Chris Hemsworth Reveals Difficulty Getting Ripped For 'Thor 4,' Calls The Experience Exhausting

Movie star Chris Hemsworth recently revealed how hard it was to get in shape for “Thor: Love and Thunder.” The actor discussed this in the most recent episode of the Marvel documentary “Assembled.” This surprised fans as the Australian actor has played Thor for over a decade.

Hemsworth first portrayed the character in the first “Thor” film released in 2011, “Thor: The Dark World” in 2013, “Thor: Ragnarok” in 2017, and “Thor: Love and Thunder” released in July this year. When asked why it was hard, he explained that his target weight for the 2022 film was much more than those of the past movies.

Hemsworth also stated that working out for the film “hurt more” than usual, and he suspected that his age had something to do with it. “Maybe I’m getting old,” the actor said. It also took a toll on his health.

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The “Spiderhead” actor explained (per Insider) that he was used to getting ripped for a movie (usually Thor) and then losing the weight and muscles for another film. Hemsworth said it used to be easier for him to change his body for different movie roles.

He said, “Each time I’ve played the character and put the muscle on and out the size on, and then lost it for something else and played another character, there’s muscle memory, and I used to say it sort of got easier each time.”

However, things were “particularly hard” for “Love and Thunder” because he had to gain more weight than he ever had before. Fans also believed that the actor looked bigger on-screen than he did in his other Thor films.

Apart from the movies in the “Thor” series, Hemsworth has also voiced the character in some MCU shows like “Loki” starring Tom Hiddleson, who plays Thor’s brother, and the animated series “What If?”

He will be returning in yet another Thor film, as hinted at the end of “Love and Thunder.” The project’s name is yet to be announced, but MCU fans are patiently waiting for the studio to release more information.

When asked about his workout routine for “Love and Thunder,” the “Extraction” star revealed that he spent a year “training and puppeteering the body” to get ready for the role. He also included martial arts and swimming lessons in his routine to get fit. While it was fun, he doesn’t want to do it again.

Hemsworth shocked fans with his appearance for his role in the most recent Thor film. However, he’s stated that he doesn’t want to look like that again. In the documentary, he explained that it was a “fun exploration,” but he wouldn’t want to get “that big again.”

When asked why, he said, “It was just exhausting.” Hemsworth continued, “I don’t know, maybe I’m getting old, but things just started to hurt more.” The actor also revealed that he’d started training for the movie before the lockdown.

In an interview with USAToday, he revealed that he got carried away with the training because of the “boredom” caused by the COVID-19 lockdown. While getting ripped was stressful, he was also discouraged by his wife, who wasn’t a fan of his appearance.

Hemsworth also recalled “eating” and “training” for a long time during quarantine. “Nothing else to do,” he explained. He then shocked everyone on set by turning up “bigger than [he’d] ever been.”

The actor also revealed how shocked his wife, Elsa Pataky was at the change in his appearance. The actress and model who had a cameo in the film called his ripped body “too much” and advised him to take a break from training.

While his “male friends” were proud of his new body, his “female friends and family” were appalled. This also discouraged him from wanting to get that big for his future roles. Hemsworth also starred with Pataky in the action film “Interceptor,” released in May 2022.

The actor’s future projects include “Extraction 2,” the “Extraction” sequel scheduled for 2023, and the upcoming film “Star Trek 4” with Chris Pine. He will also star in “Furiosa,” which premieres in 2024.