Avengers: Endgame saw Chris Hemsworth's Thor undergo a radical body transformation following five years in a depressed state after the death of Thanos. Hemsworth has now revealed he fought to have more of the enlarged version of the God of Thunder in the movie.
In an interview with Variety, Hemsworth explained that he called himself "Lebowski Thor" on set, saying he liked the transformation because "you're not locked into expectations." He then revealed Thor was meant to change back to his old self towards the middle of Endgame. However, Hemsworth lobbied to keep Thor big. “I enjoyed that version of Thor,” he explained. “It was so different than any other way I played the character. And then it took on a life of its own.”
Further explaining his experience of the transformation, Hemsworth recalled, “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.”
Hemsworth also revealed the reaction of his co-stars to his transformation. “People just kept coming up and cuddling me like a big bear or rubbing my belly like I was pregnant,” Hemsworth revealed. “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 felt when strangers would come up and rub her belly.”
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Don Cheadle as War Machine, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Danai Gurira as Okoye and Bradley Cooper as Rocket, with Gwyneth Paltrow Pepper Potts, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Benedict Wong as Wong, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie and Josh Brolin as Thanos. The film is in theaters now.