The Avenger has always stood out, even in a team of particularly buff heroes. Drax famously described him the love-child of a pirate and an angel. However, that was before he lost his father, mother and brother – and then failed to take off Thanos’ head when he had the chance. The Thor who emerged in Endgame had put on a lot of weight and let himself go. The filmmakers explained it was a psychological reaction to everything he had been through. The critics said it was lazy humour at the expense of a section of the population all too often ridiculed and shamed for their appearance. But now the actor has revealed what he went through for that transformation.
Stars like Christian Bale have famously put on huge amounts of weight for a role. Hemsworth put on a ‘fat suit.’
It wasn’t as simple as it sounds since the process took hours and the suit weighted an extraordinary amount. In fact, there were reports the directors became worried the heavy suit might cause the actor health issues and pain.
Hemsworth told Variety: “Physically, it was a good three hours in hair and makeup. Then the prosthetic suit, particularly for the shirt-off scene, that was a big silicone that weighed about 90 pounds. It was certainly exhausting. I had weights on my hands and ankles just to have my arms and legs swing differently when I shuffled along through the set.”
To put it in perspective, 90 pounds is six and a half stones.
Hemsworth also noticed people started to treat him differently.
He said: “People just kept coming up and cuddling me like a big bear or rubbing my belly like I was pregnant. Or trying to sit on my lap like I was Santa Claus.
“You get a lot of affection. I felt like an old man, an old grandpa, with a bunch of kids around. And then you get sick of it when people come up and grab your belly. ‘Don’t grab me like that!’ I know how my wife (actress and producer Elsa Pataky) felt when strangers would come up and rub her belly.”
Originally, Thor was supposed to get back in shape in the movie, but Hemsworth fought to keep this incarnation.
The film ends with Thor boarding the Guardians of The Galaxy ship. Will fans see him in Guardians 3? Or any other future Marvel movie at all?
Hemsworth added: “I’d still love to do more, to be honest. And I don’t know what the plan is. I feel like we’ve opened up such a different character. I feel more energized for the possibility of where it could go. But I’ll use that in other places and other characters if it’s the end here.”
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