Chris Hemsworth Was Never The Same After Thor

Chris Hemsworth had a dedicated fanbase and a recognizable name in Australia long before he was cast as Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), thanks to his recurring role as Kim Hyde on an Australian soap opera called "Home and Away." He even did a stint on Australia's version of "Dancing With the Stars" in 2006. Despite his fame in his home country, Hemsworth was nearly an unknown in America when he was cast in "Thor" (though he had a brief but memorable turn as George Kirk in 2009's "Star Trek" reboot). Most of America was introduced to him for the first time through "Thor" and as such, the role has framed and defined his Hollywood career for over a decade. 

To say that Hemsworth's life changed following the filming and release of one of the MCU's earliest movies would be an understatement. Even though "Thor" was released before the MCU was the industry monolith it is now, it was still a very successful, buzzy blockbuster and one of the highest-grossing films of 2011. "Thor" had many immediate and long-lasting effects on Hemsworth life, and he may not even be done with the role yet.

In an interview with Collider, director Kenneth Branagh described the final conversation at Marvel Studios leading up to the decision to cast Chris Hemsworth (and Tom Hiddleston) in "Thor." After a long period of deliberation, Branagh explained that he was in a room with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, the film's casting directors, and other important decision-makers. "Kevin said, 'We'll never make a more important decision in this company than what's happening in this room, Saturday morning at 10:30, when you pick up the phone to Chris Hemsworth and then Tom Hiddleston. It's either gonna work or it's not," Branagh remembered.

Indeed, it was a very important decision for Marvel at that point because "Thor" was slated to be only the MCU's fourth film. Marvel had taken out bank loans to shoot "Iron Man," "The Incredible Hulk," and several other titles, including "Thor." After the success of "Iron Man" and "Iron Man 2," but a less-than-expected gross from "The Incredible Hulk," a lot of Marvel's future film success was riding on "Thor" as a gateway to the larger Marvel universe. Even though "Thor" didn't reach the same heights of critical and commercial success as "Iron Man," it was a strong showing from the studio and Hemsworth's talent as a leading man was no small contributor to that success.

Though times have changed and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame may not be as prestigious as it once was, it's still a pretty good indication that an actor will be a household name for the rest of their career (and life). Chris Hemsworth got his star in 2024. Fame isn't so difficult to achieve these days thanks to the internet and a television industry saturated with various reality dating, competition, and lifestyle shows — but there's fame, and then there's mega-fame. Chris Hemsworth, as one of the leading men of the MCU (and one of only three original Avengers who has yet to leave the franchise), has achieved an extraordinary level of mega-fame, and it all started with "Thor." 

Hemsworth was inundated with the usual trappings of his status from that first film onward, signing autographs and taking photos both in his everyday life and at premieres and events like comic-con, and nowadays he's so famous that some people will risk their lives just to get his attention for a minute or two. Hemsworth's fame reached such a point that he was forced to move his family from Los Angeles to Australia in 2014. "We couldn't go anywhere. We ended up just staying home," Hemsworth told Sharp magazine about his family's time in L.A. Now that Hemsworth, his wife, and their kids live in Australia, they're all much happier and far more removed from the fame that's followed him since his first MCU film. 

It's hard to picture Chris Hemsworth as anything other than an incredibly beefy, 6-foot-3-inch Norse God with long, flowing blond locks and the kind of muscle definition that shows through magic, metal, and space armor. But before he was cast as Thor, he was a relatively lean young man. "It took a good five or sixth months of force-feeding myself buckets of protein, and then spending six or seven days a week in the gym," Hemsworth told Direct Conversations. "I've always been pretty active and played a lot of sports, but I've never lifted weights, so this was a whole new thing for me. My body didn't set well with that weight, eating tons and tons." 

Because of his shirtless scene in "Thor," Hemsworth had to keep up his training throughout filming as well, and by the time he was done working on "Thor" he had to prepare for filming on "The Avengers." Of course, the MCU films shoot on a tight schedule (or at least, it certainly did during Phases 1-4), so Hemsworth basically had to keep up his muscular, bulky frame over the course of a decade's worth of "Thor" and "Avengers" films. Even while filming as Fat Thor for "Avengers: Endgame," Hemsworth wore prosthetics over his trim physique.

Chris Hemsworth has had many career ups and downs like any actor, as the list of some of his best and worst films can attest. He's made attempts at more serious roles with films like "Rush" and "Black Hat," while also turning in some surprisingly good comedic work in films like "Ghostbusters" and "The Cabin in the Woods." Hemsworth has had a bit more success with his action roles, like those in "Extraction," "Extraction 2," and "Snow White and the Huntsman," all of which have certainly contributed to his overall net worth. 

That said, Hemsworth's role as Thor, which began with the titular film in 2011, has garnered him enough wealth to be considered one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood. Hemsworth has starred in eight MCU movies and also had a cameo in "Doctor Strange." Also counting cameos, only Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Chris Evans (Captain America/Human Torch), and Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) have appeared in more MCU feature films (12 for Jackson and Evans, 10 for Downey) as of September 2024. After starring in nine enormous blockbusters over 10 years, Hemsworth has earned a combined salary as Thor which easily sits well above $70 million.

Although Chris Hemsworth was practically unknown in Hollywood before his star turn in "Thor," his work as the Asgardian God of Thunder helped him gain tons of career traction and buzz. Thanks to the MCU, Hemsworth gained access to career opportunities that might have taken him years to land had he not been cast by Kevin Feige and Kenneth Branagh. One of the first projects that Hemsworth worked on following "Thor" was a film called "Rush," which was inspired by the real-life rivalry between two Formula 1 Drivers named James Hunt and Niki Lauda. "Rush" was critically acclaimed, although it just about broke even commercially. But it gave Hemsworth a chance to work with Oscar-winning director Ron Howard.

Within five years of the theatrical release of "Thor," Hemsworth was able to work with other Hollywood greats such as stars Charlize Theron, Viola Davis, and Cillian Murphy, director Michael Mann, and many more on several different films. Hemsworth had already filmed "The Cabin in the Woods" with "Avengers" director Joss Whedon before being cast in the MCU and was hired for the "Red Dawn" remake (still his lowest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes) only two days before hearing from Kenneth Branagh with the good news about "Thor," but those films alone wouldn't have helped his career to rise as high and as quickly as "Thor" did on its own. 

Chris Hemsworth hasn't officially exited the Marvel Cinematic Universe, unlike his fellow Avengers Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. (though it seems Downey will return to the MCU very soon), and others. But he has certainly enjoyed a bit more freedom from his initial contract with Marvel, which committed him to 10 films over 10+ years. "You know, I get sick of the character pretty quick every couple of years," Hemsworth said in an interview with British GQ. While Hemsworth's work with directors Taika Waititi and the Russo brothers on the last two "Thor" films and the most recent "Avengers" entries respectively has allowed him to keep the character fresh, it's likely that he feels far freer now that his initial longterm contract has been fulfilled. 

At one point, Hemsworth took the time to explain why he's been able to slow down a bit more since the release of "Avengers: Endgame." He told Entertainment Tonight, "I've been running from project to project for a long time, just to avoid being unemployed or that fear that it's the last job you'll get, you know? I want to be more curated about the choices I make, things I immerse myself in or I'm involved in. I want to have greater value and work with great people." Hemsworth has been able to be more discerning and choosy about his film work and has been able to make more time for his family now that he has more control over his filming schedule.

Perhaps no one else on the planet can better understand Chris Hemsworth's MCU experience than Tom Hiddleston. While Hemsworth scored the titular role in "Thor," Hiddleston's Loki was just as important a piece of the movie. Both actors were virtually unknown before joining the cast of "Thor" and thus the MCU. While "Thor" was just the beginning of seeing Thor and Loki as an onscreen duo, the rapport that Hemsworth and Hiddleston built during filming is something they carried with them through their next five movies together in the MCU. 

By the time "Thor: Ragnarok" came out, the dynamic between Hemsworth and Hiddleston — and therefore, the dynamic between Thor and Loki — had been built up through camaraderie and enough time spent together to help create some of the best moments between the characters and contribute greatly to that film's soaring success with audiences and critics. 

The fans especially love the Thor-Loki relationship as well. Ever since filming "Thor" in 2010 and 2011, Hiddleston and Hemsworth have gone through no fewer than five intense, rigorous, worldwide press tours together. Many fans of the actors, characters, and the MCU in general have made supercuts of Hiddleston and Hemsworth's funniest moments on press tours together and posted them on YouTube.

Funnily enough, Chris was not the only Hemsworth who was seriously considered for the role of Thor; in fact, his brother, Liam Hemsworth, made it further in the casting process on his first try than his older brother. Luckily for Chris Hemsworth, the casting team felt that Liam was a little too young to take on the part and his manager swept in to mention Liam's older brother. "Maybe I had a little more sort of motivation that my little brother got a look in and I hadn't," Hemsworth explained in an interview with MensXP, "I also had done a couple of films in between those two auditions, so I had a bit more experience and confidence in what I was going to do."

Since Chris landed the lead role in "Thor," both of his brothers have had some acting success. His older brother, Luke, was cast in HBO's "Westworld" and recently performed small roles in "Thor: Ragnarok" and "Next Goal Wins." Liam starred in the film adaptation of the hit book series "The Hunger Games" as Gale Hawthorn and recently took over from Henry Cavill as Geralt on Netflix's "The Witcher." While all three Hemsworth brothers seem to be booked and busy, Chris is definitely the most successful and well-known of the three.

Chris Hemsworth was introduced to Elsa Pataky, his future wife, by his talent agent in 2010. Later that year (after Hemsworth had filmed "Thor," but before the film was released in theaters in 2011) in December, Hemsworth and Pataky tied the knot. Hemsworth says that his success in the MCU and beyond has had a lot to do with her and their relationship. He told British GQ, "[Elsa's] sacrifice, commitment, work, support, forgiveness — everything that she has given me over the years has been incredible. I couldn't have done any of the things I've done without it." 

After years playing a lead character in the most popular and lucrative franchise in the world, Hemsworth decided to take some time to slightly de-prioritize his career and focus more on his family and personal life. In 2015, Hemsworth and Pataky made the decision to move their family from Los Angeles to Byron Bay, Australia, and it's been nothing but smiles and joy from the happy couple and their three children ever since. ""We're so far removed from work and L.A.," he told Sharp magazine, "Our kids are happier. There was an instant change in their attitude. And we surf everyday." To the world, Hemsworth has always been Thor, but to his kids, he's primarily their dad.