Throughout their press appearances, cast members of Thor: Love and Thunder have always said the nicest things about each other. In one interview, Christian Bale — who made his MCU debut as Gorr the God Butcher — expressed how he couldn't compete with Chris Hemsworth's physique.Meanwhile, the latter admitted to being in awe of the former's "scary" performance. Here's everything they've said about working with each other.
What Chris Hemsworth Has Said About Working With Christian Bale
Speaking to Disney D23, Hemsworth said that Bale's performance set a huge contrast to the rest of the production. "The rest of us would be in our world of improvisation, comedy, and fun – then he'd walk on set, and we'd all look at each other and say 'Oh, my God! This is really intense. This is really scary,'" said the lead star. However, he added that the American Psycho star's demeanor on set was "totally normal" and that he'd even talk "about what he did over the weekend or how the surf is."
In another interview, Hemsworth also raved about Bale's multi-layer portrayal of Gorr. "There's so much drama and insanity around Gorr, but Christian Bale managed to pull the focus right into each moment. You can't take your eyes off him. The character is fascinating, because like all good villains, Gorr has a point," said the Australian actor. "He may not be going about it the right way, but there’s empathy in the script and Christian brought so many more layers and so much more depth to Gorr."
Natalie Portman — who reprised her role as Jane Foster in the film — echoed Hemsworth's description of Bale's character. "All of us were actually a little scared in Gorr’s presence," she said. Valkyrie actress, Tessa Thompson also found Bale's depiction of Gorr as "mesmerizing." According to her, the actor "does that thing that Marvel villains do so well, which is that you see their villainy comes from pain, from some unprocessed trauma."
What Christian Bale Has Said About Working With Chris Hemsworth
Speaking to The Wrap, Bale confessed that he initially had concerns about Gorr's revealing costume. "I did have a look briefly and said, 'He's got a G-string on. Nobody wants to see me like that,'" he said. "He was also crazy musclebound in the comics. And I was in the middle of making another film where I was really quite skinny. I said, 'Dude, nobody wants to see me in a G-string.'" He also noted that there was "no point in working out at all because you can't compete with Chris [Hemsworth]."
Bale also expressed his admiration for Hemsworth's bond with his daughter, India Rose, who played Love in the film. "Chris was a wonderfully attentive dad, just off-camera all the time, just checking she was all right, giving me thumbs up, me giving him thumbs up, checking," he told Marvel.com. "It was really endearing seeing the two of them. He sort of let her be, and she did it herself." Bale, Portman, and even director, Taika Waititi's children also appeared in the movie as Asgardian kids.
Waititi said they didn't plan to have their kids in the film. However, Hemsworth's desire to have a little onscreen moment with his daughter inspired him to make it a family affair. "The idea started really when Chris was talking about India. And he was like, 'Oh, you know, it would kind of be quite cool for me to be in a scene with my daughter.' I started looking around like, 'Oh, everyone has kids. All of these actors have kids,'" said the filmmaker. He added that he "really [loves] the idea that my kids can look back on this moment and be like, oh wow, we were there. There's a record of it."
Christian Bale's Kids Convinced Him To Do 'Thor: Love and Thunder'
Speaking of kids, Bale's children are the reason he did Love and Thunder. "For me, it was Taika. I loved Thor: Ragnarok, as did my family," the actor told Screen Rant of what drew him to the project. "We also all loved Jojo Rabbit, and then I had worked with Natalie and wanted to work with Tessa and with Chris. It comes down to that, really. I just went, 'Great!' Loved the script, loved Taika's description of the villain. 'Let's go do this.'"
However, the actor's busy schedule almost kept him from doing the film. "There were some potential scheduling conflicts. I said to my family, 'I don't think it's going to work out,'" he continued. "And they went, 'No, you make it work out. You're doing this, Dad.' They gave me my marching orders, and I dutifully obeyed."
Portman also credited her kids for her MCU return. "I feel like it's the phase of my career where I'm really trying to just impress my kids," she told Variety. "My 5-year-old and my 10-year-old were so enthralled by this process, getting to visit the set and see me dressed up in a cape. It made it really cool. You know, it's very rare that my kids are like, 'Please go to work!' Usually, it's quite the opposite."
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