One picture of Thor, the God of Thunder, sitting in a darkened Viking-style longhouse with his gut hanging over his waistband, beer in hand, hair matted, and eyes glazed went viral almost immediately after Avengers: Endgame debuted in theaters in April 2019. It was an amazing sight. Millions of people naturally wanted to know if Chris Hemsworth gained weight for Endgame or if there was another reason.
It turns out that the response is far more intriguing than a straightforward yes or no. Hemsworth didn’t put on any weight for the part. It wasn’t real at all. What viewers were witnessing was a painstakingly made fat suit made of silicone and latex, which was said to weigh between sixty and seventy pounds. The production team fitted him into this cumbersome, heavy costume every morning before the cameras rolled.
The transformation becomes less about biology and more about craft when you include a thick, unkempt beard, a long, disheveled wig, and a set of facial prosthetics intended to plump his cheeks. Weights were inserted into his shoes to modify his posture and gait, completing the illusion and giving “Fat Thor” a slower, heavier gait.
Instead of a physical makeover, the reason for the suit is something unglamorous but entirely pragmatic: scheduling. Filming for Infinity War and Endgame took place back-to-back, with the production teams working on both movies concurrently at times. Infinity War’s reshoots coincided with Endgame’s principal photography. Hemsworth’s schedule was so packed that he was unable to make any significant physical changes. It may have been necessary for him to appear as the beer-drinking recluse of New Asgard one day and as a slender, hammer-wielding Asgardian the next. Co-director Anthony Russo told CinemaBlend that a fat suit was practically the only choice.
Seeing a man who has spent years maintaining one of Hollywood’s most recognizable physiques climb into 70 pounds of silicone every morning is fascinating. It was uncomfortable, by all accounts. The suit was physically demanding; it was heavy on Hemsworth’s body, hard to move in, and apparently put a lot of strain on his back on longer shooting days. When people talk about the character, they hardly ever bring up that particular detail. The comedy performed brilliantly on screen. It was a lot of work behind the camera.
Many were taken aback by Hemsworth’s genuine enthusiasm for the entire endeavor. He welcomed the discomfort during interviews rather than complaining about it. He’s talked candidly about how freeing it was to portray a Thor who wasn’t constrained by physical perfection.
He even opposed the original script, which called for Thor to revert to his muscular body halfway through the movie, according to a Variety cover story. According to reports, Hemsworth argued that the emotional arc would be undermined if the fat suit was abandoned in the middle of the film. The decision to stick with “Fat Thor” from beginning to end gave the character something he had seldom had before: true vulnerability. The directors concurred.
The irony in this situation is difficult to ignore. Hemsworth felt most liberated as a performer wearing the same suit that came to represent Thor’s emotional collapse, his failure, his grief, and his unraveling. For a character whose entire arc in Endgame revolves around facing what lies beneath, that tension between surface and substance is strangely appropriate.
The “Fat Thor” appearance also provoked serious discussion about the movie’s treatment of the character’s weight. Some fans thought it was refreshing to see a superhero who broke down, lost interest, and appeared to be in real pain.
Others thought the movie relied too much on his appearance as comedic material, using his body as a punchline in an uncomfortable way. That dialog followed the character into Thor: Love and Thunder, where the character’s well-known muscular body was swiftly restored in a short training montage. A few fans expressed their disappointment publicly. The notion that Thor might continue to be heavy, learn to live in a different body, or carry his grief in a different way struck a chord with viewers in ways that the filmmakers may not have fully anticipated.
Whether or not Marvel was correct to reverse him, the original transformation’s artistry is still truly remarkable. None of it was an afterthought, including the fat suit, the prosthetics, the posture work, and the shoe weights. For Endgame, Chris Hemsworth didn’t put on any weight. However, it appeared to be entirely genuine. That’s evidence that the performance underneath was carrying more weight than any suit could have, or it’s a credit to the makeup department.
