Chris Hemsworth has been in the acting business long enough that he’s worked with plenty of heavy hitters as well as in big franchises like the MCU and Star Trek. However, he also has had the chance to talk to a-lister Tom Cruise about moviemaking in general and he took the opportunity to ask him about what drove him in the business. Per Hemsworth:
I asked Tom Cruise years ago what drove him to make certain decisions on films. He said, ‘I just want people to see my movies. I don’t want to put that much blood, sweat and tears into it, and have it come and go.
"Whatever it takes," right? Tom Cruise is known for a lot of things, but one of them is the work ethic he puts into his own movies, which involves him performing stuntwork other actors may not dare to. He also helps with decision-making behind the camera, and stories about his alleged work ethic came up when The Mummy was a bit of a disaster a couple of years ago.
According to what Chris Hemsworth revealed to Variety, Tom Cruise’s work ethic really fascinated him, leading to a point where Cruise gave the younger actor advice about moviemaking and the work that is put in.
Chris Hemsworth is also team big screen, telling the outlet in the same interview that he believes in the medium and hopes people will still continue moviegoing in droves. He said:
I just love the theatrical experience. I think there’s nothing quite like it, and the industry will change in a big way if we don’t get people to the cinema.
There’s been a pretty big shift in the industry as a lot of key content players have headed to Netflix or elsewhere streaming, just as there have been big advocates for theatrical moviegoing to remain a mainstay. Some have been vocal about disliking the streaming model, but that's not really what's mentioned here.
So far, studies have shown that people who consume media streaming often tend to go to the theater in higher numbers, but what Chris Hemsworth seems to be saying boils more down to wanting to make sure the movies he (and Tom Cruise) makes are good enough that they engage the theatrical audience and keep people excited about going to the movies. It's less of an us and them mentality and more of a what can be done to improve the project I'm on sort of thing.
Still, moviegoing and the movie experience is certain topical this days, with movies searching worldwide for larger audiences and theaters finding creative ways to keep fans coming in droves.
No one who works insanely hard on a movie and wants it to come and go with bad reviews, or possibly worse, indifference at the box office. And while Tom Cruise has not been immune to bad reviews in his career, he does what he can to make sure the final project is the best it could be. That's advice that any actor could latch onto.
You can next catch Chris Hemsworth in Men In Black: International, out June 14. Tom Cruise's next big gig will be in Top Gun: Maverick, out in 2020.
