'Pointless acting': Anthony Hopkins slams MCU movies despite reviving his career with 2011's 'Thor'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Anthony Hopkins is opening up on his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe more than ten years after making his on-screen debut as Odin in 2011's 'Thor'. Hopkins, 85, played Odin in the films 'Thor' (2011), 'Thor: The Dark World' (2013), and 'Thor: Ragnarok' (2017); nonetheless, he recently made some negative remarks about his role.
The actor discussed how the Marvel Cinematic Universe finally "swallowed" Hollywood as a whole in a lengthy interview with The New Yorker. Hopkins said, "They put me in armor; they shoved a beard on me. Sit on the throne, shout a bit. If you're sitting in front of a green screen, it's pointless acting it."
The actor's remarks followed a few weeks after which the first image of him in the role of Roman Emperor Vespasian for the upcoming series 'Those About To Die' leaked. Interestingly, Hopkins would later attribute keeping his acting career alive to getting the role in 2011's 'Thor' since he was pondering retirement at the time.
Kenneth Branagh offered Hopkins the motivation he required to keep performing, Hopkins claimed in the 2021 book 'The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe'. Hopkins said, "Branagh gave me back the chops to work. I was gonna give it up, really. But you see, [Branagh] won't let you do that, Working with Ken was quite an injection of new energy into my Life. He seems to have that same infectious quality on everybody in the crew. His enthusiasm, his attitude, is so positive, that he brings out the best in everybody."
Hopkins' involvement with the 'Thor' films may have soured after the first, given that Branagh opted not to return to helm either 2013's 'Thor: The Dark World' or 2017's 'Thor: Ragnarok' (directed by Taika Waititi). Other than the Thor franchise, Hopkins has been a part of 'Transformers: The Knight King' as well.
Regarding box office receipts and critical praise, the 2013 film 'Thor: The Dark World' and the 2011 film 'Thor' were regarded as among the "weakest" entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thor grossed $181 million domestically (ranking 28th out of 32 MCU films), and 'Thor: The Dark World' brought in $206 million domestically (ranking 26th out of 32 MCU films).
'Thor: The Dark World' received a 66% rating from critics, whereas the first 'Thor' had a 77% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 'Thor: Ragnarok', released in 2017, had a positive impact on both the box office ($853.9 million globally, $315 million domestic) and the critics (93% on Rotten Tomatoes).
Hopkins won his second Oscar for 'The Father' in 2021, and he returned to the character in 'The Son' the previous year. In addition, he will co-star with Helena Bonham Carter in 'One Life', and he portrays Sigmund Freud in 'Freud's Last Session', as per reports.