When they first came face to face in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor and Iron Man were at each other’s throats even though they later became friends. It turns out that the actors playing these characters--Chris Hemsworth and Robert Downey Jr--had a similar equation starting out.
This surprising revelation was made by their MCU co-star Jeremy Renner in a recent interaction, where he said Robert was jealous of Chris when he first met him. Jeremy played Hawkeye in the Marvel films and is currently headlining his own web series. It was in the 2012 film Avengers when these three--as well as Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, and Scarlett Johansson--came together.
In a recent interaction with actor Dax Shephard on the Armchair Expert podcast, Jeremy revealed that being Australian and virtually unknown in Hollywood before Thor, Chris Hemsworth was an unknown commodity for all of them.
He said, “If you ever played any sports, it was like joining a new team. I knew Robert Downey Jr. I knew Scarlett Johansson. I just didn’t know Hemsworth,” Jeremy said while recounting his experience of first meeting the cast members on Avengers.
However, while everyone else was warming up to Chris, Jeremy revealed that Robert was more threatened. He shared, “On the first day, we’re all parading around in our costumes. So, it looks like it’s Halloween. We’re excited, but equally feeling ridiculous. I feel like we all knew each other somehow, someway, except we didn't know this Hemsworth guy, because he comes from Australia. And he’s the tallest, he's the most good-looking… Downey was like, ‘We gotta break his knee. We gotta take him out. This guy’s too good-looking. He’s too tall, he’s too charming, f*** this guy.'”
{{/usCountry}}However, while everyone else was warming up to Chris, Jeremy revealed that Robert was more threatened. He shared, “On the first day, we’re all parading around in our costumes. So, it looks like it’s Halloween. We’re excited, but equally feeling ridiculous. I feel like we all knew each other somehow, someway, except we didn't know this Hemsworth guy, because he comes from Australia. And he’s the tallest, he's the most good-looking… Downey was like, ‘We gotta break his knee. We gotta take him out. This guy’s too good-looking. He’s too tall, he’s too charming, f*** this guy.'”
{{/usCountry}}Also read: Before Loki, did you know Tom Hiddleston auditioned to play Thor? Watch here
The Avengers ended up being the most successful Marvel film up to that point, grossing $1.5 billion at the box office. It has since spawned three sequels, each earning over a billion dollars.