Did Chris Hemsworth Gain Weight to Play ‘Fat Thor’ in ‘Avengers: Endgame’?

Avengers: Endgame was one of the most talked-about movies of the year. It broke box-office records and it answered a lot of very important questions we had after Avengers: Infinity Wars ended with a gut-wrenching cliff hanger.

While Endgame answered some questions we were seeking, it also gave us some surprises too. One of the most notable surprises was Thor (Chris Hemsworth) gained quite a bit of weight during the movie. Instead of having chiseled abs and an overall muscular physique, he had a belly so large that it would make Santa Claus envious.

So, how did someone with such an athletic-looking body gain so much weight so quickly? Did it help the storyline and the development of Thor’s character? Keep reading to get all of these questions answered and more.

Why did Thor gain weight in ‘Avengers: Endgame’?

Before we answer this question, it may be important to note that this section will contain some spoilers. So if you have not yet watched the movie, you may want to skip down to the next section of this article. 

In the last Avengers movie, the evil villain, Thanos had obtained all of the Infinity Stones that were needed to instantly wipe out 50 percent of the Earth’s population. In Endgame, the Avengers pay Thanos a visit in order to figure out how to bring back all of the people that had seemed to literally vanish in thin air.

When Thanos tells them that there is no way to bring them back, Thor loses his temper and kills Thanos. This was a bad move on Thor’s part because it meant that the Avengers were not able to question Thanos any further to see if he was lying or not, thus solidifying the fact that there would be no way to bring everyone back.

Fast forward five years, and we find that Thor’s physical appearance has gone through a surprising transformation. After Thor lost Asgard, his brother, and many friends and family members, he transformed into an overweight, alcoholic God of Thunder that was severely depressed and confused. He spent most of his days drinking beer and playing video games. The audience was suddenly shown a side of Thor that they had never imagined that they would see.

Did Chris Hemsworth actually gain weight for the movie ‘Avengers: Endgame’?

The crew had started production of Avengers: Endgame as soon as Infinity War had wrapped up. Also, at the beginning of Endgame, Thor’s appearance looked exactly the same as it did in all of the other Marvel movies that he had appeared in before. This meant that there was simply no time for Chris Hemsworth to try to put on as much weight that was needed for him to adequately portray his character’s new role in an authentic way. So the production team had constructed a latex body suit that weighed around 90 pounds.

The movie was filmed in Atlanta, which is why the directors were worried about Hemsworth’s comfort levels during the warmer months. The weight of the body suit was also a concern because they were afraid that it may eventually take a toll of his back. And considering the fact that they were still having to go back and reshoot some of the scenes from Infinity War, they were afraid that after he wore the suit for too long, he would be unable to give the kind of athletic performance that fans have come to expect from the God of Thunder.

Did Chris Hemsworth enjoy his new huskier role?

Although some people thought that Thor’s new larger appearance may have been a way for the movie to mock obesity, many people were impressed by Marvel’s decision to show the more human side of Thor. Being able to see that even a superhero can get depressed and have a hard time in life, made the character seem more relatable.

Hemsworth also liked the new direction that his character was taking. Even though he had admitted that wearing the suit was exhausting, Hemsworth insisted on wearing it throughout the entire film.

In an interview with Variety, Hemsworth had stated that the directors of the movie only wanted Thor to be bulkier than usual for the first half of the movie, after that, they wanted the character to slim back down to his normal weight. However, Chris was adamant about the fact that he wanted Thor to stay on the huskier side throughout the movie.

“I enjoyed that version of Thor,” Chris told Variety. “It was so different than any other way I played the character. And then it took a life of its own.”

He also said that he feels that this has given Thor more depth to his character and will allow the character to grow in the future. “I feel like we’ve opened up such a different character. I feel more energized for the possibility of where it could go,” Chris remarked.