With the fourth instalment of theThorfranchise,Thor:Love and Thunder, recently released in theaters, it’s interesting to wonder what it would have been like if we had a different titular face to look at. There’s no doubt thatChris Hemsworth’s performanceis one of the reasons why theMCUcharacter is so beloved by many around the globe. However, there was a time when healmost didn’t land the role.
Hemsworth was relatively unknown when he was first cast. What’s more, whenThorwas in pre-production, thecomic book superhero moviewasn’t as gigantic a success as it was today. As a result, when Hemsworth was cast in the lead role of a major franchise, his being unknown naturally raised eyebrows, as outlined byVulture. Indeed, candidates for the role of Thor were diverse, in both talent and experience. Here’s a list of actors who were almost cast as the God of Thunder in the MCU.
8Liam Hemsworth
Surprise, surprise: Chris Hemsworth wasn’t the only Hemsworth brother to audition for the role of the God of Thunder. As it turned out, Chris completely bombed his audition and that’s what prompted director Kenneth Branagh to ask his younger brotherLiam Hemsworth, who was only 18 years old at the time, to try out to audition. When Chris heard about it, it drove him to give it another try with the helpful tips of his brother. Of course, it turned out that the older Hemsworth was the one they were looking for all along. Although it’s intriguing to wonder how Liam would have done in the role, he surely was a little too young for the role.
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Believe it or not, even the WWE starTriple-Hwas high on the list of candidates for the MCU’s Thor. Although the sportsman had had some small acting roles prior to getting considered, he wasn’t really known in the film industry. What probably made him one of the candidates was the specific look that the producers were going for: bulky body, long blonde hair, and a beard. Would getting the lead role in a Marvel movie have made Triple-H into a movie star? We guess we’ll never know.
6Kevin McKidd
Charlie Wen, one of Marvel Studios' co-founders of the visual department, shared that he based one of the earlyThorconcept arts on none other thanKevin McKidd. Many of you may know the actor from the popular TV seriesGrey’s Anatomyor the cult classicTrainspotting.The actor was considered around the time of accepting his role as Owen Hunt in the popular TV series, and never really auditioned forThor. We wonder what McKidd would have done with the complex MCU character if he was actually asked to star in it.
5Joel Kinnaman
Although there isn’t much information onJoel Kinnamanand his Marvel connections, we know one thing: the actor was indeed shortlisted as one of the candidates for the lead role of Thor. Although the MCU team doesn’t always test out the people they’re considering, it is said that Kinnaman did actually audition for the role. It would have definitely been a major break in Hollywood for the Swedish actor, but, alas, it worked out: Kinnaman joined the DCEU’sSuicide Squadas Rick Flag.
4Alexander Skarsgård
As forAlexander Skarsgard, it appears that he was one of the last people to get cut before Hemsworth officially landed the role of Thor. The actor admitted that he even filmed an audition tape wearing the costume and holding the hammer in his hand. Skarsgard definitely has his own experience in maintaining the muscles, considering his roles inTarzanand the more recent spectacleThe Northman.Who knows? Maybe we’ll get to see Skarsgard in a future MCU project someday.
Related:Scarlet Witch: Actresses Almost Cast as Wanda Maximoff
3Channing Tatum
Channing Tatumwas also one of the running candidates for the God of Thunder. He even ended up meeting with Branagh and discussing the elements of the character. As it later turned out, the production team was seeking someone “more Nordic-looking” and Tatum didn’t fit their description. It’s interesting to know just how many actors the Marvel team had to go through to find their Thor.
2Tom Hiddleston
Now, imagine thatTom Hiddlestonwho has become so signature with his role of Loki the God Of Mischief, was actually chosen to play Thor. Well, it almost wasn’t far from reality. The actor did indeed only audition to play the God Of Thunder and even did a screen test with long blonde hair and muscled body that he worked really hard for, only to get the part of his brother. Marvel Studios was looking for unknown actors that the audience couldn’t associate with other projects, given how back then, the franchise wasn’t as big as it is now. Thankfully, Marvel producers saw his potential as a versatile actor and ended up casting him as Thor’s sneaky brother Loki, and we couldn’t be more grateful.
1Daniel Craig
Last but not least,Daniel Craighimself was directly offered the role of Thor, but politely declined. The actor said that it would be “too much of a power trip” for him to play both 007 and Thor at the same time. TheJames Bondfranchise was already huge back then, but the same couldn’t be said about the MCU. It would definitely have been a huge power trip if Craig ended up playing not one but two lead roles in major franchises with worldwide audiences. Maybe it was for the better that he ended up declining, given how hard it is sometimes to separate the actors from the characters.
