Though it was not entirely a big surprise for Marvel’s ‘Thor’ to top the North American box office at nearly $ 66 million during its opening at U.S. theaters over the weekend, the epic film featuring Australian actor, Chris Hemsworth has five surprises the public may not know about.

The following are surprising facts about ‘Thor’, according to People.com:

1. ‘Thor’ director had his eyes first set on Liam Hemsworth, Chris’s younger brother.
People.com says that Chris Hemsworth was not even on the original list of ‘Thor’ director, Kenneth Branagh. His younger brother, Liam was in the running for the big role however. But as soon as Branagh had screen tested Chris, the epic director noted that he knew Chris was the man for the job.

Kenneth Branagh: “We pretty much knew as we were shooting the test that he was the guy. It seemed, across these meetings, he had grown into it.”

2. Chris Hemsworth had his mom’s help reading lines for the film.
 The film outcast has submitted a video when he auditioned for the role, said People.com and did one with his mom’s help.

"I was on the 17th floor of a hotel in Vancouver with my mom reading the lines to me," Chris said according to The Hollywood Reporter. "And something great must have happened. It got me back in the room."

3. Chris Hemsworth wouldn’t fit into his costume after he bulked up to prepare for the film.
Chris Hemsworth told The Los Angeles Times that he did not fit into his own costume after he bulked up too much as part of his preparation for the role.

The LA Times was saying Hemsworth decided to hit the gym in order to bulk up like the character in the comic books that he had studied.

Chris said that he noticed that the character was “500 pounds or something and looks like Schwarzenegger. And I thought, 'OK, I’m not gonna get to that.’ But I have to get bigger.”

“I started getting pins and needles and you’d touch the skin and the blood wouldn’t return to that area so quick. And I thought, ‘OK, it doesn’t fit,’ The Hollywood Reporter was quoted Chris as telling The Times as he discussed how he felt during the final camera test.

Director Brannagh had reportedly advised Chris to go easy on ‘intense workouts’.

4. Shooting got delayed due to bad weather.
The film production got under way in January 2010 at the Raleigh Studios in Manhattan Beach. It was then moved to Santa Fe, N.M., for the earthbound sequences of the movie.

“We had a morning that was incredibly beautiful when Chris and I fall asleep together on the roof of a lab,” Natalie Portman said according to The Hollywood Reporter. Portman plays the character of an astrophysicist who got herself winding up with ‘Thor’ and helped him.

Portman added: “And it was so windy that it was hard for us to stay in place. But other than that, it went really well.”

5. Kenneth Branagh was the man for Shakespeare films before Thor’.
Who would have thought that an actor best known for his roles in classic films particularly those which are adaptations of many of Shakespeare’s works would have the powering imagination for an epic film like ‘Thor’. He received good words for his works in classic films such as Hamlet (1996) and Much Ado About Nothing (1993).

The Hollywood Reporter calls Branagh’s work on Marvel’s ‘Thor’ as his ‘comeback not only as a director but his make-or-break moment’.

"I've enjoyed it enormously," Branagh was quoted as telling The Hollywood Reporter ‘Thor’, adding “and the commercial gods will have to decide whether it's a success."

The director admitted his ‘surprise’ doing ‘Thor’ but quipped saying, “it has a logic I can't fully articulate."

6. Marvel postponed film release because of 'Iron Man'.
 The film studio, Marvel opted to postpone the ‘Thor’s release after Iron Man became a hit at the box office.

Director Branagh had six months after the actual target shooting date before it actually began production, giving them more time to prepare for the shoot

"Initially, 'Iron Man 2' and 'Thor' were to be released in summer 2010 and 'Captain America' and 'The Avengers in summer 2011," Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said, according to the entertainment website.

He added: "But when the first 'Iron Man' was so big, we had the luxury of knowing that the sequel could sustain us in 2010."

Meanwhile, 'Thor' super star, Australian actor Chris Hemsworth is the frontrunner to play the second character in the centuries-old tale, 'Snow White and the Huntsman'. The fairy tale by Universal has entered into negotiations with Hemsworth after weeks of on and off talks with top Hollywood actors who have been in the running for the job.

Also READ:
‘Thor’ Aussie star, Chris Hemsworth eyed to join Kristen Stewart in ‘Snow White’

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