Chris Hemsworth Was Almost Bankrupt Before Taking Up 'Thor' Which Became a Global Hit at $449 Million

Australian actor Christopher Hemsworth became a household name with his captivating performance in the megahit "Thor" films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). However, it is unknown to many of his followers that he almost went bankrupt before landing the role in the successful franchise, reports Variety.

Hemsworth, who has served as an inspiration to other actors, had his own financial struggles at the beginning of his career. In order to pursue his passion, he left Australia where he had worked in a number of TV programs. The actor once admitted that it was pretty frustrating for him to be running out of money before joining the Marvel universe and filming his first significant role in and as "Thor."

Hemsworth made his breakthrough as a young performer in 2004 as a high school dropout on the Australian soap drama "Home and Away." In an interview with Variety, Hemsworth said, "A big reason I started acting was because I loved film and TV, but it was like we had no money." He set himself the objective of supporting his parents financially. "I wanted to pay off their house, initially. That was my sort of thing."

Hemsworth revealed, "I almost put too much pressure on myself. If I hadn't taken it upon myself to take care of my family, I might have been more relaxed." After departing from "Home and Away" in 2007, he faced a lot of struggles to pack any important roles in Hollywood. He said, "I remember I had an audition right before Christmas one year, where things were not going good, I'd stopped getting callbacks, and I was getting worse feedback. I thought, 'God, why did I do this?'"

He regrets some of the major roles that he missed, sharing, "I got very close to 'GI Joe.'" He added, "I got very close to Gambit in the Wolverine 'X-Men' movies." Instead, Taylor Kitsch, the actor who portrayed Tim Riggins in the NBC television series "Friday Night Lights" was cast in the role. Hemsworth revealed, "At the time, I was upset. I was running out of money. But if I played either of those characters, I wouldn't have been able to play Thor."

It is worth noting that Hemsworth got passed over when he first auditioned. It was when he requested to give it another try that he was selected for the role. He said, "I've never been able to sit back and be in the moment. Since the beginning, it was about: 'Am I going to get recast? Are they even going to make a sequel? Is anyone going to turn up to see the film?'"

With "Thor" becoming a worldwide hit and grossing over US$449.3 million globally, Hemsworth established himself as one of the world's highest-paid actors with his continued success in the role in the following MCU films, including "The Avengers" series.