Thor. Kenneth Branagh. It’s not an obvious pairing, is it? As it happens, the Shakespearean overtones of the Thor “legend” – Viking royalty, sibling rivalry, dominant father – suit Branagh’s knowledge and experience well. Even so, Kenneth is the first to admit that he wasn’t an obvious choice to direct the blockbuster movie.
“It was a great surprise to be considered for it,” admits the director. “And then to go up for the job and get it...
“Some of the story elements - you wouldn’t be surprised - interested me in terms of those problems in royal families that have,” he grins, “been in some of the rest of the work I’ve done. But the great mystery of visual effects, CGI and 3D, developing stories that are part of a universe that’s fiercely protected by the people who have worked so hard to create it, that was quite something. I was putting myself way out of my comfort zone, but it was a thrillingly bumpy ride.”
Although aware of the character – “As a kid, growing up in Belfast, I remember seeing this very colourful, very dynamic comic” – Branagh would admit he’s not an expert. While it could have been daunting, he claims to have revelled in the challenge. “I love the passion and the debate that’s attached to this material – to have that many people interested in what you’re doing, it’s an absolute thrill, believe me. I’ve sometimes been trying to promote films where that hasn’t been the case!
“You can spend quite a lot of time with a real fan talking about helmets, helmet length, type of helmet, type of horn, type of metal, which powers it has, which world it could survive in, which worlds it couldn’t survive in!” says Branagh, laughing. “We hope that there are lots of things in there for fans but we also wanted to have the film open to people who weren’t aware of these characters or the Marvel universe of anything.
Having spent time with the fans at Comic-Con, the huge US comic convention, Kenneth also felt a lot of empathy for Marvel’s more dedicated readers.
“A lot of people reminded me of what I was like when I was 16, 17, 18 and discovering that I loved being an actor and was travelling to Stratford-upon-Avon to watch plays. I was obsessive, fanatical, and I’ve retained some of that even now. So, none of the intensity of feeling threw me [but] if we were to listen to every passionate fan about how to make the film, there would be thousands and thousands of different films.
“The pressure from purists has always been there. But you know you can’t please everyone but you hope you can entertain everyone.”
Kenneth has successfully balanced his career as an actor and a director, but cheerfully acknowledges it’s not been particularly planned.
“I try and follow my instinct, for what I think will make me feel passionate and engage me and I follow that. It’s not a question of ‘oh, I’ll direct’ or ‘now I’ll act’ because life doesn’t work like that, it’s just where does one’s sort of artistic instinct take one, and it’s still taking me to both places. “
“Actually, as an actor one of the most exciting things is working with Chris [Hemsworth, the young actor playing Thor] and the more established members of the cast like Tony [Hopkins] and Natalie [Portman]. There’s a great thrill in watching how other people do it. As an actor, it’s a great privilege and it actually sends me back into acting with fantastic relish and ready to steal everything that I’ve learned from these guys.”
Learning is clearly a two way street although Kenneth laughs off the suggestion of giving his younger stars advice.
“The best piece of advice sounds so corny: ‘try and follow your instinct.’ It’s easy to say, hard to do. It’s a funny thing about advice in this business, you don’t really want any, do you? Nobody does. You might say ‘I’ve got an important decision to make... I don’t know what to do...’ but that’s essentially a version of: ‘But enough about me, what did you think of my performance?’!”
Thor is on general release from April 22, 2011.