CBR: Anthony Hopkins to play Odin in "Thor"

[CBR News]

Actor Anthony Hopkins is reported to be in talks to play Odin, Leader of the Asgardians and father to the title character in Kenneth Branagh's "Thor," based on the Marvel comics character.


Full article here (http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=23523).

[Dave Bennett]

Poor choice. No imposing physical presence.

Don't tell me about costuming and 'enhancements'.

Never liked the guy. I thought he declared he was resigning from performing ten years ago :confused: :confused:

[Forseti]

So no Brian Blessed then. That's a disappointment. :frown:

[Phil Clark]

I personally am hyped by this. Hopkins is a superb actor, and he has the chops to really make you believe he is the king of the gods. And while Dave doesn't want to hear it, costuming, camera angles and special effects will make him the most imposing character in the film. This is probably the best news yet for the Thor film. This is going to be truly EPIC.

I am more concerned with the casting of Thor himself. There is a character that needs to be physically imposing, just absolutely massive.

[Phil Clark]

So no Brian Blessed then. That's a disappointment. :frown:

I think Blessed would make a better Volstagg.

[fireSTRIKE!]

a prestigious and well-respected actor, but I think a total miscast as Odin... the regal presence is just not there... Sir Anthony just doesn't project it... but hey, who knows?... stranger things have happened...

[Kirayoshi]

So no Brian Blessed then. That's a disappointment. :frown:
It's a Kenneth Bannaugh movie, of course Brian Blessed's in there somewhere.

[Legato]

Not who I would have cast as Odin but I believe in that Anthony would make the role work. All I care about is if the guy they got to play as Thor will do justice with the character.

[The Black Guardian]

Best choice ever, imo.

[StoneGold]

He already kinda sorta played him once, Beowulf. I know, cheat, but still. I get the feeling this is kind of like when Simmons was cast as JJJ over the at the time fan favorite choice of R. Lee Ermey.

[Gordon Smith]

Best choice ever, imo.

If Christopher Lee wasn't pushing the ninety year mark, I would have preferred him in the role, but I can certainly live with Hopkins playing the part of Odin.

[Andreas Tanis]

Great choice, can't wait to see him in the role. He's a fantastic actor.

[Cloudman]

Of course I wanted to see Brian Blessed as Odin, but Anthony Hopkins is a very good actor nevertheless, so I'm sure he'll pull it off.

[Ontir]

An excellent choice!

Have they announced Loki? Allan Cumming would be fantastic!

[lonewolf23k]

The man has played Shakespere (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pT_NAJZ9so), so I imagine he can handle an Asgardian King.

[Sean Walsh]

It's a Kenneth Bannaugh movie, of course Brian Blessed's in there somewhere.

I'm hoping Hopkins' inclusion is solely because Branagh woke up one night and yelled out "GOOD LORD, BRIAN LOOKS JUST LIKE VOLSTAGG! WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!"

[Wolf-Man]

I guess we know what Odin will be like then, since Hopkins is exactly the same, in every role he's in.

[Jared]

Reading some of these posts has me concerned that I may have stumbled into some parrelel universe in which Anthony Hopkins is *not* a superb actor.

Brian Blessed would have made a fine Odin, I'm sure. But Anthony Hopkins recognizability is actually an asset here. The audience expects him to be a character of major heft and stature.

[Dave Bennett]

Reading some of these posts has me concerned that I may have stumbled into some parrelel universe in which Anthony Hopkins is *not* a superb actor.


Yes -- you need to go back to the one from which you came, where Hopkins may be liked by those impressed with awards.

Over here AH is always AH and rarely inhabits his character.

[Wolf-Man]

Hopkins is a bit like Connery. No matter which part they are playing, they are pretty much always the same person. Like Connery in Red October, being the Russian submarine accent but still with the Connery accent.

Hopkins was terrible at being from New Zealand in The Last Indian. He played the part of "old guy" well, because he's an old guy. He was just being Hopkins. Sure, he's good at the Shakespeare roles and he was wonderful as Hannibal, but he's always Hopkins.

I don't dislike him, but he's utterly predictable.

[Legato]

I would agree with this since I remember in that movie Instinct that his character he was playing seemed more like Hannibal than the character he was supposed to portray as. He performed well in that but he was channling Hannibal and himself in that movie

[twilight]

Should've been Rip Torn.

I'm only 50% joking.

-Twi

[Titan76]

I guess we know what Odin will be like then, since Hopkins is exactly the same, in every role he's in.
I don't remember him eating people's brains in Mask of Zorro or Nixon.

[Wolf-Man]

It's in the dvd extras.

[StoneGold]

I don't remember him eating people's brains in Mask of Zorro or Nixon.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_sjmxrHygBno/SQWMTADpx7I/AAAAAAAAB8w/J_KZhpvKjjI/s400/1_zombienixon.jpg

[M. Bushbug]

Hopkins was terrible at being from New Zealand in The Last Indian. He played the part of "old guy" well, because he's an old guy. He was just being Hopkins. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151300/

I don't know about you, but someone born New Years Eve 1937 plays an old man in a movie that's released June 24th 1938? That's an excellent actor.

[Wolf-Man]

I meant The World's Fastest Indian but the point still stands.

[meethraa]

Reading some of these posts has me concerned that I may have stumbled into some parrelel universe in which Anthony Hopkins is *not* a superb actor.

It's a strange, sometimes disturbing universe known as "the internet", where everyone's an expert on everything.

[invasionforce]

Anthony Hopkins is a good actor, but I think anyone who plays Odin has to have an imposing and robust physical presence. The actor who plays Odin has to be believable doing things like leaping on top of a stallion and throwing a battle axe at someone. Perhaps an actor who is in good shape and maybe in his 50’s, although no one comes to mind off the top of my head.

[Treqqor]

I don't remember him eating people's brains in Mask of Zorro or Nixon.

And he certainly wasn't doing the same when befriending John Merrick. He was quite the opposite character, in fact.

Maybe people keep watching the same movie over and over again forgetting it's identical?

[Wolf-Man]

Yes, that's exactly what we're doing. We're watching the same movie over and over again and forgetting it's identical. You're exactly right.

[Phil Clark]

Anthony Hopkins is a good actor, but I think anyone who plays Odin has to have an imposing and robust physical presence. The actor who plays Odin has to be believable doing things like leaping on top of a stallion and throwing a battle axe at someone. Perhaps an actor who is in good shape and maybe in his 50’s, although no one comes to mind off the top of my head.

In the Thor comics I remember, Odin never did any of that stuff. And costuming, camera angle and effects can do wonders. After all, John Ryhes Davies isn't a four foot tall dwarf, but it was totally believable in LOTR. Same with say... all the Hobbits. It is far more important with todays technology that they find someone able to act, and portray the part than it is to have someone with the exact stature needed for the roll.

[Aeltri]

Yes -- you need to go back to the one from which you came, where Hopkins may be liked by those impressed with awards.

Over here AH is always AH and rarely inhabits his character.

Haha, good reply :cool: . I feel like those of us who aren't crazy about AH as Odin are sadly, a minority. He's not a bad actor but he has been in so many similar roles recently it's just ridiculous. Did he give his left kidney to some big Hollywood mogul? It's not enough AH played Hrothgar, Wolfman's dad, Thor's dad, he's even slated to play King Lear as well :evilangry:! It's stunt casting at it's finest folks, let's just hope Branagh and co. have enough sense to hire lesser known actors that actually fit the part from now on. I don't much care for Natalie Portman, but whatever...until I found out AH and SJ were in it, then I nearly had an apoplectic fit. There's only so much one can take, you know.

Oh and if they don't consult with the likes of Walt Simonson this movie runs an even greater risk of adaptation decay :frown: . It's like when you look at the work of some new comic book writer, notice the way some of your favorite old characters are portrayed and sit there thinking "WTF? So and so would never do that! Why, that's completely against their established personality!" This seems to happen most often with intellect driven villains, but in the hands of a truly skilled writer you should barely notice a difference.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b362/aimelek/ohno.jpg

[Phil Clark]

Marvel has a good track record running their own franchises so far, so I give them the benefit of the doubt. Besides, how many times do you get an academy award winning director WANTING to direct a comic book movie? Everyone needs to remember that a few years ago we all said "Heath Ledger? As the Joker?!?!? The Dark Knight is gonna blow! Nolan doesn't know what he's doin'."

Boy were we ever wrong.

[Aeltri]

'Dark Knight' was exceptional for a comic book movie because it didn't suck. 'Iron Man' was ok, 'Thor' however is probably going to be the hardest of Marvel's IPs to get right. Why? Because of it's literally like LOTR meets NYC. When you start mixing disparate genres like that things can get really cheesy. If Branagh pulls it off then great, but considering the direction this movie seems to be going in I am trying not to get too hopeful. I read the original script in it's entirety, before the modern elements were added and even then there were things that struck me as being off. That's precisely why involving the best veteran 'Thor' writers is so very important, they know the material the film is being based on far better than Joe Screenwriter.

[mgs]

He already kinda sorta played him once, Beowulf.
that's what I was thinking.

yeah, he was pretty good in that short role, even if it was animation. :smile:

[Jmacq1]

Hopkins playing the same persona every time he's on-screen? Hogwash.

His voice and the cadence of his speech remain pretty constant, but that's about it. In that regard he's no different from thousands of other actors out there. I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but Hannibal Lecter and Burt Munro aren't the same character. He absolutely gives them different mannerisms and (feigned) emotional responses.

Is he overused? Maybe. But quantity doesn't necessarily negate quality.

[Kamen Raida]

I would very much prefer Blessed.

Not to knock Hopkins but this really seems to be more out of using Hopkins as a go-to old guy then wether or not he really fits the part at all.

[Phil Clark]

But Blessed fits the part of Volstagg far better than Odin.

http://6.media.tumblr.com/Ny1sourqkqwegeo1ImbS5BTVo1_400.jpg

http://www.immortalthor.net/bio-volstagg.jpg

[Salvester]

The thing I'm hearing here is, and I might be reading betwen the lines is basically

"Anthony Hopkins doesn't have a beard! He can't be Odin."


Is that it?

[Phil Clark]

I read it as "Hopkins is too little to play Odin" which is total Shite for reasons I have already stated. I think he will play it beautifully.

[hugh45]

So what characters still need to be cast? I read somewhere that they was going to dump the whole Asgardian angle and just focus on earth because of the budget. Was that ever true?

[Treqqor]

HUGH JACKMAN IS TOO SHORT TO PLAY WOLVERINE!!!!

Wait... which casting news are we prematurely objecting to again?