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Chris Hemsworth wasn’t always a lock to play Thor in the MCU. The Australian actor revealed in an interview that his little brother Liam Hemsworth almost got the part after he botched his first audition.
Speaking to MensXP, Chris Hemsworth said, “My little brother Liam Hemsworth almost got cast as Thor. He was one of the first people who got right down to the wire on getting the part…”
The part ultimately went to big brother Chris, who made his debut as the character in 2011’s Thor and reprised the role in multiple Thor films and the Avengers movies.
James Bond actor Daniel Craig was reportedly offered the role of Thor but turned it down due to commitments for the James Bond series. Other actors who tested for Thor included Joel Kinnaman, Charlie Hunnam, and Alexander Skarsgard, among others.
Speaking to Wired, Hemsworth explained that he didn’t get a callback after his first audition for Thor more than a decade ago. “I think my audition sucked,” he recalled.
Hemsworth said Liam Hemsworth got “very close” to landing the role of Thor–down to the last five people–but he didn’t get it because he was too young, the older Hemsworth brother said.
Hemsworth’s manager reminded the casting agents that Liam had an older brother, Chris, and then he got a callback. His next auditions were better, Hemsworth mentioned, adding that he was motivated by the fact that his little brother got a callback and he didn’t. He also filmed multiple other movies between his Thor auditions which he said helped give him more experience and confidence that contributed to his better Thor audition the second time around.
While Liam Hemsworth didn’t get the role of Thor, he did get a major movie series of his own, starring in the popular Hunger Games movies as Gale.
Chris Hemsworth isn’t the only Hemsworth brother to play Thor. The eldest Hemsworth brother, Luke Hemsworth, played the stage play version of Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder opposite Matt Damon as Loki, Sam Neill as Odin, and Melissa McCarthy as Hela.
Thor: Love and Thunder is in theaters now and it’s doing huge numbers, bringing in more than $300 million after its first weekend. For more, check out GameSpot’s Thor: Love and Thunder review.
