The upcoming book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios has revealed that Liam Hemsworth was also in the running for the role of Thor, God of Thunder, which ultimately went to his brother, Chris Hemsworth.
Vanity Fair shared an excerpt from the upcoming book, which detailed how the Hemsworth brothers were both keen on breaking out in Hollywood. After playing Captain Kirk’s father in 2009’s Star Trek, Marvel Studios had Chris Hemsworth read for Thor. However, the studio passed on the actor.
While shooting The Cabin in the Woods (2011), Hemsworth was persuaded by director Drew Goddard and writer Joss Whedon to give the role another crack. The book also mentioned that the actor may have been “fueled by sibling rivalry” since Liam had managed to make it further than Chris, with the younger brother doing one round of Thor tests for Marvel.
Chris Hemsworth made his second chance count
After shooting a new set of sides and sending them to Marvel, Chris was suddenly back on the studio’s radar. “When he came in for a screen test and told a story of Thor’s exploits, he did it with such relish, such fun, a sense of danger. He was able to occupy the character of Thor in a way that seemed just right to us,” said Thor director Kenneth Branagh in the excerpt.
Following the 2011 superhero movie Thor, Hemsworth would go on to reprise the role an additional eight times in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including in three Thor sequels — The Dark World (2013), Ragnarok (2017), and Love and Thunder (2022). He also voiced a variant of the character in the first season of the Disney+ animated series, What If…?.
Every MCU movie featuring Hemsworth’s Thor is available to stream on Disney+.
