Chris Hemsworth is one of the most in-demand actors working in Hollywood at the moment and is back on the big screen this week with In The Heart of the Sea.
Chris Hemsworth in In The Heart of the Sea
In The Heart of the Sea is Hemsworth's second collaboration with filmmaker Ron Howard as they tell the remarkable true story of whaling ship the Essex as it becomes the prey. It is the true story that inspired the novel Moby Dick.
To celebrate the return of Hemsworth, we are taking a look at some of the best movies of his career so far...
- Thor Franchise
While Hemsworth had worked on other film projects prior to Thor, it was the Marvel movie that really sent his star rocketing when he played Thor for the first time back in 2011.
The movie saw him work with director Kenneth Branagh for the first time as Branagh tackled his first blockbuster as a filmmaker. While Thor was the visual spectacular that we are used to seeing from Marvel, Branagh kept the story and the characters at the heart of the film.
The movie sees Hemsworth go on a huge character journey as Thor goes from a spoilt and war-hungry brat to a worthy hero who is will to risk everything to protect the earth.
By the time Thor: The Dark World hit the big screen, we see this character wrestling with the idea of being King of Asgard without the woman that he loves at his side... forcing him to make a difficult decision.
Both Thor and Thor: The Dark World are movies that performed well for Marvel and established Hemsworth as an actor to watch out for.
Hemsworth will be returning to this popular character for Thor: Ragnarok, the third solo film in the franchise. Filming should get underway at some point this year for the October 2017 release. The movie will see Hemsworth reunite with Tom Hiddleston and Mark Ruffalo, who will reprise their roles as Loki and Bruce Banner.
- Snow White and the Huntsman
Hemsworth has proved himself to be a terrific blockbuster actor in recent years and he returned to that genre in 2012. The movie was a twist on the Snow White story and saw Hemsworth take on the role of the huntsman.
Rupert Sanders was in the director's chair while Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, and Sam Claflin join Hemsworth on a star-studied cast. I was a fan of Snow White and the Huntsman when it was released as it is a movie that is action packed and lots of fun.
I loved Hemsworth performance as the brooding huntsman, haunted by the death of his wife and the fact that he was not there to protect her from harm. It is only through the promise of payment does he agree to help Snow White but, as the film progresses, we see that he is a man with a brave and noble heart.
I have been a big fan of all of the movies that have put a new twist on some of the best fairytales and Snow White and the Huntsman was one of the big summer hits of 2012. It is not hard to see why a sequel was given the green light.
Hemsworth is set to reprise the role of the huntsman in The Huntsman Winter's War. The movie also sees Charlize Theron and Sam Claflin return, but Jessica Chastain and Emily Blunt are the big new additions to s great cast list.
It is going to be interesting to see how this character develops as the huntsman moves from a supporting to leading character.
- Avengers Franchise
The Thor franchise is not the only Marvel project that we have seen Hemsworth star in as he has joined forces with Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Rufflo, and Jeremy Renner to form the Avengers.
Avengers Assemble was the most talked about film of 2012 as the Avengers were brought together for the first time... needless to say, it was the biggest and most successful film of the year as it became the first Marvel film to gross over $1 billion.
Avengers Assemble is a terrific ensemble film that sees all of the major characters eyeing each other up and trying to figure each other out. It is the building of trust between these characters that really does drive this first film.
All the actors give great and funny performances and the film's best moment is when they all come together and fight as a team for the first time in New York. Avengers Assemble was the best film of 2012 and kicked off a great new era for Marvel movies.
Hemsworth and co returned to this franchise earlier this year for Avengers: Age of Ultron, which showed the group fighting and triumphing as a team. However, a shadow of what is to come hangs over this film and we see Thor leave in search of answer over the appearance of many of the infinity stones.
Age of Ultron also joined the $1 billion club but it was not as warmly received as Avengers Assemble - I thought it was a great watch, even if it didn't reach the dizzy heights of its predecessor.
- Rush
While I have been a fan of a lot of Hemsworth's work in recent years, for me, Rush remains his best big screen performance. Rush hit the big screen back in 2013 and saw him team up with director Ron Howard for the first time.
The movie chronicled the rivalry between Formula One drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the seventies. While the rivalry did push each driver to be better, it had disastrous consequences for one of them.
Hunt took on the role of British driver Hunt alongside Daniel Bruhl as Lauda and delivered the performance of his career to date. He really does capture the arrogance and the swagger of Hunt and spars with Bruhl wonderfully.
I love the chemistry between Hemsworth and Bruhl as they develop the relationship between Hunt and Lauda; which goes from loathing to respect. Both actors go on this wonderful journey as two of Formula One's most iconic and successful stars.
The movie was a huge critical hit upon release and is showed off a very different side to Hemsworth as an actor. The movie picked up a couple of Golden Globe nominations, including Best Motion Picture - Drama.
It was great to see Hemsworth move away from the blockbusters roles and tackle something with more meat on the bones - I hope that we see him take on these kinds of roles more in the future.
In The Heart of the Sea is released 26th December.
Tagged in Thor Chris Hemsworth Snow White Avengers