Robert Downey Jr. Defends Thor Against Chris Hemsworth’s Critiques

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Robert Downey Jr. Defends Thor Against Chris Hemsworth’s Critiques

Robert Downey Jr. has praised Chris Hemsworth’s portrayal of Thor and the character’s arc. While Chris Hemsworth has voiced his frustrations about playing Thor and has expressed disappointment over how Thor: Love and Thunder turned out, Robert Downey Jr. offered a different perspective.

Robert Downey Jr. counters Chris Hemsworth’s claims about Thor

Chris Hemsworth recently revealed that he initially got frustrated playing Thor, saying that he sometimes “felt like a security guard for the team.”

In his interview with Vanity Fair, Hemsworth admitted to finding other MCU characters’ arcs much cooler, while thinking that Thor was “pretty replaceable.” He said:

“I would read everyone else’s lines, and go, Oh, they got way cooler stuff. They’re having more fun. What’s my character doing? It was always about, ‘You’ve got the wig on. You’ve got the muscles. You’ve got the costume. Where’s the lighting?’ Yeah, I’m part of this big thing, but I’m probably pretty replaceable.”

But speaking to the publication, Robert Downey Jr. voiced different opinions about Hemsworth’s Thor. He said:

“First off, Thor as a character was super tricky to adapt—lots of implied limitations—but he and Ken Branagh figured out how to transcend, make him somehow relatable but godlike.”

He then continued to praise Hemsworth’s portrayal of Thor:

“Hemsworth is, in my opinion, the most complex psyche out of all us Avengers. He’s got wit and gravitas, but also such restraint, fire, and gentleness.”

Lastly, the Iron Man star also referred to Hemsworth’s work in Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame as “a formidable hat trick.”

Following that, Thor: Love and Thunder was not as well received by either critics or fans. Furthermore, Chris Hemsworth told Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast that Thor needs a drastic tonal shift moving forward, and he’ll only return if that happens.