Actor Chris Hemsworth felt the need to up his game in the newly released film “Thor: Love and Thunder”, especially with the bar raised in “Thor: Ragnarok”.
Hemsworth, who plays the lead character, Thor, God of Thunder, also wears the hat of executive producer.
The film opened in cinemas on Friday and has already had a cracker of an opening weekend.
“There was a huge amount of pressure coming into this. There was a big expectation of what we’ll do next, so I wanted to do something different. I want to always do better with this character and to have had the opportunity to do another film was just awesome,” said Hemsworth.
Going into filming he was adamant about hanging on to a new version of Thor, which he had the opportunity to explore with director Taika Waititi, adding that Waititi’s imagination was second to none.
“Taika and I had the opportunity to expand on that. With ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ there’s been heartbreak, but now, Taika took it in a sort of romantic comedy direction, which I think is very unique to the superhero genre.“
“Taika is fascinated by new ideas and will throw himself into something that makes him laugh. It’s about doing something new and not being stuck in one lane. We’ve become great friends and that’s certainly a huge advantage when working together because you can just call each other out and cut straight to the point,” said Hemsworth.
One of the distinct changes in Thor’s appearance.
“The costumes are crazy. I have more costume changes in this than I think I've had in the last six films combined. Thor’s sort of searching for his identity and that’s represented in his wardrobe.
“The costumes and the sets aesthetically match the energy of the film – they’re another colour to the painting,” said Hemsworth.
While most fans are big on the storyline, there are others who just simply adore and admire Hemsworth for his good looks and ripped body.
About preparing physically for the film, he said it was a challenge.
“This was particularly hard. This was probably the biggest and fittest I’ve ever been. We had 12 months where I was at home just training and puppeteering the body and manipulating.
“We’d try more swimming, then try more martial arts, and adjust calories. It was a really fun exploration. I got really big and fit, but then just had to hold it for four months, which was very hard,” he said.
The new film stars A-list actors, including Russell Crowe, Natalie Portman and Christian Bale, among others.
Working with Portman, Hemsworth said he had the most fun.
“Natalie was hugely enthusiastic and up for anything collaborative, with a great sense of humour. This is a very different direction for the character, so it was like a rebirth. She was down for it. It was so much fun.”
He described Bale’s character, Gorr, the God Butcher, as fascinating.
“There’s so much drama and insanity around Gorr, but Christian Bale managed to pull the focus right into each moment. You can’t take your eyes off him. The character is fascinating, because like all good villains, Gorr has a point.
“He may not be going about it the right way, but there’s empathy in the script and Christian brought so many more layers and so much more depth to Gorr.
“Christian is just so, so talented. He added so many layers and depth to his character. It made me think even harder about Thor’s point of view, and it not being as simple as the villain and the hero,” he praised.
Hemsworth can next be seen starring in Joseph Kosinski’s “Spiderhead”, an adaptation of the George Saunders short story for Netflix, which also stars Miles Teller and Jurnee Smollett.
It was also recently announced that he will star in George Miller’s “Furiosa” the “Mad Max” prequel, alongside Anya Taylor-Joy and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.