Nikkie Finke reported yesterday about the upcoming Thor film and how Marvel and director Kenneth Branagh are facing a big challenge in trying to cast the lead character. In her report, she lists some of the candidates in the running to wield Mjolnir and become the God of Thunder.
Interestingly, she also points out that they are considering Josh Hartnett not only for the role of Loki, the God of Mischief, but to play The Mighty Thor himself. Now, I can see him giving an interesting performance as Loki but my suspension of belief doesn’t extend to him playing Thor.
While there’s some desire by Marvel to see Hartnett or another recognizable actor to play Thor, there’s also a lot of interest in casting an unknown. Personally, I don’t know which would be best for this movie but I liked the idea of casting a relatively unknown actor like Alexander Skarsgård (who was rumored to be Branagh’s leading choice last week).
So, now we have a list of candidates (or shall I say…contestants) who are in the running to play our favorite Asgardian Avenger. Let’s see what they’re all about:
Josh Hartnett
Our first contestant enjoys reading, writing and long walks on the beach… Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Josh, our obviously most famous candidate, is 30 years old, 6′ 3″ and was born in San Francisco, California. Josh has starred as the lead in many feature films including Pearl Harbour, Lucky Number Slevin and Hollywood Homicide.
Josh was rumored last week to be sought after to play Loki in the Thor movie, it is now said he is being considered for Thor.
Liam Hemsworth
Liam is an Australian actor who doesn’t have a large acting resume as of yet. He is best known for roles on the two television programs, Neighbours and The Elephant Princess. Liam has upcoming appearances in next month’s Alex Proyas movie, Knowing as well as a rumored role in Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables.
Tom Hiddleston
Tom is 6′ 1½” and nearly 28 years old. He hails from London, England and played a role in the Wallander miniseries which starred Kenneth Branagh as the lead character, police detective Kurt Wallander – Now we get the connection.
Charlie Hunnam
Charlie stands 6′ 1″ and turns 29 next month. Born in Newcastle, England, Mr. Hunnam and has had roles in some big movies such as Children of Men and Cold Mountain. Charlie made his mark in the business with his starring role alongside Katie Holmes in the 2002 thriller, Abandon.
Joel Kinnaman
There’s not much information on the web available for Joel but we do know that he is a Swedish actor, 29 years old who hasn’t yet starred in any North American films or television.
Alexander Skarsgård
Son of actor Stellan Skarsgård and both our tallest and oldest candidate, Alexander also hails from Sweden, is 32 years old and stands 6′ 4″. Alexander is growing rapidly in popularity for his role in HBO’s Generation Kill and his current role in HBO’s True Blood as a 1000+ year old vampire who sports the same hairstyle as Thor.
Alexander was also spotted in a meeting with Kenneth Branagh last week, which sparked rumors of him being the director’s first choice to play Thor.
That’s it for our contestants – My personal pick goes to Alexander Skarsgård whom I thought was a good pick when the rumors first surfaced last week. There was some feedback however, saying he was small or skinny which I believe is entirely untrue – just look at the following image of him as Eric Northman in True Blood.
Now imagine giving him another two years to workout for the role.
Out of the candidates, Alexander is the tallest, oldest and the largest. He also hails from a Nordic country and has the natural hair and look. I don’t think it gets better than that.
As for Josh Hartnett, I can in no way see him as Thor but I do like him as Loki.
What do you think of the candidates and who should Kenneth Branagh cast?
Thor opens in theaters June 17, 2011.
Source: Nikkie Finke
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