Thor: IGN Goes to Asgard
What did we see on the set of the god of thunder's movie debut?
December 10, 2010
by Jim Vejvoda
The Warriors Three, Loki and Sif flee from their enemies across a glacier as it violently quakes apart. Volstagg props up Fandral, while Hogun the Grim and Sif slash at unseen adversaries. Just as it looks like they might plummet into a chasm in the ice, a voice off-screen yells, "Cut!" That voice belongs to director Kenneth Branagh and we're on the set of Thor at Marvel Studios' backlot in Manhattan Beach, Calif.
We were among the few media outlets invited last March to visit the set of the god of thunder's big screen debut. The glacier set -- which is supposed to be on the Frost giants' realm of Jotunheim -- is constructed on gimbals that allow the different sections of "ice" to abruptly shift as the actors race across them.
Although Chris Hemsworth, the Aussie actor who plays the title role, Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), and Anthony Hopkins (Odin), weren't on-set that day, we did get to meet and chat with director Branagh and cast members Ray Stevenson (Volstagg), Jaimie Alexander (Sif), Joshua Dallas (Fandral), Colm Feore (Laufey), and Tom Hiddleston (Loki). Please be advised that this article contains some SPOILERS.
A tour of the production offices revealed a slew of incredibly sweet-looking concept art, still photos, models and reference materials for the film, which will introduce cosmic elements into Marvel's existing Iron Man/Hulk cinematic universe. We toured the sets, including Odin's great hall, his vault (which holds some of the cosmos' most dangerous weapons), as well as Heimdall's (Idris Elba) observatory on the rainbow bridge. And, yes, we did get to hold Mjolnir. And it was awesome (and as heavy as you might expect, which says a lot about how strong Hemsworth is).
We have to be mindful of spoilers, but the majestic Asgard sets -- as anyone who saw the Thor sizzle reel shown at San Diego Comic-Con can attest -- were more reminiscent of sci-fi films such as Dune, Stargate or Chronicles of Riddick than fantasy epics like Lord of the Rings. The filmmakers are drawing on the sci-fi elements of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's run on Thor, and aren't shying away from the garishness of those original designs, costumes and settings. Indeed, they have embraced them.
Indeed, Marvel Studios honcho Kevin Feige and fellow Thor producer Craig Kyle repeatedly informed us that Marvel is approaching Thor as science fiction and not fantasy. They hinted that these cosmic elements, including Asgardian tech, will come into play in future Marvel movies (it certainly seems like that's the case with Captain America, which has the Cosmic Cube in it).
As the comics have now established, the Asgardians in the film are actually aliens not gods. They visited earth in the ancient past, where their culture, language, beliefs and customs influenced the development of certain human civilizations, such as the Vikings. To reflect this, the production design team drew inspiration not only from the works of Jack Kirby and J. Michael Straczynski, but they also culled ideas from ancient history. But as out of this world as Thor may seem, director Kenneth Branagh insists the story, characters and themes are timeless and very human.
"It's massive and what it contains actually that has a parallel to what the comics have is this combination of very personal stories that we recognize, you know, fathers and sons, but they're amongst families of enormous power and consequence, so when they have an argument, the rest of the universe suffers," Branagh told us during a break in filming. He said he hopes his film "fulfills what I think people love about the comics, which is this sort of differentness and distinctiveness -- you believe that they're gods, they're non-human."
Branagh continued, "But I don't want them sounding like Shakespearean times and sounding in any way non-human. The blur of the comics is always to make the feel at one and the same time, they're god and they're just like us. So far, I think we've tried to capture that well. We're blessed with the actors. We have an amazing group of people who've been very excited, very motivated. They all came with incredible passion for the characters, for the comics, for the stories."
Jaimie Alexander, who wears two corsets (one metal, one regular) for her role, read Thor comics back in middle school, and clearly knew her stuff when we chatted with her. In the sequence we saw being filmed, Loki was still friends with his half-brother Thor, Sif and the Warriors Three. Alexander says the "relationship between Thor and Sif in this movie is quite platonic. I mean, they're good buddies, they've grown up with each other, they're warriors, they fight side by side. We haven't taken it to the next level yet. She kind of thinks he's a little bit pig-headed, but she loves him nevertheless. She's like, 'That's my buddy, I'll do what I can for him.' But she'll definitely call him on his ****, which I like because it's kind of how I am with Chris [Hemsworth]."
Former Punisher Ray Stevenson wore a big ol' fake belly as Volstagg the Valiant, whom he called "a bon vivant lover of life, epicurean good fellow. He's a god, which helps. He's full of life. He reminds me very much of Falstaff. There's a wonderful innocence to him and the steadfast loyalty of a big Saint Bernard dog. He'd come running through the snow with a keg of beer to save your life. You know, he's got a twinkle in his eye. He's always up for a party. He's an all-around good egg. Big egg, but a good egg."
Josh Dallas said his character, Fandral the Dashing, "would like to think of himself as the R. Kelly of Asgard. He's a lover, not a fighter. You know what I'm saying? I've seen 'Trapped in The Closet' and 'Keep it on the Down Low.' All that kind of stuff. Fandral is a fun-loving guy. He's a ladies man. It's always debatable how successful he is at that. He thinks he's pretty successful. He thinks that all the ladies love him and, if they don't, then they will soon come around to the idea of loving him. He's fiercely loyal to Thor and the Warriors Three. They look out for each other. They would rather have a good time, but if he's gotta fight, he'll fight. He's a great character to play."
Tom Hiddleston on Loki
Brit actor Tom Hiddleston, who previously worked with Branagh onstage and in Wallander, had initially auditioned for the title role, but later learned that they'd always wanted him for Loki instead. "I start in the film as Thor's younger brother and I think in the manner of all younger brothers I have a greater sense of freedom," explained Hiddleston. "I'm not the oldest therefore the parental expectations aren't as heavy, so it's like a lot of younger children in sibling groups. I think Loki has a bit more freedom. He's not going to be king. He knows that. He has less responsibility on his shoulders so he's freer to have a bit more fun."
He sees Odin's sons as "both enormously gifted. Thor and Loki are a two-man team and they're both going to run Asgard when Odin steps down, and Thor has an ability and a physicality and a presence, a physical presence. He's the type of man you follow. You just do. In the same way they used to talk about all the leaders and the captains and the generals that came out of both World Wars, that those captains and generals weren't necessarily elected just in battles. There were certain men who were followed. Leaders were born and Thor is that guy."
Hiddleston said, "Loki's gifts are different in that he is sharper, he's cleverer, he's more interested in tactics and strategy. He's capable of thinking ahead and he enjoys chaos. So he enjoys reacting to chaos and that affects how given that he's the God of mischief. Mischief is essentially chaos. He likes stoking the fire of chaos and seeing what happens as a result. I think that's where we start in that he's just physically not as strong, but he's quicker and sharper."
Hiddleston calls Loki's arc in the movie is "a journey of self-awareness. He doesn't, at the beginning of the film, know his own power and I think through the course of the film he comes to learn his true nature and the extent of his power. But with a propensity for mischief I think as soon as he knows how powerful it is that's when it becomes dangerous." The actor also developed a fighting style that would be different from his brother's hammer-wielding brute force.
"He should be so quick he's like the wind. So if Thor is heavy, Loki is light. We thought what would be the weapon that Loki would be fighting with? So we thought throwing knives because I think Loki doesn't like to get his hands dirty in a fight. He likes to be quick, efficient and lethal. It's like one blow — slam," said Hiddleston. "I kind of conceived of Loki as a kind martial artist with these throwing knives. Someone who's like a dancer. He dances his way out of combat and these knives are his way of keeping his foes at arm's length but it's lethal. When you get one of those knives in, you're gone."
The Bard's King Henry may have thought "uneasy lies the head that wears the crown," but he never saw Loki's helmet. Hiddleston, who had 9 months to prepare after winning the part, embraced the bigness and absurdity of his character's head wear. "Loki isn't Loki without those horns on. And initially we were fitted and it was kind of a conversation as to how much does it cover his face? How much does he use them as like a weapon or is it just a statement of intent? It's like kind of a representation of his soul in some way, like back off because I'm dangerous," the actor explained.
"We've had to work with it because they are very heavy. And because my ears are closed off, I can't hear very well. And it becomes quite claustrophobic," he said. "It's a strange thing acting in it, but I know it looks so good because I've seen it in playback so it's worth it." And on those days when the Loki helmet literally proved to be a pain the neck, Hiddleston found solace in the words of another comic book movie actor: "I read a story about Christian Bale complaining about the Batsuit and saying like, 'I'm trying not to complain because I get to be Batman.' So I'm trying not to complain about the horns because I get to be Loki."
But as arduous as it was to wear a horned helmet, at least Hiddleston didn't have to endure over four hours of makeup every day to play his role. But Colm Feore did. The actor, perhaps best known to IGN readers for 24 and The Chronicles of Riddick, said his skinsuit costume "comes in this variety of pieces, and they just put each one on and glue me into it, paint me blue, and stitch me up, and then wheel me out. It's remarkable, and takes forever, and slightly longer to get off. I've been doing a lot of work recently and trying to apologize to people for the blue eyeliner and the blue fingernails and the blue everything, and I finally just gave up. I just said, 'You know, I'm in here every day shopping, yes, I am a stripper and I work nights, okay? So if you don't mind, give me the wine, give me the bread, and I'm leaving.'"
Feore intends his portrayal of the frost giant king Laufey as a nod to co-star Anthony Hopkins, whom he previously starred with in Titus. "I said [to Branagh], what if I do an homage to Tony Hopkins with a whisper of Max Von Sydow filtered through Paul Scofield, and you know Ken went, 'Yeah, that's about it,'" recalled Feore.
