It's no secret that Chris Hemsworth is an absolutely massive star right now. He's one of the famous Hollywood Chris's, alongside Pratt and Pine. Hemsworth became a household name for his long tenure as Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He's played the God of Thunder through nine blockbusters, and Taika Waititi's gig as Thor 4 director all but guarantees his return. But there was a time when things weren't going so well for the Australian actor.
Before he became one of the OG Avengers, Chris Hemsworth had a small role in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek. The movie started a trilogy, with Hemsworth playing Captain Kirk's father in the opening sequence. This seems like an exciting gig, but it turns out that things slowed down after playing George Kirk in the reboot. As he recently explained:
I got a job pretty quick when I got to Hollywood, so I was very fortunate in that sense. Then I didn’t work for a while and I started to think it might not work out.
Trying to break out into the acting world is notoriously hard. And even once that first break happens, it can be even more difficult to sustain and continue moving upward with bigger and better parts. Chris Hemsworth saw this first hand. Because despite having a part in one of the most iconic franchises of all time, he had a difficult time working after Star Trek was in the can.
As a reminder, you can check out Chris Hemsworth's scene as George Kirk below.
Since debuting as Thor, Chris Hemsworth has been booking a variety of movies outside of the superhero genre. In fact, he recently competed against himself when Men In Black International debuted in the midst of Avengers: Endgame's run in theaters. But he couldn't have foreseen his future success, and Hemsworth suffered from a deep depression during this process. As he recently explained to Heat (via Yahoo):
I had a huge amount of anxiety when I was auditioning, and that just got worse and worse the more I heard the word ‘no’. I did a lot of soul searching on a number of occasions, where I asked myself: ‘Why am I doing this? What’s my motivation to put myself through this?'
It's hard to think of Chris Hemsworth having such self-doubt in auditions, as the actor has put spirited performances into his myriad MCU appearances, as well as movies like Ghostbusters and Bad Times at the El Royale. But being an actor is difficult, and rejection isn't easy. Luckily, his star power has grown enough that Hemsworth is likely getting plenty of offers for future projects.
Related: Chris Hemsworth's Blunt Reason For Turning Down Star Trek 4
Chris Hemsworth's next project is Kevin's Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. The actor recently revealed he wanted to take a break from acting in order to spend time with his family, so we'll see what comes next for the God of Thunder. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
