Furiosa BTS Video Shows Chris Hemsworth's Dementus Transformation - And It's Wild
When it comes to makeup, a lot of films still rely on practical effects to transform an actor — just ask Walton Goggins, who had his nose "removed" to play The Ghoul in the recent "Fallout" adaptation. As far as Chris Hemsworth, who plays antagonist Warlord Dementus in George Miller's new prequel "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga," getting his makeup done each day was an utter ordeal that took four hours.
Chris Hemsworth's 4-hour daily makeup process to become Dementus for 'FURIOSA' pic.twitter.com/mlBCgCxEDu
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 14, 2024
In a Variety feature focused on his co-star Anya Taylor-Joy, who plays the woman of the hour herself — and who also says that she spent a long time in the makeup chair to pack on fake dirt and blood as Furiosa — Hemsworth admitted that he found the entire prosthetic and makeup process irksome, but it also helped make his performance even more ... furious(a).
"I spent about four hours in the makeup chair," Hemsworth told the outlet while "groaning" (the story also compares his fake nose to the laborious one worn by Bradley Cooper in "Maestro"). "Twas justifiably irritated by the end of it. That really helped my performance-there was a nice amount of pent-up rage simmering under the surface." Hemsworth makes a good point — in "Furiosa," he plays somewhat against type as an evil warlord based on ancient Roman leaders. So how does Hemsworth feel about stepping away from superheroes and into the role of a true villain? Pretty great, as it turns out.
Chris Hemsworth's role in Furiosa helped shake up his career
In The Times UK, Chris Hemsworth addressed the fact that, after he originated the role of Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the first eponymous film in 2011, he played the character in eight subsequent movies (including standalone projects and crossover events). According to the interview, he did feel artistically stymied while playing the God of Thunder — and playing a villain in "Furiosa" has been good for him.
"I felt stuck in what I had been doing," Hemsworth said. "I'd run out of things to say creatively and 'Furiosa' reinvigorated the artistic energy that was dormant. I felt spent at the end of a day, rather than . . . " After pausing, Hemsworth concluded, "It's a departure."
After saying that he was bored of "himself" nor his opportunities, Hemsworth continued, "It all started to feel familiar. I'd done film upon film that fell into a similar space and I wasn't stretching myself. If you play a character again and again you owe it to the audience to bring something new and make it fresh for yourself too." The actor did note that he and Taika Waititi tried something new and exciting with "Thor: Ragnarok," but that they perhaps took it a little far in "Thor: Love & Thunder" ("For me it got a bit jokey. Too improv").
Recently, Chris Hemsworth took a break from acting
Whatever kind of character he's playing, it's nice to see Chris Hemsworth back in front of the camera again. In 2022, Hemsworth announced that he would take a breather from acting after learning, in his Disney+ original series "Limitless," he's genetically predisposed to the APOE4 gene — which makes one more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. As he notes in the interview with The Times, it's already affected members of his family, including his grandfather and his father, who he says is showing early signs of the illness. Understandably, Hemsworth stepped away from acting for a while to spend time with his wife, Elsa Pataky, and their three children.
Since returning to acting, Hemsworth has had a characteristically good attitude about the entire situation. After saying the gene certainly is a part of his family and he's watched its effects, he says he thinks he has time to continue acting and spend time with the family. "It's a couple of decades away, hopefully, before it's a problem," Hemsworth said. "And for it not to be a problem relies on the work I do now. There's no point waiting until 60 to look at preventative steps to ensure cognitive decline doesn't hit me."
You can see Hemsworth's performance, prosthetics and all, in "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" on May 25.