'Thor' Still Looking For Its Thor

I'm sure I haven't been the lone voice of criticism when it comes to Marvel's Avengers cycle, but I know I've been a consistent one. My problem with The Avengers in general is that the studio believes if we see all the heroes individually, that'll mean an avalanche of support for the battle royale scheduled for 2011. Trouble is, fans have already spoken (twice) about Hulk. They're not keen to see more of him. In fact, the only Avenger audiences will go in for at this point is Iron Man. Will Captain America work? It could. In terms of sticking with the formula, it has a chance. Ant-Man? No way. And that leaves Thor, which as we know will be directed by Kenneth Branagh. I have a hard time visualizing this movie. It'll either involve some ridiculous motion capture effects, a guy who's too small to be effective in the role of a Norse God, or some monstrous, 'roided up goon we've never heard of. Marvel is apparently still looking for Thor, which I guess could mean it's going to be some unknown actor, although that's a lot of risk given that this company couldn't commercially salvage a Hulk movie in two attempts. Coming Attractions (via Worst Previews) has obtained a casting call for the role of Thor:

"Male MUST BE MID-LATE 20'S and SIX FEET OR TALLER. LEAD." "Physically powerful, very handsome, occasionally egotistical, petulant, and wild. A natural warrior with a quick charming wit who must be genuinely and severely humbled before becoming the compassionate, mature hero of our film."

With the way Marvel casts its heroes these days, they want an actor with extreme skills. Assuming the above casting call is legit (and the leaked sides for Iron Man 2 turned out to be real a few months ago), can you think of somebody who fits physically, and can pull a great performance?

Comments

[Eric]

Ok, a long time ago I mentioned an actor for the Capt America role, and it got an uproar because he wasn't American, blah blah blah. But this guy would actually be better for Thor now that I think about it. Two words:

Alexander Skarsgård

[Get The Big Picture]

He certainly looks the part. I confess I'm not familiar with his work, but I doubt Marvel would want to go overseas to find somebody. He'd win the costume contest every year, though. 6'4", blond, big...yep, that's Thor, all right.

[brandon]

I think Triple H from WWE would be perfect for the role he is in shape, looks the part, and is used to yielding a sledgehammer.

[Get The Big Picture]

I have always thought Triple H was the perfect guy for the part, and then Marvel decided it wanted to get incredibly legitimate actors for these roles. If it was the pre-X-Men days, there'd be no hesitation; it would be Triple H. But now they want some of the best actors alive.

On a related note, I wanted The Rock to play Superman, and everybody laughed at me.

[Eric]

Alexander Skarsgård is the son of Stellan Skarsgård. I know people are more familiar with him.

But Alexander Skarsgård I thought did gave an underrated performance in HBO's Generation Kill and deserves an Emmy or Golden Globe nomination for his role. He is also currently in HBO's newer show True Blood.

And his introduction to the rest of the world should be with THOR.

[Scott]

I just don't see this working at all now. There for awhile it sounded promising, with Kevin McKidd being rumored as Thor ( if any of you watched Rome you know he would be perfect for this). I just don't see a guy in his 20's pulling this role off.

Skarsgard is a good actor, but he's too small. Apparently their looking for "very handsome" as well. So I guess they want to turn Thor into a big sissy. The movie smells of failure.

[Get The Big Picture]

Skarsgård is substantially taller than Kevin McKidd, and looks broader, as well.

[Mike J.]

What about Gerard Butler or Clive Owen? Both of them could pull Thor off easily if they just work on the hairdo. I don't think they need to have a 20's something actor...in fact, a veteran actor of Butler or Owen's stature would help carry the picture.