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It may have required a leap of faith, but Chris Hemsworth's reaction to being cast as the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Thor is a hilarious one. Hemsworth made his debut in Disney's comic book franchise with the eponymous 2011 film as the Norse mythological god exiled to Earth by his father Odin after nearly inciting a war between Jotunheim and Asgard. Though the Kenneth Branagh-helmed film and character initially received mixed reviews, Hemsworth has scored consistent critical acclaim for his performance as Thor.
Hemsworth has carried the role of Thor forward through all four Avengers movies and the two released sequels to his franchise Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok. Hemsworth also lent his voice as Thor to Disney+'s What If...? series, which explored alternate versions of the character with loose ties to the larger MCU. The fan-favorite actor is gearing up to return for Thor: Love and Thunder alongside writer/director Taika Waititi and previous stars Natalie Portman as Jane and Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie.
In the latest episode of GQ's Iconic Characters series, Chris Hemsworth reflected on his time as the MCU's Thor. The Australian actor recalls his reaction to being cast in the role, jokingly remembering his lack of other options at the time and what it required of him. See what Hemsworth said below:
“When I got the film, there was a number of things that went through my head. First was it being great to be employed, it was great that I was going to get my visa extended, I was going to be a part of something that sounded big and exciting, but I didn’t have a whole lot of details beyond that. It was a leap of faith on one hand as far as what was being pitched, but it was a pretty easy leap as I didn’t have many other options. [Laughs]”
Though considered a major Hollywood star now, Hemsworth was still in the early stages of making a name for himself prior to being cast as the MCU's Thor. The Australian actor made his film debut a few years prior in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie reboot as George Kirk, father to Chris Pine's James who perishes in its opening fighting Nero. Hemsworth followed it up with the thriller A Perfect Getaway, which was only a modest critical and commercial success upon its 2009 release, as well as the poorly received indie crime-thriller Ca$h and horror-comedy The Cabin in the Woods, which ultimately saw its release date delayed to after the release of the original Thor.