Chris Hemsworth Reveals That Even Thor Himself Was Once Racked With Insecurity
Marvel Cinematic Universe star Chris Hemsworth is about to hammer out another turn as the God of Thunder in "Thor: Love and Thunder," marking his ninth live-action turn as the character after his debut in the first "Thor" standalone film. In that time, Thor has no doubt undergone a serious transformation, going from a would-be king who needed to learn a lesson in humility to joining Earth's Mightiest Heroes and protecting the globe as one of the original members of the Avengers.
But times weren't always great for Thor after he joined the Avengers, as he saw his universe crumble following the fateful snap by Thanos (Josh Brolin) in the third act of "Avengers: Infinity War." Luckily, the character pulled out of his "Bro Thor" funk-dive to help the Avengers to turn back time to defeat Thanos in "Avengers: Endgame" — and he seemingly found a purpose in the aftermath by joining the Guardians of the Galaxy for more intergalactic adventures to wrap up the film.
In "Thor: Love and Thunder," Thor is forced to confront his feelings for his past love, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) — a relationship forged in the original "Thor" — as she mysteriously makes her way back into his life with his old Mjolnir and god-like powers. And while Thor has the same otherworldly abilities, the return of his ex-girlfriend has the Asgardian contemplating once again what it's like to be human as he searches for inner peace.
Ironically, Hemsworth the actor has dealt with the same human insecurities in real life, and he said it came during arguably the most pivotal moment of his career.
Hemsworth admits that he thought he was going to be fired from the first Thor film
Chris Hemsworth was a relative-unknown actor to American audiences when he was cast in director Kenneth Branagh's "Thor." In fact, his only major Hollywood turn came two years prior, when he played a small but impactful role as George Kirk — the father of future Starship Enterprise Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) — in the prologue scene of J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" reboot film. In an interview to discuss "Thor: Love and Thunder," Hemsworth admitted that he was so insecure while filming his original outing as the God of Thunder that he thought he might get booted from the production.
"It was a lot of nostalgia in ['Thor: Love and Thunder'] for me, as it was with the last Avengers film. Ten, eleven years I've been doing it," Hemsworth told Today Show Australia. "The first time I played Thor was opposite Natalie Portman, and it was one of my first jobs, and I kept thinking I was going to get fired, or nothing was gonna work, or fans weren't going to accept my version of the character — and if she thought I was any good or I deserved to be there, or what have you."
The success of "Thor" — which earned nearly $450 million globally in ticket sales (via Box Office Mojo) — showed that audiences in America and worldwide wholeheartedly embraced Hemsworth's portrayal of the character. And his many MCU appearances since have only further proven his popularity. After all, as noted by Today Show Australia, with "Love and Thunder," the character Thor now holds the record for the most solo movies in the MCU.
Directed by "Thor: Ragnarok" filmmaker Taika Waititi, "Thor: Love and Thunder" opens in theaters Friday, July 8.