rogers agent Claire Sim noted: "Honestly, you can't beat James as Thor. He's got all the physical aspects. I think Marvel could make some money even if they use a (relative) unknown."
With actor Kenneth Branagh on board as director and a tentative July 2010 release date, Sim (JPR's agent) has been busily courting the studio(Marvel) for the past ten months and believes Rogers has a realistic chance of landing the role.
You might have seen James in the movie 'Outlander', a sci-fi Viking flick starring James Caviezel and Ron Perlman. "I had the time of my life riding a horse, swinging an axe," said Rogers, who plays Bjorn. "So you trade the axe in for a hammer and it seems like a perfect fit for me."
It's been a slow rise for Rogers, 36, who got his first role as a wrestler in a Mr. Big commercial that ran nationally without having a headshot or an agent.
Since then, Sim said, Rogers has gotten successively bigger and better roles, working alongside actors like Tom Selleck in 2007's Sea Change and Rogers recently filmed a part in Defendor, starring Woody Harrelson and Sandra Oh, which was shot in Toronto last fall.
Yesterday, Rogers learned he's got an audition for the upcoming U.S. television series, Spartacus, set to film in New Zealand.
Rogers said he also turned down a lucrative contract with World Wrestling Entertainment.
"The thing about wrestling for me is that it got down to playing just one role. I kind of gave up the fame and fortune to do what I wanted to do. I knew I'd be coming back to Canada and chipping away at doing bit parts but that is what I would rather do," Rogers said.
Go check out his Myspace page at www.myspace/jamesdeel (The guy even Rap's, if you go to his page the song you hear is him)
With Hellboy Ron Perlman.
This was on MTV Canada a few week's ago, they're really supporting JPR in Toronto: