by Gill Pringle
Making his debut as arrogant god Thor in Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 film, we’ve seen Chris Hemsworth’s Norse superhero go on an incredible journey of transformation, mostly under the deft direction of Taika Waititi who helmed both Thor: Ragnarok [2017] and today’s new installment, Thor: Love and Thunder.
Once an arrogant and impulsive prince banished from Asgard by his father Odin, Thor would go on to experience tremendous growth and loss, haunted by the belief that anyone he loves will meet certain death.
In Avengers: Endgame, he’s clearly experiencing an existential crisis, having suffered a series of brutal blows. He’s lost family and friends, his home of Asgard, Mjolnir and his battle with Thanos – not to mention his god-like physique.
But after Iron Man’s snap restores the Universe in Endgame, Thor loses his will to lead, bestowing his throne of New Asgard upon Tessa Thompson’s newly minted King Valkyrie.
Hitching a ride with the Guardians of the Galaxy, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery.
But when a new enemy emerges in the shape of Christian Bale’s Gorr, intent on eliminating all gods, Thor must uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him.
Filmed during the pandemic at Sydney’s Fox Studios, Hemsworth, 38, was happy to stay close to his wife Elsa Pataky and their three children during uncertain times.
How does Thor in Love and Thunder differ from the last time we saw him in Avengers: Endgame?
In Endgame, we saw a pretty confused, lost version of Thor. He’s certainly better at the end of the film than he was at the start, but he still doesn’t really know who he is or what his place is in the universe, and he decides he needs to search and take some time for himself.
We see Thor having a lot of fun hanging out with the Guardians of the Galaxy although it’s uncertain if the feeling is mutual?
Yeah. Thor travels off with the Guardians and – much to their discomfort and irritation – plants himself firmly in the centre of their posse and tries to dictate how things should be run.
Russell Crowe is hilarious in the role of Zeus. What did you think?
I never thought I’d see the day where Russell would appear on screen with hints at ‘Gladiator’ imagery, yet with a wink, totally self-deprecating. He didn’t hold back. I’m such a fan. I have been since I first started acting. There’s such a weight and a seriousness to his performances and to him, as an individual, from afar. But meeting him, he has a great sense of humour and did whatever Taika asked on set, which was mind-blowing.
What is a day on set like with Taika as the director? Walk us through it?
Different. Chaotic, beautiful, mad chaos. It’s a journey of self-discovery and exploration, and fun and wackiness. There’s music playing and he’s standing behind the camera, kind of giggling and ruining most of the takes. It’s the best. It’s a free form; a lot of improvisation, but just a passion that’s unrivaled. There was an enthusiasm that is infectious among everybody. And he loves it. He loves these stories. He loves these characters. He’s sitting there as a fan would, telling you what he wants to see, what a fan wants to see – ‘Try this or try this!’, no matter how ridiculous it is. And everyone’s on board for it. And this is why you get this spontaneity and unpredictable nature in any of Taika’s films.
At the beginning of the film we see Thor searching for inner peace. How do you find your own inner peace?
Different places at different times, you know? I find the solitude and quiet and the inner peace comes from being at home with my family, and the stillness of that environment. Occasionally, I find it on set in between action and cut when the creativity is abundant and you’re immersed in that process and the adventure and their transportation to another world that you’re taking on in that moment; that’s why I started acting, the fantasy of it all. But mostly, I’d say it’s at home with my kids on the beach, toys, riding motorbikes. Whatever. The simple stuff.
How do you think Christian Bale’s Gorr stacks up as a villain to Thor?
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.
Do you have a favourite villain in the MCU?
Gorr is my favorite villain. I love every one I have ve worked with, but this was particularly special. There’s an empathetic quality there; there’s a vulnerability. You kind of find yourself going. ‘What he’s doing is wrong, but I get the motivation behind it’. And every time you work with someone, different characters that bring different things out of you, and that was the case here, and he did an incredible job.
We know that Thor is keen to regain Mjolnir, so what did you enjoy most about exploring the God of Thunder’s complicated relationship with his two hammers?
That was one of the funnest things we got to do in the film. Yeah, look, it’s hard to see the ex-girlfriend turn up, dressed as him; that’s a shock. And all of a sudden, the weapon that he held so dear for so many years now belongs to someone else. And then he has Storm Breaker who starts to sense… and there’s a little jealousy there. That kind of evolved through the film. I don’t think it was in the original script, but it was fun.
Talk about the jealousy between Storm Breaker and Hammer?
We play with a little more fun in that talk between the objects of my desires (axe and hammer). Taika has an amazing eye for that kind of stuff; things that are relatable to an audience but also obscure and very different, and to be having some sort of relationship jealousy occurring between your ex-weapon vs your new current weapon is some fun to be had. It’s very much relatable because no matter what, this is what humans do, they relate to each other.
Is it still the same feeling playing Thor as it was when you first started?
There’s obviously a familiarity but he has changed so dramatically over the years as I have and that’s what’s been fun that, as the character has evolved and I’ve had different opinions, I’ve sort of melded and crossed paths and so on. The origin story is, I think, not the easiest but the most obvious one and there’s a sort of set of rules and guidelines I feel like you have to stick to and it works and it’s familiar and relatable for people. The challenge is, how do you recreate the character? What can you do differently each time? And the luxury of working with different directors and different casts is that they all bring out something very different in you. As Taika says, I feel like the character has probably become more me over the years in, I hope, a fun way.
You shot Love and Thunder in The Volume. Did you like the new techniques?
It was cool. Yeah, you’re interacting with the environment. So much of what we’ve done in these films has been green screen, blue screen. You don’t even know what the monster or whatever it is you’re looking at looks like until you see the film. But also, what I thought was cool was the skin colouring and tones change due to the sunset you’re looking at or whatever it is, in that environment. It’s a lot more immersive.
Thor: Love and Thunder is in cinemas July 6, 2022
