Chris Hemsworth's journey to stardom is a classic Hollywood tale, and it's all thanks to a little-known role. Okay, not really — it was Thor, and it changed everything in his life.
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00:00Chris Hemsworth's journey to stardom is a classic Hollywood tale, and it's all thanks
00:04to a little-known role.
00:05Okay, not really.
00:06It was Thor, and it changed everything in his life.
00:09Before Thor, Hemsworth wasn't exactly unknown, although he was far from the leading man we
00:13know him as today.
00:14He had a dedicated fan base in Australia long before he was cast as Thor, thanks to his
00:18recurring role as Kim Hyde on an Australian soap opera called Home and Away.
00:22He even did a stint on Australia's version of Dancing with the Stars in 2006.
00:27Despite his fame in his home country, however, Hemsworth was nearly unknown in America.
00:31He had a brief but memorable turn as George Kirk in 2009's Star Trek reboot and a handful
00:36of film roles.
00:37According to Deadline, Hemsworth tried out for Thor early in the casting process, but
00:40didn't make the cut.
00:41It was only when he started working on another movie that the stars aligned.
00:45That film was The Cabin in the Woods.
00:47Although it was released after Thor, the horror comedy was filmed in 2009, and had a co-writer
00:51and producer in Joss Whedon, who went on to direct The Avengers.
00:55The story is that Whedon convinced Thor director Kenneth Branagh to give Hemsworth another
00:59chance.
01:00I said, I think we've got to call Chris Hemsworth, but where is he?
01:02He's in Vancouver.
01:03He's doing Cabin in the Woods for Joss Whedon.
01:05Remember, Joss says he's terrific.
01:07I trust Joss."
01:08He got the chance to do another screen test, and Marvel did a complete 180 on him.
01:12In an interview with Collider, Branagh described the final conversation at Marvel Studios leading
01:17up to the decision to cast Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston.
01:20He was in a room with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and other execs, and Branagh recalled
01:25Kevin said,
01:26"'We'll never make a more important decision in this company than what's happening in this
01:29room, Saturday morning at 10.30, when you pick up the phone to Chris Hemsworth and then
01:33Tom Hiddleston.
01:34It's either gonna work, or it's not.'"
01:36Thor was slated to be the MCU's fourth film, and there was indeed a lot riding on it.
01:40Marvel had taken out bank loans to kick off their budding cinematic universe.
01:44After the success of Iron Man and Iron Man 2, but a less-than-expected gross from The
01:47Incredible Hulk, a lot of Marvel's future success was riding on Thor as a gateway to
01:52the larger Marvel universe.
01:53And though Thor didn't reach the same heights of critical and commercial successes as Iron
01:57Man, it was a strong showing from the studio, and propelled Hemsworth to instant stardom.
02:02Within five years of the theatrical release of Thor, Hemsworth was able to work with other
02:06Hollywood greats, such as Charlize Theron, Biola Davis, and Cillian Murphy, directors
02:10Ron Howard and Michael Mann, and many more on several different films.
02:14And outside of films, his stardom surged.
02:17Hemsworth was a fixture of red carpets, talk shows, and conventions.
02:20He became the face of multiple ad campaigns, and could be seen on billboards around the
02:24world.
02:25There was no escaping him.
02:26I know what you mean.
02:28I feel closer to Chris already.
02:30And in a way, there was no escaping the fame for him.
02:33Hemsworth's fame reached such a crescendo that he was forced to move his family from
02:36Los Angeles to Australia.
02:37He told Sharp magazine,
02:38"...it was just nuts, paparazzi and all that.
02:41We couldn't go anywhere.
02:42We ended up just staying home."
02:44Now that Hemsworth, his wife, and their kids live in Australia, they're all much happier
02:48and far more removed from the fame that's followed him since his first MCU film.
02:52Fast forward to today, and he still has one of the most active careers in Hollywood, with
02:55major roles in Furiosa, A Mad Max Saga, and Transformers 1, in 2024 alone.
03:02It's hard to picture Chris Hemsworth as anything other than a beefed-up space viking.
03:06But before he was cast as Thor, he was a relatively lean young man.
03:09If he was going to accurately portray the Norse god of thunder, that had to change,
03:13fast.
03:14Hemsworth told Direct Conversations,
03:15"...it took a good five or six months of force-feeding myself buckets of protein and then spending
03:20six or seven days a week in the gym.
03:22I've always been pretty active and played a lot of sports, but I've never lifted weights,
03:26so this was a whole new thing for me.
03:28My body didn't set well with that weight, eating tons and tons."
03:31Hemsworth had to keep up his training throughout filming, and by the time he was done working
03:35on Thor, he had to prepare for filming on The Avengers.
03:37And then Hemsworth basically had to keep up his muscular, bulky frame over the course
03:41of a decade's worth of Thor and Avengers films.
03:44He went from dead bod to god bod, but beneath his god bod, there was still a sad bod just
03:50trying to get out.
03:52A career-making role that thrusts you to superstardom is the dream of many a young actor.
03:57But there's a downside, too — contractual obligations.
04:00Hemsworth's initial contract with Marvel reportedly committed him to 10 films over 10-plus years,
04:04and it sounds like it got a little tiresome.
04:07He said in an interview with British GQ,
04:09You know, I get sick of the character pretty quick every couple of years.
04:12Why?
04:13Why?
04:14Don't I look alright?
04:15You look like melted ice cream.
04:17While Hemsworth has been able to keep the character fresh thanks to Taika Waititi taking
04:21the last two Thor films in a new direction and working with the Russo brothers on latter
04:25Avengers entries, it's likely he's feeling more freedom now that his initial long-term
04:29contract has been fulfilled.
04:31But on the other hand, while it may have been a long haul suiting up as Thor so many times,
04:35it ultimately gave him the freedom to take a step back and choose his future career moves
04:38on his terms.
04:39He told Entertainment Tonight,
04:40I've been running from project to project for a long time, just to avoid being unemployed
04:45or that fear that it's the last job you'll get, you know?
04:47I want to be more curated about the choices I make, things I immerse myself in or I'm
04:51involved in.
04:52I want to have greater value and work with great people."
04:55Funnily enough, Chris wasn't the only Hemsworth who was seriously considered for the role
04:59of Thor.
05:00In fact, his brother, Liam Hemsworth, made it further in the casting process on his first
05:04try.
05:05They auditioned him and he basically got down to the last, like, four people and then didn't
05:11get it.
05:12And then I came back in and…
05:13In the end, the casting team felt that Liam was a little too young to take on the part
05:17and ultimately pivoted back to Chris.
05:20Liam hasn't exactly suffered since losing the role, however.
05:22He starred in The Hunger Games series as Gale Hawthorne and recently took over from Henry
05:26Cavill as Geralt on Netflix's The Witcher.
05:29Chris has joked about some sibling rivalry in the Hemsworth household in interviews due
05:33to the casting battle between him and Liam.
05:35But by all appearances, joking is really all it is.
05:38And while Liam hasn't yet made any appearance in any Thor films, their older brother, Luke,
05:42has, as an actor playing Thor.
05:44While all three Hemsworth brothers seem to be booked and busy, Chris is definitely the
05:47most successful and well-known of the three.
05:50Perhaps no one else on the planet can better understand Chris Hemsworth's MCU experience
05:59than Tom Hiddleston.
06:00Both actors were virtually unknown before joining the cast of Thor, and the rapport
06:04that Hemsworth and Hiddleston built during filming is something they carried with them
06:08through their next five movies together in the MCU.
06:11It's very different to any relationship I've ever had with any other actor.
06:18By the time Thor Ragnarok came out, the dynamic between the two actors had been built up through
06:23camaraderie and enough time spent together to help create some of the best moments between
06:27the characters.
06:28They may play bickering brothers and often enemies on screen, but in real life, they've
06:31built a genuine friendship.
06:34There's no doubt that one of the biggest changes that comes from joining a massive cinematic
06:37universe shows up in your bank account.
06:40Hemsworth's role as Thor turned him into one of the most bankable actors in Hollywood,
06:43and has brought him some serious paychecks over the years.
06:46Since 2011, Hemsworth has starred in eight MCU movies and also had a cameo in Doctor
06:51Strange.
06:52After starring in so many enormous blockbusters over the years, Hemsworth has earned a combined
06:56salary as Thor, which easily sits well above $70 million.
07:00And it's not like he's only gotten paid to show up in the MCU, either.
07:03He's headlined several other big franchises, including the two action-fantasy Snow White
07:07and the Huntsman films and both extraction films.
07:10As of 2024, Parade estimates his net worth is sitting pretty at about $130 million.
07:17Hemsworth was introduced to Elsa Pataki by his talent agent in 2010.
07:21Later that year in December, they tied the knot.
07:23Hemsworth says that his success in the MCU and beyond has a lot to do with her and their
07:27relationship.
07:28He told British GQ,
07:29Her sacrifice, commitment, work, support, forgiveness, everything that she has given
07:34me over the years has been incredible.
07:36I couldn't have done any of the things I've done without it."
07:38After years playing a lead character in one of the most popular and lucrative franchises
07:42in the world, Hemsworth decided to take some time to slightly deprioritize his career and
07:47focus more on his family and personal life.
07:49As mentioned, Hemsworth and Pataki made the decision to move their family from Los Angeles
07:53to Byron Bay, Australia.
07:55He told Sharp magazine,
07:56We're so far removed from work and L.A., our kids are happier.
07:59There was an instant change in their attitude, and we surf every day."
08:02It sure sounds like everything worked out for Hemsworth, and he no doubt has Thor to
08:06thank for so much of it.