Thor's Lebowski Look In Avengers: Endgame Had Chris Hemsworth Wildly Uncomfortable
At the end of Anthony & Joe Russo's 2018 superhero flick "Avengers: Infinity War," a genocidal military general named Thanos (Josh Brolin), concerned about universe-wide overpopulation and poor resource management, magically erased half of the universe's citizens. It was a moment of triumph for Thanos and a moment of failure for the superpowered military force that assembled to stop him. It seems that a life of violence-inspired superheroics will ultimately only lead to more and more death.
In the 2019 follow-up, "Avengers: Endgame," five years have passed with a halved population, and the heroes have basically retired and become destitute. Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) turned into a brual street vigilante. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is still trying to handle the strange logistics and infrastructure problems of a missing population, occasionally coordinating with a cosmic hero (Captain Marvel) and a talking raccoon (Rocket). Steve Rogers is running therapy sessions. And the Norse demigod Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has taken to overeating and playing video games, habits that transformed him from a muscled adonis to a schlubby imitation of The Dude from the 1998 film "The Big Lebowski."
Because of his newfound soft midsection, several jokes are made at Thor's expense. When the film came out, several film writers criticized the movie for its easy jokes based on fat shaming, though one of our own disagrees with those assessments. To the filmmakers' credit, Thor still springs into action for the climax of "Endgame," and is just as capable a fighter while zaftig as he was while muscular.
Hemsworth himself also had an issue with Thor's Dude-like fashion, although it had nothing to do with bodily shame, ideal superhero physiques, or anything thematic. Hemsworth was merely uncomfortable wearing the long wig. In his last appearance as the God of Thunder in "Thor: Ragnarok," Hemsworth sported a short haircut. For "Endgame," he had his longest blonde locks yet. In an interview with the Marvel website, Hemsworth revealed that the hair was a pain in the neck.
Short hair, please
When asked if he preferred playing Thor with long hair or with short hair, Hemsworth was quick to answer, saying:
"Short hair. I like that look with the semi-dreadlock hair and the beard and all that, especially in ['Endgame'], but that was the most uncomfortable look in the history of anything I've done. You've got glue on your face and on the beard, and then the wig is glued on. And there's pins and all sorts of other stuff. It's an extra hour or two in hair and makeup each day, so it's nice when we cut Thor's hair in the third film, because I could just come in, put a bit of makeup on, and walk straight onto the set."
In Taika Waititi's 2017 film "Thor: Ragnarok," the character found himself captured by an alien administrator on a trash planet and forced to fight in a gladiatorial arena. Part of Thor's incarceration was having his hair cropped short, by none other than Marvel legend Stan Lee. Hemsworth liked that his short hair was easy to maintain. In the original 1960s Marvel Comics, however, Thor always had long hair, and throughout his long history, his Viking-like locks have been a signature part of his look. When Thor returned in 2022's "Thor: Love and Thunder," the filmmakers decided to give him long hair once again, which meant more wigs for Hemsworth. In the Marvel interview, the actor seemed a bit miffed at the notion.
"Love and Thunder" also featured a montage of Thor getting back into fighting shape, slimming down after the events of "Endgame." Call me kooky, but if being a superpowered demigod still requires regular workouts and exercise, doesn't that remove the easy power-fantasy appeal of superheroes? One might assume they stay muscular and agile without any effort at all. I suppose that assumption is incorrect.