Chris Hemsworth was "running out of money" before he landed the role of ‘Thor’.
The 35-year-old actor – who kickstarted his acting career in 2004 when he secured the part of Kim Hyde in the Australian soap ‘Home and Away’ – got to the point where he was auditioning for roles back to back because he was desperate to bring in some cash for his family but he kept getting rejected because he was trying so hard.
Speaking to Variety magazine, the heartthrob – who first played the hammer-wielding God in 2011 – explained: "A big reason I started acting was because I loved film and TV, but it was like we had no money.
"I wanted to pay off their [his parents’] house, initially. That was my sort of thing. I almost put too much pressure on myself. If I hadn’t taken it upon myself to take care of my family, I might have been more relaxed.
"I remember I had an audition right before Christmas one year, where things were not going good. I’d stopped getting callbacks, and I was getting worse feedback. I thought, ‘God, why did I do this?’"
"I got very close to ‘GI Joe’. I got very close to Gambit in the Wolverine ‘X-Men’ movies. At the time I was upset. I was running out of money. But if I played either of those characters, I wouldn’t have been able to play Thor."
Although his acting career was touch and go at one point, the ‘Rush’ star is now in a position where he can turn down roles in order to spend time with his wife Elsa Pataky and their children; India, seven, and five-year-old twins Sasha and Tristan.
He said recently: "This year I probably won’t shoot anything. I just want to be at home now with my kids.
"They are at a very important age. They are still young and they are aware when I leave more than before."