Chris Hemsworth Reveals Why He Nearly Turned Down the Role of Thor

Chris Hemsworth, star of the upcoming 'Thor: Ragnarok,' reveals why he almost missed the chance to star in the franchise.

Thor in 'Thor: Ragnarok'
Marvel

Image via Marvel

Thor in 'Thor: Ragnarok'

The Thor franchise is both likely one of Marvel’s best and the driving force behind Chris Hemsworth's mega stardom. But it really could have turned out very different.

As we already know, Chris almost lost out on the part to to his younger brother Liam, but Chris is now opening up about yet another hurdle he faced when he was finally offered the part: his insecurity. In fact, he almost turned the six-movie deal down simply because he thought it was too good to be true.

"I was crossing the road in Vancouver... and I remember the exact moment getting a call from from my lawyer and my manager saying 'you got the offer'," he told The Sydney Morning Herald.

"And then kind of going 'oh wow, cool. So what is it?' 'It's a superhero thing and it's a six-picture deal.' And we were like 'that's a lot of films to sign up for. We should pass on this,’” Hemsworth continued. He explained that his doubts came from "that voice inside you thinking it's too good to be true,” and even though he did eventually accept, he wasn’t always so sure it would turn out so well.

"When we shot the first film, I was aware of what it was but had no idea if anyone was going to turn up and see it, let alone then do The Avengers or then do a second Thor or a third Thor or a third, fourth and fifth Avengers," Hemsworth says. "You hope and dream that it's going to be that but each time I'm like 'it's going to work, someone turned up, I'm still employed. There's another job.'"

The reality is the first Thor movie was a massive commercial hit, making almost $500 million. The sequel, Thor: Dark World, made $640 million. Hemsworth has also appeared as Thor in other successful Marvel movies, namely the two Avengers movie and Doctor Strange.

Hemsworth stars in Thor: Ragnarok, the third movie in the Thor franchise, hits theaters on Nov. 2. So far, critics have loved it, and the movie is currently enjoying an impressive 98 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a relatively rare feat for superhero movies.

Part of the reason for that critical success might be New Zealand director Taika Waititi’s (Boy, What We Do In The Shadows) comedic style, possibly making Ragnarok the funniest Thor movie to date.

"He'd encourage us to just screw it up a lot," Hemsworth said. "It doesn't matter. In there somewhere, there'll be something really great."

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