“The Norwegian exchange student.”
That’s the perfect way Chris Hemsworth summarized Thor on the set of the firstAvengersfilm.
As a result, he lost his power.
Marvel Studios
But by the time ofThe Avengersin 2012, Hemsworth’s hero had learned to be a team player.
Often, the Australian actor felt like he was playing catch-up with the God of Thunder.
Cameras began rolling onThe Avengersin 2011 just days after the firstThormovie hit theaters.
I haven’t had much time to stop and think about it."
I finished my press on Friday, and I started shooting Sunday.
So, it didn’t leave a whole lot of prep time, which was difficult, you know?
I had to do all my prep on the road, on the plane, while doing the tour.
Which is not ideal, but it’s all worked out.
What do you understand now about Thor having gone through the first movie?A lot.
There’s a maturity to the character because of the journey he went on, certainly.
How is it different now that Thor is part of a team.
He seems like the go-it-alone key in.It’s probably more difficult.
I think you feel it more in these big group scenes.
That said, you’re also surrounded by incredibly talented people, so that’s easier.
There’s big personalities in these characters, and it’s interesting navigating your way through it all.
He’s a couple of films ahead of most of us with his franchise.
I feel like it’s like you’re back in high school.
I can only speak for myself I guess, and I have an admiration for everybody.
I’m not from here, and probably I’ve worked less than all of them.
[Laughs] There’s certainly moments where Thor says things and there’s a sideways glance from everybody.
“What the hell is this guy talking about?”
Whereas everyone else, it’s some bad guy who they’ve gotta take down.
It’s a different approach for me, or for Thor.
He feels protective of him, even though Loki is the villain…Sure, yeah.
I think he’s the only one who has that personal investment.
It’s a family member.
There’s a bit of that.
In Thor, he had a hard time relating to humans.
He’s a god, after all.
[Laughs] They all have these crazy personalities and alter egos.
They’re all sort of quite lonely, in a sense.
They’re misfits, and that’s how they… fit.
In high school, Thor would be the big, strong…The Norwegian exchange student.
[Laughs] The dynamic really is like high school.I wouldn’t add in the big handsome bit.
Thanks for saying it, but I’ll sound like a dickhead if I say it.
Thor is starting to catch on more now, right?I think Thor does get it.
Having seen the [original] film now, he’s not stupid.
He understands if someone is being sarcastic or being a smartass.
So, you don’t want to play him.
He’s not Tarzan, missing the point constantly.
He has an odd opinion about it maybe, but he’s intelligent.
It’s taken care of.
That beat, or whatever you want it to be, is acknowledged.
I wondered how they were going to do that because she wasn’t in the film.
We left the last one with Thor wanting to come back just for her.
One of those things where you come to town…Yeah, and you didn’t call?
You didn’t write?
You didn’t text?
You know, I felt: “Don’t mess it up.”
I just had a love of storytelling and fantasy, I think.
Whether it would be books I had read or films…
I grew up in a great environment for your imagination to run wild.
I grew up in the bush, in Victoria, the Northern Territory, in an aboriginal community.
You were just outside all the time, and you would be off on little adventures and things.
So that certainly instilled that in me from a pretty young age.
I didn’t have a specific; I wasn’t necessarily a dedicatedStar TrekorStar Warsfan or whatever.
If I watched those films, which I did as a kid, I just enjoyed them.
I wasn’t signing up for any sort of club membership.
That’s a slingshot…
There were a few close calls, yeah.
If I’ve just decorated my stuff in my own work or something, it gets a bit much.
Probably the coolest thing I have is Downey gave me this sculpture of Thor and Loki.
It was not an action figure; it’s set on a mantel.
A sculpture, I guess, that’s incredibly detailed and just looks great.
So I’ve hung on to that one.
I think it was that sense of adventure.
I mean, the films I watched as a kid wereThe Neverending Story, andLabyrinth, andThe Princess Bride.
I loved that stuff.
ThenStand By Me, that was an adventure.
I must have watched that 100 times as a kid.
You get to live out all of these fantasies.
For more onAvengers: Endgame, pick up the new issue ofEntertainment Weekly, on stands now.
