News broke on Saturday that Marvel has finally made a decision about who to cast as iconic comic book hero ‘Thor’, and his name is Chris Hemsnworth, a relatively unknown actor who has a small but noteworthy role in the new ‘Star Trek’. Full details after the break…
Chris who? Yep, that was out first reaction too - but - it’s hardly surprising that Marvel Studios have decided to go with a relatively unknown actor for a character like ‘Thor’, who is hardly what you would consider a decorated wordsmith. Why sign a big name to a big deal for a character that will look hardly anything like the actor in the finished product? I would also imagine that money would be the only motivation for any notable actor anyway in this case.
DeadlineHollywoodDaily originally broke the news, announcing that Marvel Studio’s Kevin Feige and director Kenneth Branagh had decided to go with Hemsworth after they initially passed on him, then after persistent badgering from his agent, let him read again and were highly impressed. Wow. I’d love to get a look in on those casting sessions to see how the auditions/reads were carried out, because I find it fascinating that they took so long to choose an actor for this role to start with.
Chris Hemsworth recently portrayed “George Kirk” (Kirk’s Father) in director J.J. Abrams recent “Star Trek” film, and was cast last week in United Artists movie “Red Dawn”. He will also star in Joss Whedon horror flick “Cabin In the Woods”.
We were hoping that either Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood, Generation Kill) or Paul Levesque (WWE wrestler HHH) would win the role, but to be perfectly honest, we’re not sure that casting is the most prominent challenge for this film and we’re much more excited to see just how they plan to execute it.
“Thor” is currently slated for release on May 20, 2011.
