“As an actor, if you’re given very little information about what’s going on, then you’re forced to make it up.” – Luke Hemsworth
Oh, you didn’t know about Luke Hemsworth? Yes, in addition to Chris “Thor” Hemsworth and Liam “Gale Hawthorne” Hemsworth there is Luke, the eldest of the Hemsworth brothers and one of the stars of HBO’s new series Westworld. In an interview with Vulture, Hemsworth spoke about how he landed the role of Stubbs, the head of security on the super-secret series, and what he does to develop a character when the creatives aren’t forthcoming with character information.
As it turns out, Westworld spent so many years in development hell that Hemsworth actually auditioned for another role. He explains, “I mean, this project has been going for so long. I think I auditioned way back at the start, and I auditioned for James Marsden’s character. As did 5,000 other people. It then went away and morphed and did all of its bits and pieces, and then it came back, and [casting director] John Papsidera suggested I come in for the role of Stubbs. It was a no-brainer to me. I was absolutely going to jump onboard.”
Even though Hemsworth says he was “absolutely going to jump onboard,” he admits he knew very little about his new character. He adds, “They didn’t release a whole lot. Really, all they were saying was that it was a reconfiguration of the movie Westworld but from a new, fresh angle. They’ve been very cagey, very secretive. It’s kind of cool — you mine stuff to make up a whole lot of things.”
What Hemsworth means by “mine stuff” is that if he isn’t given a backstory or details about a character, he will develop it himself to help him play the role. He elaborates, “As an actor, if you’re given very little information about what’s going on, then you’re forced to make it up. To think about where you’re coming from, where you’re going. It’s a chance for you to use your imagination because you have no information. Which is motivating, really.”
Considering his younger brother works for the also super-secret Marvel Studios, it’s advice that Luke might have learned from Chris.
