There's more to playing Thor on the big screen than hitting the gym and reading your lines, at least based on actor Chris Hemworth's approach to the character. The actor recently sat down for an interview with Prestige Hong Kong where he explained in some detail the effort he goes to when he becomes Thor -- and it involves a whole lot more than just hitting the gym hard.
[For Thor], there’s a lot of ongoing reading and rereading of the script. I have a guy that I work with a lot who’s a voice coach, but also far more than that. We pull scripts apart and go into who these people are; his whole attitude of approaching a character is, instead of trying to mimic something or work out technically how you do that, it’s more why does someone speak like that. What’s in your personality or nature, or your past that has moulded you into sounding like this? That then raises a whole lot of questions about the character – which is great. You do that all the way through the film, even afterwards it’s hard to switch off sometimes.
It's clear that the actor had to delve into the psyche of Thor and ask questions like, who is this character? What makes him tick? What are the ins-and-outs of who he is and what his motivations are? When you treat each line as though they are valuable, you get a different perspective. Not to mention, Hemsworth will have two movies to build the character from: Thor and The Avengers.
== TEASER ==One of the issues Hemsworth addresses is also the decision to sport a British accent in THOR, which he explains was because of the association between "Shakespearean speak" and "God-like beings," which does make some sense.
For whatever reason, it just seems to fit that world. Probably for no other reason than that it’s the way it’s been done in history. We associate Shakespearean speak [with god-like beings] because so many British actors have done it over the years. It resonates with the audience. Also, we had Anthony Hopkins, who is Welsh but has similar tones. I certainly couldn’t play him as Australian because people would think, “That’s Crocodile Dundee!”
It's clear that the role opened up a lot of doors for Hemsworth's career -- and he has valued the opportunity; something that is obvious when you see the effort he puts into playing the part of Thor onscreen; from the workouts and dieting and the choreographed combat scenes, to identifying who Thor really is. If you are interested, check out the rest of the interview with Hemsworth on Prestige Hong Kong.
Thor: The Dark World is set to hit theaters across America on November 8th, 2013 and will star Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Jaime Alexander as Sif, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster and many more. The film will be produced and distributed by Marvel Studios and is being directed by Alan Taylor known best for his work on the Game of Thrones series for HBO.
Source: Prestige Hong Kong
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