Chris Hemsworth Q&A

28 September 2011

Chris Hemsworth In Thor

Chris Hemsworth blasted onto the big screen this summer as Thor as the Marvel Comic character was brought to the big screen for the first time - and the movie is now out on DVD & Blu-Ray.

He is set to reprise the role of Thor when he joins Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Jeremy Renner & Mark Ruffalo in The Avengers.

- Hey Chris. You look amazing when you appear on screen in your Thor costume. Do you remember the moment you first put it on and did you instantly feel like a superhero?

Yeah, the first time I put it on was incredible. A lot of people worked for a long time on the costume and the day I put it on they were all there. A lot of the crew were also there. Everyone went 'Wow! This is it'.

Anthony Hopkins was there and had his costume on, we looked at each other and he said 'There's no acting required here is there? It does the work'. It was great.

- Every superhero has a power or weapon. Thor, of course, has the hammer. You wield the hammer like a natural.

It wasn't really natural (laughs). A lot of work went into it. We actually went back to the comic books and looked at the body positions Thor used and then we attempted to replicate it.

He spins it, throws it and it flies and then comes back to him. We did a lot of stunt training to work out how Thor and the hammer moves. We also had to work out practical ways he would use the weapon.

- You are a naturally big guy, but is it true you had to pile lots of extra muscle on to play Thor?

Yeah. I actually put on about 20 pounds of muscle for the film. I found it an incredible effort to keep that extra bulk on. When we finished filming I lost it pretty quickly. I lost most of it soon after we finished filming.

- How did you keep it on? Was it a matter of eating a lot of food? I remember Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson saying that he used to eat two or three whole chickens for lunch a day to make sure he stayed bulked up.

Yeah, I ate a lot of chickens. There were also a lot of protein shakes, lean steak and the right amount of carbs.

- What was it like eating so much food?

Not good (laughs). I constantly felt sick in the stomach. Working out was the easy part. Eating all that food was tough.

- How much did you work out to prepare for Thor?

My gym time really didn't change. I probably work out now as much as what I did preparing to play Thor. The big change is I have stopped eating as much and that's how I lost the 20 pounds I put on.

- All the hard work, or should that be, all the big eating, has really paid off for you. Thor has made almost $US400 million in theaters around the world, there's talk of a Thor sequel and next year we'll also see you in the superhero ensemble film, The Avengers, with Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner and many, many more great characters. How does it feel to be a young bloke from Australia enjoying so much success?

Being part of this is like a dream. To be part of not only Thor, but The Avengers, these huge, successful franchises with incredibly talented people and great stories, is just incredible.

- Has your success come easily, or was it a hard slog for you to get to this point?

It hasn't been easy, but I guess you can say I was lucky too. As an actor you dream to work, no matter the scale. Before I found out about Thor and (the action film) Red Dawn, I hadn't worked for eight months.

That's the way the business is. You work non-stop, then all of a sudden you're not. To be working is a blessing.

- Now that you are a worldwide star, how are you coping with fame?

I get asked a lot about that. You know, 'Are you ready to deal with fame? Are you coping with fame?' and I have no idea. I'm just doing and acting how I always have. A big focus of mine is I don't want to rely on an exterior force or the business to make me happy.

I want to be happy with what I have, where I come from and my family and friends and just taking it day by day and appreciating everything that comes along.

There's times when you slip out of that, but if you try and keep focused on what's important, then it's less of a disappointment.

- Thor is a Norse god. Is it daunting playing a god?

(Laughs) Yes. Most characters you play, you can study people. If you're playing a doctor you can spend time with doctors to get a sense of who they are. If you are playing a politician, the same thing.

But, a god is different. You can't find a god in the Yellow Pages (laughs). What I tried to do was humanize the character. That is what I thought was key.

- It's interesting to watch Thor's transformation. He's booted down to Earth by his father because he is too brash.

Yeah. He's cocky, aggressive and thinks his way is the right way, but he is also in need of a humility lesson. He gets that on Earth. We watch him transform and become more aware of others and their feelings.

- The stunts in Thor are amazing. A lot of work obviously went into them.

Oh yeah. We had two of the best stunt coordinators in the business, Andy and Vic Armstrong, who have been doing these amazing stunts for something like 30 years. I have never seen anything like what they put together, with all of the elaborate wire work and and the hand -to-hand combat.

- What about the sets? How much was green screen?

You'd be surprised how little green screen we have. The director, Kenneth Branagh, felt it was important to have as many actual sets built as possible rather than relying on green screen. So what you see is largely real.

Bo Welch was the production designer and has been responsible for the fantastic sets in the Men in Black films, Edward Scissorhands, Beetle Juice. You name it.

- What was it like being on the set with Sir Anthony Hopkins each day?

I must admit, when I met him I was really nervous, but that soon went away because he is the nicest, most humble man you could ever meet.

- So after you got to know him you treated him like any other actor?

Not really (laughs). Just when I'd get comfortable I'd do a scene with him and he would just be utterly brilliant. He'd blow me away.

- Can you think of one particular scene?

Yeah. There's a scene where our characters are arguing and I thought I was holding my own. Then, Ken (Branagh) came over, whispered something in Sir Anthony's ear. I have no idea what he said, but whatever it was it flicked a switch in Sir Anthony.

We did the scene again and he was just amazing. He was engulfed in all of this fury and emotion and it was incredibly powerful. People on the set were applauding when the scene was over. Some people were in such awe they had tears in their eyes.

I thought, up until that point, I was holding my own with him, but, in a flash he knocked me out. He was the master and I was his apprentice (laughs).

- I don't know. I think you were pretty impressive. I think you held your own.

Thanks. I appreciate that. It was the best acting experience of my life to be on a film with Sir Anthony, Ken, Natalie Portman and all of the other great cast and crew.

- What was it like working with Natalie Portman?

She is the sweetest, most wonderful person. I had heard a lot of wonderful things about her and have been a big fan of her movies, so it was great to meet her and find out everything I'd heard was true.

- Were you a fan of the Thor comic books before doing the film?

To be honest, no. I didn't read the comic books until I began auditioning for the part. But, I have always been fascinated by Norse mythology and vikings.

Thor is out on DVD & Blu-Ray now.