More Thor Talk: Tom Hiddleston Compares Thor to Superman and Chris Hemsworth Admits His Costume Didn't Fit
Posted 03.31.11 by Ryan
2011's "blood bath" of a summer begins in May with the release of Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Thor, which sees the Norse god of thunder and future Avenger banished to Earth where he learns what it means to be a hero.
Tom Hiddleston, who plays Thor's brother and nemesis Loki, recently admitted to Empire that he had seen the whole movie and described it as "amazing" while comparing it to another comic book movie.
Maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but I think the film that it most resembles — in tone — is Superman. Which is a big claim! It's got nothing to do with me, and all to do with Kenneth Branagh and Chris Hemsworth.
And Chris, I have to say, is like Christopher Reeve in that he can do two things: he can wear a big red cape without a shred of self-consciousness, but he's also funny as hell, and he's so sweet. So with all the fish-out-of-water stuff with Natalie Portman and Stellan Skarsgaard and Kat Dennings as the god that has been cast out of Asgard, he's so funny. So he does almost two jobs in a way.
Another job Hemsworth did was work hard to get himself in shape to play a god. In an interview with The LA Times, Hemsworth admitted his workout regime was so effective that he couldn't even fit into his costume.
[The filmmakers] kept saying "Yeah, get as big as you can, as big as you can." And then I came back right before Christmas, just before we started the movie, and had a final sort of camera test and put the costume on and within a couple of minutes, my hands started going numb. And everyone was like, "Yeah, that’s not cool." And I started getting pins and needles and you’d touch the skin and the blood wouldn’t return to that area so quick. And I thought, "OK, it doesn’t fit."
Hemsworth is already back in the gym to prepare for reprising his role in 2012's The Avengers.
I’d rather do this than sort of put on unhealthy weight. I think that’d be harder to lose and probably be enjoyable putting it on, because you could eat whatever you want. But this is good. I get to stay active and that is my job at the moment, so I can’t complain.
As for whether Hiddleston will join Hemsworth in The Avengers as Loki, the actor could not reveal in his interview with Empire. "I don't know," admitted Hiddleston. "I'm on the phone with my English agent saying, 'Am I getting on a plane [or] am I not getting on a plane?' I have plans to make!"
Next Showing: Thor opens May 6