Chris Hemsworth is best known for playing actual gods, but the actor has previously stated that to play Hulk Hogan on screen, he'll need to work out even harder than he has to play Thor. While Hemsworth is set to go in front of cameras for Thor: Love and Thunder first, some time after that he'll play Hogan in a movie directed by Todd Philips for Netflix, and Hulk Hogan himself thinks Hemsworth is ready.
The Hulkster posted to Instagram recently, with a side by side image. The first shows Chris Hemsworth hitting the gym, and the other shows Hogan in his prime. There's a particular focus on the arms, and as far as that goes, Hogan thinks Hemsworth is ready. Which is not to say he doesn't have another concern about the actor playing him.
Hulk Hogan's arms were a particular selling point of his professional wrestling character during is heyday in the 1980s. They were billed as his "24" pythons" and Hogan flexing those arms were a big part of his wrestling promos and his post-match celebrations. If Chris Hemsworth is going to be recreating those moments on screen, he'll certainly need to be able to look the part. But Hulk Hogan certainly isn't wrong here. Hemsworth looks unbelievable.
If there's a question I have about whether or not Chris Hemsworth can really pull off playing Hulk Hogan, it's not the physical size, or even whether or not he's good looking enough, it's the attitude. Hulk Hogan's on-screen persona was such a one of a kind thing that it's going to be difficult to pull it off without it looking like parody. How much that matters may depend on how much of the movie will actually recreate Hulk Hogan's professional wrestling moments and how much will focus on the reality of Terry Bollea's actual life, and at this point, we don't really know the answer.
Even if there isn't a massive focus on the world inside the ring, Chris Hemsworth will probably also need some basic lessons in professional wrestling. It would be conspicuous by its absence if we saw literally zero wrestling in a movie about Hulk Hogan, so in addition to getting into physical shape he's going to need to learn how t pull off some basic moves.
The good news there, to be blunt, is that, while Hulk Hogan may be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, his greatest skills were on the microphone. He was never the most skilled ring technician, which means Hemsworth won't need to learn anything particularly complex or high flying. That was never Hogan's in-ring style.
Still, the forthcoming biopic looks like it's coming along quite nicely. Now that Chris Hemsworth has the look, he can start practicing the line "Let me tell you something, brother."
