Chris Hemsworth Admits Heavy Fan Weight On His Shoulders

Chris Hemsworth is weeks away from the opening of his first big-budget comic-book-to-big-screen adventure with “Thor,” and he’s still pinching himself about the dedication of the project’s superstar cast.

“You have the massive world that was created by Marvel, and then you have these very intimate actors around you,” the actor told GQ Australia’s April/May 2011 issue of working with director Kenneth Branagh and co-stars Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins. “There was as much character work on this as there would be on a little independent film. So, very fortunate in that sense.”

The actor, who got his first big break by starring on a soap in his native Australia called “Home and Away,” told the mag that he enjoyed everything about filming “Thor,” from the on-screen smooches with Natalie to his interaction with legendary actors.

“Going from kissing Natalie Portman to working with Anthony Hopkins — the whole experience was like, ‘What the f*** am I doing here?’ But in a good way. It literally seemed like last week I was still working on ‘Home and Away,’” he said.

Chris did plenty to prepare for the role of the Norse God who is banished to earth, especially because of the very enthusiastic built-in fan base.

“You get the part, sign the contract and start to realize millions of people follow this guy and know more about your character than you do,” Chris told the mag. “It’s existed for 50 years or something and all of a sudden it’s like, ‘Oh f***, there’s a lot of people waiting here to say that’s right, or that’s wrong.’ So it’s a funny thing to walk into. Not often do you approach a character where people know more about him than you do.