Lately, it seems, actor Chris Hemsworth has been making quite a splash in the film world. The Australian-born actor first came to the attention of many film goers in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009). Hemsworth played the role of “George Kirk,” bringing to life a character long part of the “Star Trek” canon. Since 2009, Hemsworth has been working on several films, including Thor, The Avengers, Joss Whedon’s The Cabin in the Woods, and Snow White and the Huntsman, which was released today in the United States.
Chris Hemsworth recently sat down with Time Magazine to talk about his work in Snow White and the Huntsman.
Hemsworth explained that he wanted to model a new type of character for his role in Snow White. “I wanted this to be a first take, a first type of role.” He also mentioned that there was not very much existing material on “the Huntsman,” his character in the film. “Honestly, I didn’t do much research … the Huntsman was never very prominent, so there wasn’t much to draw from.”
Hemsworth also discussed the immense amount of physical work that went into creating his character. “I wanted to lose weight and get rid of the bulk from Thor, so there was a lot of running, training, and eating less. I stripped the weight pretty fast.”
Snow White and the Huntsman also presented some unique challenges. Since the seven dwarves are an integral part of the story, many camera tricks were implemented in order to create the illusion of shorter people. “Sometimes it was me standing on a box or standing on a runway. We also had shots where we couldn’t do that, so they had doubles.” He went on to explain that his tall stature worked to his advantage. “Most of my career I have been bending down or standing in a ditch or crouching somewhat [Hemsworth is 6-3], but this is the first time I was forced to be even taller.”
Hemsworth went on to talk about a couple of his other films that have 2012 release dates. Since he filmed The Cabin in the Woods and Red Dawn in 2009, Hemsworth has had to wait quite a while for their respective releases. “When you feel like something is your most recent representation and then scroll back three years, it’s definitely nerve-racking.”
Hemsworth identified a struggle of most film actors. “I’m not into watching stuff I did last week, let alone three or four years ago.” Many film actors do not like to remember their older performances, and Hemsworth is no exception: “I’m like Benjamin Button, I’m getting younger and less experienced.”
