Chris Hemsworth is very well-known for his role as Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Throughout his time playing the character, he found his greatest success playing the God of Thunder as a human, fallible, and often comedic character. Unlike other standout actors who were members of the original Avengers, like Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr., his character is slated to appear in upcoming movies in the MCU. In fact, according to Giant Freakin Robot, Hemsworth recently extended his Marvel contract for three more MCU movies. It’s more than likely we haven’t seen the full extent to which Hemsworth and Marvel can push the character of Thor Odinson, with Thor: Love and Thunder especially promising to explore him even more alongside Natalie Portman's Jane Foster.
It would, of course, be unfair to say his time playing Thor was his only interesting role. Hemsworth has made a dramatic evolution from a serviceable action leading man to specializing in comedic action films, where, regardless of the quality of the movie, he gives an entertaining performance. Though most of the roles hinge on that personal charisma, many of them showed the actor could explore new challenges like playing a villain or playing a real historical figure in a biopic. Hemsworth, at his best, is a magnetic actor who wins over audiences with his charm and works to bring out the best in well-written dialogue. These are his best performances, ranked.
6 Star Trek (2009)
Hemsworth appears in only a small sliver of Star Trek, but in that short window, he shows some of his skills with drama. Hemsworth played George T. Kirk, father of protagonist James T. Kirk, in the opening flashback of the movie. George's ship is attacked by time-traveling Romulans, and the heroic captain evacuates the ship and then goes down with it in an attempt to keep the Romulans distracted from the evacuation. There's an especially touching moment where George's wife, evacuated onto a shuttle, gives birth to James, and there is a look of realization on his face when he hears the baby's voice through the ship's communicator. Hemsworth gives a rare, purely dramatic performance in this intro flashback and though it is brief, it is one of the highlights of the film.
5 Men in Black: International
Speaking of reboots, in Men in Black: International, Hemsworth plays the washed-up London-based Agent H. Agent M drags him into a perilous adventure to save the world from alien parasites known as The Hive. Despite the movie being a disappointment at the box office, Hemsworth played an amusingly messy foil to Tessa Thompson's more straight-laced Agent M, who also was a highlight. The duo make an effective team, as proven in 2017 with Thor: Ragnarok, with Thompson's wonder at the sci-fi world around her being offset by Hemsworth's blasé attitude.Though he isn't necessarily stretching himself with this role, as Agent H, Hemsworth displays his comedic strengths and ability to work well with other stars on screen.
4 MCU Pre-Thor: Ragnarok
Previous to the movie Thor: Ragnarok, Chris Hemsworth played the God of Thunder Thor in the movies Thor, Thor 2: The Dark World and both The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron. In these movies, he portrays the arc of a Thor who is learning to connect with humankind, while also dealing with the tricks and plots of his brother Loki. There is much to praise in Thor: Ragnarok when it comes to re-inventing Thor as a character, but there are some key moments in the character's history previous to that re-invention that really shine. In Thor, his argument with Anthony Hopkins' Odin is evidence of his ability to deliver good drama with another strong actor in the scene. Then, of course, there's the iconic scene where he smashes a glass and yells for another drink in a diner. Though this version of Thor has been reworked, Hemsworth's time with him has left a mark on the MCU.
3 Rush
Chris Hemsworth stars as Formula One racer James Hunt in Rush, a movie about the rivalry between Hunt and Austrian driver Nikki Lauda, played by Daniel Brühl. Once again, this is a display of Hemsworth's ability to work well with another actor and to have excellent chemistry on screen with them. Brühl and Hemsworth are both Marvel alums, with both being cast to play to their strengths. Hemsworth plays a reckless but exuberant James Hunt, while Brühl plays an exacting and precise Nikki Lauda, with the two being perfect foils for one another. According to The Guardian, Rush may have mostly fabricated the hatred the two racers had for one another, but that conflict, real or not, was depicted superbly by Brühl and Hemsworth.
Besides his chemistry with Brühl, Hemsworth's performance as Hunt is at its best when the Formula One racer is at his worst. Hemsworth's acting as Hunt really shines in arguments with his wife, when he's taking pot-shots at Lauda or when he's blowing up at his track team. Rush shows a Hemsworth who can play a character who's a good deal less likeable than the lovable God of Thunder, but he has enough charm that the performance engages you either way.
2 Bad Times at the El Royale
Bad Times at the El Royale is the story of six strangers in 1959 in the El Royale hotel, each of them harboring dark secrets. Hemsworth comes to the hotel later, playing a cruel if charismatic cult leader named Billy Lee. Hemsworth plays a surprisingly dark and threatening villain in the latter parts of the movie, given that most of his roles have been heroic and light-hearted. Hemsworth plays Billy Lee with both an unpredictable cruelty and a cold indifference to human life. In many ways, Billy Lee re-contextualizes the usual strengths of a Hemsworth performance, taking the comedic banter and charm that he usually brings to a role and turning it into something sinister.
1 MCU Post-Thor: Ragnarok
For the movies Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and likely in future MCU projects, Hemsworth's Thor looks wildly different from his time as the character previously. Now, this Thor is a lot more loose and jokey, but also seemingly haunted by trauma. Over the course of the previous movies and the beginning of Ragnarok, Thor lost his mother, his brother betrayed him, and his father died as well. Thor's journey becomes an exploration into how he tries to repress and then deal with that pain.
If you only knew Hemsworth from the MCU, you might find this nuance beyond his range, but in reality, Ragnarok is a culmination of what makes Hemsworth great in other roles. In Taika Waititi, he is working with a director able to work very well with someone who can deliver off-the-cuff humor, a fact that he himself admitted made Hemsworth happy with Waititi's much-needed takeover of the Thor movies. In a movie with Tessa Thomson, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, and even Jeff Goldblum, he is given plenty of co-stars who can complement his energy with impeccable chemistry. The two Avengers movies also do well to build off these strengths with Thor, putting him with the ever lovable Guardians of the Galaxy.