Chris Hemsworth is happy to appear in "gratuitous" topless scenes.
The Hollywood hunk has reprised the role of Marvel superhero Thor in the Taika Waititi-directed ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ and Chris has admitted he didn’t have any qualms with displaying his chiselled physique in the movie.
After reading an early version of the film’s script, Chris remembers thinking: "Oh great, no shirt-off scene! I don’t have to do that programme."
Chris, 34, subsequently spoke to the director about the issue, and Taika insisted his movie didn’t "need" for the Australian star to show off his toned torso.
However, during an interview with SiriusXM, Chris admitted the director’s opinion changed shortly afterwards.
He recalled: "A few weeks later, he’s like, ‘No, we need to do it. Let’s get your gear off. Exploit yourself.’"
Taika reasoned that Chris needed to take his top off for the movie, otherwise the time he’d spent getting into tip-top shape to play Thor would have been wasted.
The director quipped: "You kind of need to show it off. It’s a disservice to humanity to hide it … it’s a waste of push-ups.
"It’s so gratuitous. There are, like, eight [shirtless] shots in a row where there’s nothing happening in the story."
Despite Taika performing a U-turn on the issue, Chris insisted he had no problem with the director’s attitude.
He confessed: "To go from ‘we’re not doing a shirtless scene’ to that was, I feel incredibly exploited – but I’m OK."
Earlier this year, meanwhile, Chris revealed he finds it increasingly difficult to cope with the physical demands of playing Thor.
The actor has starred as the iconic comic book character since 2011, but Chris confessed that at the age of 34, his body is no longer as resilient to the stresses and strains of getting in shape as it once was.
He said: "What you notice as time passes is that your joints and other bits take a beating. You start to go, ‘Ah, that never used to hurt when I lifted that!”"
Chris Hemsworth: I’m OK appearing in ‘gratuitous’ topless scenes
