Yahoo News Chris Hemsworth nearly lost Thor role to brother Liam
Chris Hemsworth is perfect as the god of thunder in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – but he could have looked a tad younger if things had turned out differently.
The star's brother Liam Hemsworth actually came pretty close to nabbing the role of Thor.
As Chris recalled to W Magazine, the fact that Liam was in line for the leading part gave him extra motivation.
Related: Thor: Ragnarok – everything you need to know
"I came into the audition with [Thor director] Kenneth Branagh and thought I nailed it, and then never heard anything back," he said.
"Months went by, and then my brother – my little brother Liam – was in Australia and sent a tape across, and he got a call back, then another call back, and then was down to the last kind of four or five people for it.
"I remember sitting in Vancouver, shooting Cabin in the Woods with Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon. Both of them were looking at the trades at this sort of top five guys for Thor and saying, 'Why aren't you in the mix here? What happened?'
"I said, 'I don't know. I blew my audition, I guess.'"
Chris added: "None of those guys got it. My manager then called up and said, 'You know, he's got an older brother. Can we bring him back in?'"
The star sent off another tape and got called in for a further audition for the role of the superhero – and this time, he had much more success.
"That second audition was a lot different than my first one," he explained. "I came in kind of with a little, I guess, motivation and maybe frustration that my little brother had gotten further than me.
"It's a little family, sibling rivalry sort of kicked up in me. Then it moved pretty quick from there. It was cool."
Thor: Ragnarok will hit UK cinemas on Tuesday, October 24, with a US release to follow on November 3.
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