Stunt performers are arguably the most overlooked and underappreciated aspects of any major production, with the men and women involved putting their bodies and also lives on the line in the name of our entertainment, even though they rarely get the recognition that they undoubtedly deserve, with calls made for the Academy Awards to recognize stunt work having fallen on deaf ears for years now.
Of course, some of the biggest names in the business use a regular stunt double on the majority of their films, which poses problems for the stand-in when the actor in question needs to either gain or lose weight for a role. For instance, Dwayne Johnson likes to keep it in the family, with his cousin Tanoai Reed having doubled for him since The Scorpion King, although it’s helped by the fact that Reed also happens to be a huge dude.
Things have proven to be a lot trickier for Bobby Holland Hanton, though, Chris Hemsworth’s Marvel Cinematic Universe double dating back to Thor: The Dark World, who also teamed with the actor for In the Heart of the Sea, Bad Times at the El Royale, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Men in Black: International and Extraction.
Hemsworth’s weight fluctuated across the aforementioned projects from his emaciated look in Ron Howard’s seafaring drama to the MCU’s hulking Odinson, and in a new interview, Hanton admitted that it’s been causing him some difficulties trying to keep up with his calorie intake and intense workout regimen for Thor: Love and Thunder.
“Everyone is like, ‘Wow look at the size and him’, but I text him like, ‘Thanks very much dude, you’ve just made this even harder’. Every two hours we’re eating. It’s become a chore. It’s full on. I don’t enjoy eating at all. He’s the biggest Thor he’s ever been, so I have to be the biggest I’ve ever been, which is a challenge, but I’m up for it. Look at him, he’s a man-mountain.”
The training photos already showed us the sort of terrifying shape that Hemsworth’s gotten into, which is a far cry from Avengers: Endgame‘s fat suit, and Hanton may end up having a word in his ear to ask him if he might consider playing a character that isn’t jacked beyond belief when Thor: Love and Thunder wraps so that he can take it a little easier.