Tuesday
21Oct2008
Daniel Craig Confirms He Turned Down 'Thor'
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 at 3:49PM
I have remained incredibly lukewarm on the prospect of a
Thor movie. As a big believer in the theory
that not everything can be made into a successful movie (successful meaning
good, not merely bankable), I've always seen Thor as one of the more
troublesome comic book properties. Batman: You can throw a suit on a good actor. Superman:
You take some glasses off a pretty boy. Iron Man: CG and a cool suit.
So where do you go? There were rumors, and bad ones, that it would be Brad Pitt. Now another big name confirms that he turned the role down flat.
According to IESB, Daniel Craig was approached about the role, but he passed, joking that it would be the ultimate power trip to play both Bond and Thor. He's an intriguing choice, because for as great a physical actor as Craig is, he also has the dramatic intensity of Richard Burton. The guy is the absolute real deal.This tells me that while Marvel wants a name and a believable action hero, they also want to keep with their current practice of hiring good actors, not necessarily the biggest names. However, I don't like Craig for the role simply because he's not a giant. I'm not going to believe a 5'10" God of War.
Kenneth Branagh is directing, which could be great, but only if they find a believable Thor. Spider-Man could be any number of young actors, which is not a slight on Tobey Maguire. It's just that the actor playing Thor has to fit very specific criteria before you even get to the screenplay. The point is, you can't just go find a guy to be Thor.
And we haven't even talked about how they'll visualize Asgard and make that work.
See? Thor is definitely one of Marvel's biggest challenges.
Reader Comments (7)
I can think of one "actor" who simply has the look of a Viking/Nordic God and if nothing else would fit the physical role of the God of Thunder perfectly. Triple H of WWE wrestling fame does not have an established acting career but he has the look, the physicality necessary to pull off the part and his limited acting experience in the ring shows a strong personality which can include some very sly humor, key to any action movie so the seriousness doesn't take over.
By god I think your on to something....
Triple H would be fine in the old days of Marvel, when it was less origin story. Now, though, the script would be way too deep and character-driven for the studio to bank on him for it. He's pretty much only playing one song, and these guys have to show a lot of layers.
It's such a shame that Arnold is over 60 because he would be the perfect Thor back in his prime. Think about it; He was a massive human being and he was the king of action movies. It pretty much would've been a Conan 3.
I personally think Triple H of WWE fame would be the perfect fit. He has the look, the personality and just the right amout of humor to pull it off. As far as acting goes, he has been acting the part of Thor in the ring for all of his carreer, right down to the hammer (OK, it's a sledgehamme, but a hammer none the less)
What about Viggo Mortensen? Tall, imposing, exemplary in the live action role but also an accomplished thespian, AND he also happens to be Scandinavian. I think he would make a perfect Thor
Actually I just thought of thee perfect Thor...Vladimir Kulich! He is aging but he's practically pulled the role off already as Buliwyf in the 13th Warrior. Of course Buliwyf, as we know, is very much mortal but the look is there. Simply replace the sword for Mjolnir, add two goats and a winged helmet and the Thunder God appears before your very eyes!