Chris Hemsworth is the cover subject for the latest issue of GQ Australia. While I’ve always been more into Liam, Chris is doing it for me on this cover. It’s the combination of the shorter hair, the not-too-skinny-not-too-beefy physique, the beard stubble and the cute doggo. It’s nice! I would hit it. Chris covers GQ to promote NatGeo’s Limitless and Extraction, but he’s got Thor: Love and Thunder coming out next year too, so he chats about that as well. This interview took place during the lockdown, and GQ pours it on thick about how Chris is unlike all of those other celebrities whining about quarantines in giant yachts and such. Chris is a real Aussie bloke who doesn’t complain! Or something. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:
Being in a lockdown: “It’s probably the first time in about 10 years that I don’t know what I’m doing for the next six months. I don’t have it all mapped out. To some degree, it’s nice not to have a schedule, but the unknown and the uncertainty is intimidating.”
He won’t complain: “We’re very fortunate. But we’re here at home and attempting to homeschool the kids, which is a feat in itself. They’re better students than I am a teacher, to be honest.”
Working in the industry: “You need to have an obsessive approach, just like anything where the odds are stacked against you and it’s a one-in-a-million chance that you’re going to get your foot in the door. But once you are on that train, not a day goes by where you don’t think it’s going to be taken away, all of a sudden. You still have this fear and anxiety programmed in you that it’s all going to slip away. But I must admit that once I had paid off my parents’ house and taken care of my family, I had a moment where I thought: what now? What’s driving this?
Getting burned out: “Every job I’d take, every time I’d go off on these extended trips, it got harder and harder. For a little while you don’t think the kids notice and then you realise they do. I absolutely want to continue to make films that I’m proud of, but that can also wait. Now what’s more important is my kids are at an age I don’t want to miss. And I’d hate to look back in 20 years and go, ‘Right, let’s get to work as a parent’ and I’ve missed it all.”
Moving back to Australia in 2014: “You’re a little bit too much in the eye of the storm when you’re living in Hollywood. Living in Australia, it’s also easier to detach myself from work – and you get a bit more leeway to let a few emails and phone calls slide on by.”
He hated the middle-years of Thor: “I felt a lack of creativity. But that was less about whether I was typecast – it was, ‘Is this all I can do?’”
On Taika Waititi: “He’s insanely fun. But don’t mistake that child-like, frantic energy for someone who isn’t prepared. That’s quite a unique combination, that he has the ability to, through humour, put you at ease, but is also armed with all the knowledge that a director needs to lead you through the process. And it came at a time when I desperately wanted there to be more humour to the character.”
On Waititi’s Oscar win: “I was certainly happy for him when he won and it was a pretty special moment. I hadn’t actually seen any of the other films he was nominated against – I hadn’t seen much of anything. Living here I was like, ‘Oh yeah, it’s Oscars season’. I’d been pretty out of the loop.”
He annoyed me in this interview, honestly! TEAM LIAM. I think I’m just annoyed by his general moodiness about playing Thor. I mean… I’m sure the die-hard Hemsworth stans will point to various non-Thor roles, but the man is Thor and that’s what he’s known for, and he’s never given me any reason to find him believable in another role. So why was he so angsty? Why did he disappear when it came time to promote Thor: The Dark World? I find that part of it massively unprofessional. Also: I will always and forever believe that the main reason he moved his family to Australia was because he wanted to get Elsa away from the daily pap strolls and general LOOK AT ME-ing.
Photos courtesy of GQ Australia.
How Evans-broody without the depth. Pass. I like my men broody but there’s got to be a there there.
He probably just wanted his marriage to survive. Not that it worked for his brother (australia)
Dude. You ARE Thor at this point. And you’re really really good in that role! I get that it might be boring after a while, but it’s not like he shot an 8 season television show – it’s a few movies where he’s only part of a larger ‘lead cast’ in a few, not the main focus.
Honestly, I didn’t really like either Hemsworth until I watched Thor outtakes. I finally got the Chris love because I’m a sucker for anyone who is silly funny. And watching him goofing around really is sweet. I’d actually like to see him in more comedy oriented roles because he’s enjoyable.
The thing is – would he really be more creatively fulfilled if he were doing like leading man in a romance roles? I have a hard time believing that. But it’s not like you have super serious movies saying “you know what this needs? Chemsworth!” – I just don’t see him as some kind of super deep intriguing lead actor. He’s affable and good looking, and regardless of Thor he’d have probably been type cast in rom-coms or like Michael Bay movies where the actor is second to the special effects.
He definitely should do comedies. He is good at that.
He has impeccable comic timing
Eh, he’s funny for a good-looking guy, but that’s it.
He was pretty fantastic in Ghostbusters.
Thor Ragnarok reaffirmed his comedic abilities and his performance in Endgame gave us a view of his tragi-comic abilities.
I thought the interview was OK. He seems self aware.
I agree.
I don’t mind at all if an actor who is locked-in contract wise to these big movie franchises complains about being stifled creatively.
If anything, I appreciate the honesty and candour.
Plus I love that he paid off his parents house.
I think the Hemsworth boys all come off as pretty unaffected by the trappings of fame, all things considered.
Agreed. People don’t like him at that’s okay.
I’ve watched many of his movies, not just Thor, and he’s good but he needs the right material. Like others have said he needs more humor which he obviously is aware of. In the first few Marvel movies he didn’t get any good comedic lines and has a real appreciation for what Waititi is providing him in the Thor character.
I can’t imagine lockdown is horrible when you live on a beach. He looks good.
He was filming Blackhat during the Asian/European promotion of TDW. Natalie Portman was off doing something else too. So Feige had Tom Hiddleston and Jamie Alexander promoting it. They both showed up for the premieres and did the late night shows in the US.
Hemsworth was also very good in Rush and the best thing about Ghostbusters
My aunt has been quarantining at a California beach house and she complains about it every damn day.
No sympathy from me. That would be a dream to be on the water!
He moved to Australia because he cheats left, right and centre and didn’t want his wife around.
Probably one of the reasons he’s got such a chummy relationship with fellow cheater Taika Waititi.
Well, I don’t make those judgments. I think most of these hollywood people have agreements. I doubt it’s cheating.
Is there ACTUAL proof of him cheating outside of Twitter conspiracies? From the little I’ve heard, he and his wife have been separated for some time.
He’s with his Thor assistant now. His wife has said in an interview that he disappeared while filming Ragnarok to the extent his kids had no relationship with him when he came back. There’s a website that basically tracked the cheating. His wife had just given birth to their second kid in Hawaii when he was out vacationing with his assistant in NYC and California, etc. He’s trying to fudge the timeline but you can pretty much figure out what happened here.
Look, I’m not a Chris Hemsworth stan and it wouldn’t surprise me if he was cheating on his wife (hot guy; got married before he became a celebrity, etc.) but CB comments are the only place I see it referenced as if it’s a well-known fact. I tried to do some online searches and I haven’t seen anything aside from a couple of articles from relatively unknown sources/websites, referencing that the couple were going through a rough patch because he was prioritizing work over family or more hilariously, that he’d been linked to Angelina Jolie (she’s well out of his league). The only assistant that I could find that’s been his assistant during all the Thor movies was someone I assume is a dude: Aaron Gist. Also, how if true, how has he been able to keep it out of the tabloids? I can’t believe he has more industry clout than other celebrities who’ve been outed by various tabloids and gossip mags.
I was talking about TW.
Yes, this is all he can do. Or at least this is the best he can do.
He’s got a lot of nerve complaining about lack of creative fulfillment when he spends all his time chasing stardom in shallow blockbusters.
I believe he moved back home to be closer to his family. He’s said that he’s a family guy and I think he’s real close to his mama(mama’s boy?).
His wife family stays with them alot as they did in LA so I’m sure she’s happy there.
I dont know how I feel about people complaining about roles that made them famous. If he didn’t want to be typecasted he should’ve done other things in between like hiddleston. I mean he wouldn’t have that $20mil mega mansion without thor
He was hilarious in Ragnarok and Endgame, and, yes, absolutely the best part of the Ghostbusters reboot. He should definitely do more comedy.
hes not a great actor.
I tried to watch Extraction and lasted about 20mins. Yep, pretty body. Great actor? Nah
I was gonna say the same thing – I think he has the wrong idea about his talent. Like, he really thought he was the next Russell Crowe or something. He has no real range.
Loved him in Rush – he isn’t Oscar material, but he can act.
Rush was really underrated. Good story line. Good acting from Chris. Oscar worthy acting from Daniel Bruhl.
Oh my goodness yes!! Made me actually find Niki Lauda more attractive than Hunt in the movie which was a feat considering the actors.
“ it was, ‘Is this all I can do?’””
Ummmm, well it’s pretty much all you can do and have the movie be a box office success so, ummm, 😬.
Yeah the whole film industry has changed. What can anyone do if they want to be in hit movies? Personally I think some of the best work is being done on television and streaming apps. But with movies, it’s like just these blockbusters. Now, with covid, it’s even worse. I can’t imagine what would get me in a movie theater. I really really wanted to see Wonder Woman. Even that though, I don’t think so.
Same here. I was so excited for Wonder Woman and really want to support it, but I’m going to need to wait until it’s on demand. It’s too risky to go to a theater this year.
Eh. I think he’s being honest. We’ve known for a long time that franchise roles get dissed by the actors who portray them. This includes tv actors who have grown weary of the characters they play. I mean, think about any job you have had for a long time. Eventually people want a promotion. I still like him lots
I actually think he is pretty talented, he was great in Bad Times at the El Royale and if HW was still making decent thrillers and noir films like they did in the mid-aughts, he’d be fine.
I think a bigger problem with him is that he is out there all over the place as a fitness/lifestyle brand (frequently with his wife – most of the pictures they post on IG where they are together and looking loved up are selling something- there was a whole rash of them for Australian tourism and Centr but their posts are weird w/r/t one another otherwise) and people get enough content with him from the fitness/lifestyle stuff. The NatGeo thing is natural for him but doesn’t scream “please put me in that remake of Topkapi”.
Elsa Pataky is annoying (there is no alternate universe where she was a big star who gave up a career for family) but I am not sure she is more thirsty than he is, she’s just more obvious about it.
He signed on as thor for the fame and money. I’m sure in retrospect he has learned it’s not exactly the deep artistic role every actor wants. honestly, I don’t consider comic book actors/ess to be very skillful and look down upon their money grab over the Art. They’re sell outs…
He’s really good as Thor. I think most Marvel actors are extremely well-suited for their roles, actually, and I don’t look down on anyone for doing them. Most of them are really enjoyable movies with plenty of good performances. I get the frustration with doing one role repeatedly, but 1) it’s what he signed up for in order to get tons of money, and 2) he’s just an okay actor with good comedic chops. It’s not like Marvel is stopping him from becoming the next great Oscar-nominated actor. If you’re that good, you’ll get awesome roles outside the franchise you’re associated with.
Star Wars is my favorite film series and I barely associate Adam Driver with it (even though he was great in it) because he’s an excellent actor who has gone out of his way to find diverse roles and work with notable directors — and several of those films were shot/released DURING the release of the newest Star Wars trilogy. So meh. I’m not here for “Is this all I can do?” nonsense. If it is, maybe he lacks the chops for bigger and better things.
ITA about Marvel actors, apart from Ruffalo who is a really great actor with range, and who in fact can and does do more complex roles and movies.
Some pretty boys are/become decent actors (Chris Pine, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Micheal B Jordan, Di Caprio), some simply don’t have the chops.
Hemsworth was simply baaad in Blackhat.
He should really focus on being the “funny abs” and he could have a fairly decent career after Thor.
The funny thing is, the actors who have starred in Thor films alongside him — Tessa Thompson, Tom Hiddleston, and Natalie Portman — are all great actors who can and have taken on a lot of different critically acclaimed roles. So just because you’re attached to a particularly notable role in a big franchise (Natalie was also in Star Wars and managed to escape being known for that) doesn’t mean that’s all you can do. If actors want to do more and have the talent to do it, they will!
It’s funny, Samuel L Jackson has been part of both Marvel and Star Wars, basically the two biggest movie franchises and I would say he has never had a problem getting a wide variety of roles. And honestly I think his acting range is more limited than Hemsworth’s.
That’s true, MsIam. I guess I don’t think of him the same as his younger colleagues because he had an established career before Marvel or Star Wars, but he definitely didn’t let either role define him. I actually barely think of him in connection to those films.
Anyone portraying characters that were huge parts of my boys’ childhoods will always have my love. Some are versatile. Some aren’t. I’ve seen him in other things I’ve enjoyed. He’s hot in his laid back Aussieness so I can’t really believe he didn’t leave LA a long time ago lol.
Not a fan really, but do want to point out that he did a BUNCH of other, varied films during the Thor years. The problem is he cannot open a non-Thor movie to save his life. He got a lot of opportunities in drama, action, and a little comedy (which was good) so if he’s feeling unfulfilled, he might want to look at how hard some other actors struggle for just a fraction of his success. Or complain to his family and friends, not to the media.
All I see is a neanderthal. I don’t get his appeal
I understand and don’t mind actors admitting that they feel stuck playing one character. It’s why a lot of TV shows end – the lead leaves before they are stuck forever being known as whatever their characters names were. But in Marvels case, all of his coworkers have found success outside of the franchise. The other lead and many of the sidekicks have portfolios covering every genre. If he’s not finding success outside of being Thor, I don’t think it can be blamed on him being type casted.
“But in Marvels case, all of his coworkers have found success outside of the franchise.”
Yes but the majority of them were already known in Hollywood before being cast in a Marvel film.
I love him. Always will.
He’s fantastic as Thor.
He was real good in Bad Times At The El Royal, ghostbusters and Rush.
Somewhat good in The heart of the sea, cabin in the woods and Vacation.
Black hat was terrible all over so I don’t even think he’s the one to blame as in his huntsman movies.
I’ll watch everything he’s in.
Part of the problem is he went for blockbusters outside of marvel by and large. And save for Snow White and the Huntsman, which was really driven by Kristen Stewart, they’ve bombed. He should try to go the route of Chris Evans. RDJ had told him he could do all the indie, small or mid budget or risky films he wanted with the financial security. And he did. Sometimes it paid off (Snowpiercer, Gifted), sometimes not (Iceman, Playing It Cool) But it was a chance to do something different or work with talented people and there weren’t huge financial losses if they failed. And Knives Out and Defending Jacob were big wins as he left marvel. Hemsworth seems like he’s pivoting there a bit but only after movies that lost a LOT of money.
I still get mad over how Snow White and the Huntsman was soooo bad. Stewart was honestly horrific in that. Hemsworth was fine, that sshow was not his fault. That could have been a really good movie for that genre. It was awful.
So far Evans is building the most interesting post-marvel career. I guess you could make the case scarjo is, but I really can’t stand her so I don’t see anything she’s in.
He may be complaining about playing Thor but sure he likes the Thor money, which allows him to afford to explore edgier or more “ creative” roles. He knows the game.
I think he’s a good actor for cheesy Hollywood flicks, but he has the absolute worst picker (or whoever chooses his roles for him). His movies besides Thor are all terrible and it’s no wonder they all flop. When you do watch those movies though, he’s usually not the problem with the movie at all, actually he may be one of the best things about it. But I think he’s entered Nicholas Cage/Jodie Foster territory by now where you can assume a movie will be awful if he’s gonna be in it.
He is moody because he is being typed-cast as an action star. But after the last Thor movie & Ghostbusters it is clear that he should move into comedic type roles. Outside of Ghostbusters, he hasn’t really done anything to show if he has range. He also needs to stop believing he is a leading man and go into more support roles.
He was up for Oscar talk for Endgame …he was given the opportunity to play Thor as a conflicted complex being…MY GAWD…the emotional nuances he had to pull in order to showcase the full spectrum of emotions he had for Loki…
He’s already…DONE IT ALL!
He’s always taken himself too seriously. When he got that little role as Kirk’s father in Star Trek he did promo for it in Australia, and he was super pissed that people kept mentioning Home & Away and Dancing with the Stars ie. the only notable things he’d done and the only reason anyone was interviewing him about his 2 minutes of screen time.
Eh, if he was looking for depth in his roles why bother signing on to a disney owned franchise? I’m surprised they even Thor stay fat. There’s a give and take, he got much much more money for a less complex franchise role and made bank. Since hollywood doesn’t hate aging men the way it does women he’s got ton of time for gritty indie etc
I’m a little board of Chris now. Between him and his wife they have essentially given the same interviews for the last couple of years – similar answers, always talking about moving back to Australia. I get its an important move but it gets to the point where I think why do you feel the need to justify it?
Loved him as Thor, not keen on how negative he is about Dark World ( height of his cheating according to the blinds). Extraction was okay, but he can definitely do comedy
@Kaiser, did you honestly not find Chris Hemsworth believable as George Kirk in the 2009 Star Trek film? His performance sold that openly sequence where he knows he’s going to die, but stays in the chair and protects the escaping shuttles from Nero–including the one carrying his wife, in labor giving birth to James T. Kirk–while listening in to his wife giving birth and hearing his son cry, and then calming discussing what to name the child, seconds before his death? You’re made of sterner stuff than me. 🙂
That was my introduction to Chris Hemsworth. I’ll always be impressed by his role as George Kirk. I was really looking forward to Chris Hemsworth’s role in Star Trek 4 as a ‘trip back in time’ George Kirk. Sad both Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pine wouldn’t do Trek 4 when offered ‘below their normal blockbuster’ film salary. Their Agents walked away from the table and Paramount refused to budge.
And now J.J. Abrams, in a move to truly kill the franchise (which he admits to never ‘getting’), has bought in to some hard ‘R’ craziness offered up by Quentin Tarantino for the next Trek film that might not even feature this current Star Trek cast.
In a way, he was dealing with something a lot of women in Hollywood deal with — he got his big break mainly because he was incredibly beautiful, and then he couldn’t easily escape that.
I didn’t take Brad Pitt seriously as an actor until I saw him being extremely weird in 12 Monkeys. Chris Helmsworth being funny and vulnerable in Thor: Ragnarok was also an eye-opener.