And just when you thought comic book movies was getting the respeck on its name, here comes Oscar-winner Sir Anthony Hopkins to pimp slap CBMs around Asgard.
Back in 2011, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was only a couple of years in development. That’s when Kevin Feige got to Thor. If you pay attention to voice-over work in Marvel animation or video games, Asgardians sound like they ace Shakesperian roles when they aren’t slumming in spandex. So, when Kenneth Branagh (speaking of Shakesperian thespians) recruited and secured Sir Anthony Hopkins to be in the world-building film, nerds joined Feige and Branagh to rejoice.
He was Odin, the All-Father, a Norse god. Sir Anthony Hopkins has gravitas and that voice gave Odin all the street cred he required to become that role. For three movies, he fulfilled that role completely–Thor, Thor: The Dark World, and Thor: Ragnarok. His character left this mortal coil in Ragnarok, never to be seen again.
But, Hopkins wasn’t exactly broken up about that.
Sir Anthony Hopkins Twisting and Shouting
In case you weren’t clear, Asgard isn’t a real place. As much as we want to believe the rainbow-colored boardwalk is something everyone deserves to walk on, we won’t. Anthony Hopkins doesn’t have that struggle.
“If you’re sitting in front of a green screen, it’s pointless acting it,” Sir Anthony told the New Yorker. “They put me in armor; they shoved a beard on me…they sat me on the throne to shout a bit.”
The 85-year-old actor is considered one of the elite in Hollywood. The guy is accustomed to the ostentatious roles. Those parts in films to make others of ilk cringe with discomfort. Not for the man who would be Hannibal Lector.
He’s gifted, but evidently, not a fan of CGI and cosplay. That’s the problem with these fancy actors like Sir Anthony Hopkins. They want the pub and the cash, but not so much on the spandex and codpieces.
What’s ironic about his non-minced words is he believed Thor saved his acting life at one time.
In a glorious two-volume compendium, “The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Book” quotes several actors who have contributed the MCU. Inside those pages, Hopkins said:
Ken Branagh (director of first two Thor movies) gave me back the chops to work. I was gonna give it up, really. But, you see, he won’t let you do that. Working with Ken was quite an injection of new energy into my life.
Good thing he got all this newfound energy. We’d hate for for this fine gentleman to waste his breath–or time–on some ho-hum role that paid him many millions of dollars for his retirement.
Since he saw ‘Dune’ in the $1 movie theater as a kid, this guy has been a lover of geek culture. It wasn’t until he became a professional copywriter, ghostwriter, and speechwriter that he began to write about it (a lot).
From the gravitas of the Sith, the genius of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, or the gluttony of today’s comic fan, SPW digs intelligent debate about entertainment. He’s also addicted to listicles, storytelling, useless trivia, and the Oxford comma. And, he prefers his puns intended.
