Fantastic there is conversation: Chris Hemsworth on changing gender norms in cinema

PTI, Jun 15, 2019, 11:51 AM IST

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Bali (Indonesia): Chris Hemsworth’s movie choices post his success as Thor have one thing in common — strong and independent female characters.

The actor played a handsome but daft-headed secretary in an all-female reboot of “Ghostbusters” and in his latest “MIB: International”, he features as Agent H opposite the franchise’s first on-field woman agent, Agent M (Tessa Thompson).

The Hollywood star says even though he has not picked these movies keeping in mind the debate around gender, he is is happy that the change is finally happening.

“I am glad that people are now sort of well aware. And for younger generation, it is normal as opposed to my or the older generations. We sort of have to rethink about it. Making it a norm should be the aim. That’s important and I think it’s occurring,” Hemsworth told PTI in a group interview here.

The 35-year-old Australian actor said the fact that audiences are open to female superhero films and have made movies like “Wonder Woman” and “Captain Marvel” a huge success, shows the shift.

“It is fantastic that there is a change happening. There has been a conversation for a while now. You talked to people 10 years ago about of a female superhero film and most of them would have said it won’t work and so on.

“I think ‘Captain Marvel’ or ‘Wonder Woman’… these films have made more money than any of the other stand-alones. These films have as much or sort of more following and appreciation than other films. For my kids in particular, Wonder Woman is their favourite superhero,” he added.

Hemsworth said he has always enjoyed collaborating with women who are opinionated and working with veteran star Emma Thompson in “MIB: International” was one-of-a-kind experience.

“I first met her at an event many years ago. She has the most wacky sense of humour and she is just incredibly kind and collaborative,” he said.

The actor, however, admitted that he was initially “intimidated” by the Academy Award winning actor.

“She’s the kind of person who you walk up to and you’re intimidated to work with. But she instantly puts you at ease. She is all about sort of having fun. And it’s interesting to see it in people like her, who are sort of Gods in the acting world.”

Hemsworth said, for him, the biggest takeaway in working with seasoned performers like Thompson is their “humility”.

“The humility these people have and also they still carry that sense of doubt like ‘Will this be my last job? ‘Am I any good at this?’ It’s quite comforting.

“But it’s also part of the talent of people like Emma that keeps you grounded. It just forces you to work harder. It’s a pretty good motivator,” he said.

The Sony Pictures India released “MIB: International” in the country on Friday.