Chris Hemsworth on the “Perverse Joy” of Jumping from Marvel’s Thor to Mad Max Furiosa Villain Role

Chris Hemsworth is going from Thor of Asgard to Dementus of the Wasteland.

The Marvel star plays ruthless Warlord Dementus in George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the filmmaker’s decades-spanning Fury Road prequel that puts Anya Taylor-Joy (The Super Mario Bros. Movie, The Queen’s Gambit) in the driver’s seat as the one-armed, shaved-head Imperator Furiosa. After describing his character as a “pretty horrible individual” who — in his twisted point of view — sees himself as a father figure to the captive orphan Furiosa, the Australian actor appeared on Hot Ones to talk about his villainous turn in the 45-year-old franchise.

“A lot. There’s a certain amount of restrictions and expectations when playing the hero, especially a superhero, that you have to abide by and stay within,” Hemsworth said when asked if he found “perverse joy” in portraying Warlord Dementus, the opposite of his heroic Thunder God in the Thor and Avengers movies. “To play the villain is fun. The shackles are off and you’re allowed to be a little more unpredictable, there’s not as many rules to follow. So, creatively, it was a lot more fun.”

Hemsworth first played the mighty Asgardian in 2011’s Thor, reprising his role in such blockbusters as 2012’s The Avengers and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Most recently, he rode the lightning once more in a fourth Thor movie, 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder, which received a less than thunderous reception from fans. (“I got caught up in the improv and the wackiness, and I became a parody of myself,” he said in a recent interview.) Hemsworth is expected to return to the MCU in Thor 5 — potentially with Miller in the director’s chair — with more “seriousness.”

“I mean you look at Thor 1 and 2 [The Dark World], they were quite similar. Ragnarok and Love & Thunder, similar. I think it’s just about re-inventing it,” Hemsworth told Happy Sad Confused. “And I’ve had such a unique opportunity even with [Avengers] Infinity War and Endgame todo very drastic things with the character; I enjoy that, I like keepingpeople on their toes, it keeps me on my toes, keeps me invested. AndI’ve said this before: when it becomes too familiar, I think there’s arisk of getting lazy.”

“I think, like ‘Ah, I know what I’m doing,’ youknow? So I don’t know – I don’t even know if I’m invited back,” Hemsworth continued.”But if I was, I think it’d have to be a drastically different version –tone, everything. Just for my own sanity.”

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is in theaters now.