'Avengers' Star Chris Hemsworth Was Rejected From 'X-Men,' 'G.I. Joe' Role Before Joining MCU

Chris Hemsworth revealed that he underwent rejection from a couple of film roles before landing the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Hemsworth, 36, shared that he was denied a couple of roles by several directors in some high grossing film projects. The actor made a revelation of his rejection stories in an interview with GQ Magazine Australia, before he scored the role as the venerable god of thunder, Thor. As one of the highest-paid actors of the generation, Hemsworth stated that his hopes of playing lead roles in “X-Men” and “G.I. Joe” were turned down.

“I thought one of those was going to land,” the actor shared, referencing the denied film opportunities. ”But then neither of them did.” Hemsworth also seemed to have lost confidence in landing any major part until Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 “Thor” was set on the table. “All of a sudden I thought: this is it, I’ve missed it again. But then Thor came along,” he said.

It was uncertain which “X-Men” franchise the Australian actor was referring to, but Hemsworth definitely missed the role in “G.I. Joe’s” first installment, “Rise of the Cobra,” released in 2008 and starred Channing Tatum instead of the actor. Though the roles turned out unfortunate for Hemsworth, the 48-year-old actor couldn’t have landed his most momentous project yet had he ended up in another film project.

“If I had got one of those previous roles, I wouldn’t have got Thor,” he said.

Right before Hemsworth began his full-time hustle in Hollywood, his career leaped to prominence when he starred in the Australian television series “Home and Away,” as Kim Hyde. The Australian actor has since been known for playing Thor in the superhero’s very first movie back in 2011 then also reprising his role in eight MCU film installments. Hemsworth’s Thor was mostly preeminent in the 2019 “Avengers: Endgame” which established him as one of the most fruitful actors in the world.

Hemsworth’s recent action flick “Extraction,” garnered favorable reviews, breaking records as the most watched Netflix original film.

The “Avengers” star alongside the movie’s director Sam Hargrave, shared some insights regarding the new action installment on an interview with Fortune via a joint video call in Zoom. “I didn’t want to just do a straight-up action film,” he said. “I wanted to do action unlike anything I’d ever done before, which this required. It was a level of complexity and exhaustion that was very new.”

As both the film’s main protagonist and producer, Hemsworth’s higher-octane action movie project is a big lunge from his usual slew of superhero movies, definitely proving his versatility in the film industry.