Brett Goldstein has revealed he had just two weeks to train for his Thor: Love and Thunder cameo in which he played Hercules.
The Ted Lasso star’s brief appearance was kept secret – even from his own parents.
In a recent interview withThe Playlist, Goldstein said the call from Marvel came “literally out of the blue one night”.
“They turn around, and they reveal, ‘It’s Hercules; it’s you.’ And I went, ‘What?’ Just like, ‘Are you serious? Are you f***ing with me? Is this a wind-up?’” Goldstein said. “So yeah, it was as surprising to me as I think it has been to other people.”
The actor went on to share that he had early concerns about whether his physique matched up for what was expected of the role. “When I spoke to [director Taika Waititi], I said, ‘You know I’m basically like a skinny comedian?’”
To his shock, his scenes were set to start shooting in just a couple of weeks. He continued: “I said, ‘When is this filming?’ It was like in two weeks, and I was like, ‘I mean, I’ll do my best, but two weeks feels …’ I said, ‘He doesn’t have to be as big as Thor, does he?’
“And look, on the day, I mean, I’m doing 400 push-ups that day. I was fit to explode. I did the best I could on that day.”
In a past interview with Variety, Goldstein recalled sending his parents to the cinema to watch the movie while they were unaware he was in it.
Goldstein said that his mother was texting him continuously throughout the film, providing him with a “running commentary”.
“I’m like, ‘Just watch the film!’” he recalled. “It gets to the end bit, where it shows Russell Crowe… My mom texts me ‘Russell Crowe’s in it again, he’s very funny.’ I go, ‘F***ing look up at the screen!’”
You can read The Independent’s review of Thor: Love and Thunder here.
