Robert Downey Jr. was on hand to playfully roast Chris Hemsworth as the Australian actor received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday (May 23).
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The pair both starred in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Downey Jr. playing Iron Man/Tony Stark and Hemsworth portraying the Norse god Thor.
After taking to the podium on Hollywood Boulevard, Downey Jr. began his speech by saying that he “can’t wait” to see Hemsworth in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the recently released Mad Max: Fury Road prequel from director George Miller. “This is going to be the film of 2024,” he said. “I can’t wait. I’m gonna see it three times.”
Downey Jr. went on to compliment Hemsworth by calling him a “remarkable human being” with a “contagious Aussie charm”. He added: “Chris is a bit daunting to describe. He’s very elusive because of the pretty packaging.
“However upon further inspection, down under, he has a true blue wit, and he has a depth of soul, and it has been my sincere pleasure to know you over these many years. You keep us Hollywood folks on our toes because you’re just a real dude.”
He then remarked: “Now, here comes the roast!” before explaining that he’d reached out to fellow Avengers cast members to ask them to describe Hemsworth in just three words.
He said Hawkeye actor Jeremy Renner had gone for: “Absurdly annoyingly amazing” while The Hulk star Mark Ruffalo “came in strong” with: “Friend from work.” The line is a reference to 2017’s Thor: Ragnorok, which Downey Jr acknowledged with a smile: “Oh that’s a callback, now I get it.”
Meanwhile, Scarlett Johansson, who plays Black Widow, called Hemsworth a “sensitive leading lady”, and Captain America actor Chris Evans described him as: “Second best Chris”.
Following the roast, Hemsworth gave a short speech thanking his family for their support before his star was unveiled.
Earlier this month, Downey Jr. revealed that he disagrees with Hemsworth’s criticism of his own performance in Thor: Love And Thunder.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Hemsworth suggested that his character became a “parody” of himself in the 2022 film, and that he “didn’t stick the landing.”
However, in the same interview, Downey Jr. expressed his belief that Thor contained the “most complex psyche” of any of the central Avengers characters.
“First off, Thor as a character was super tricky to adapt—lots of implied limitations—but he and Ken Branagh figured out how to transcend, make him somehow relatable but godlike,” he said.
“Hemsworth is, in my opinion, the most complex psyche out of all us Avengers. He’s got wit and gravitas, but also such restraint, fire, and gentleness.”
