- Angela Bassett said she feels "sorry' that Anthony Hopkins had to just act in front of greenscreens.
- Hopkins once said making "Thor" was "pointless acting" that didn't require much skill.
Angela Bassett said that she feels "sorry for" Anthony Hopkins after the "Thor" actor famously criticized his Marvel filming experience.
In the past, Hopkins reportedly wrote "N.A.R." (no acting required) on his script for the first "Thor" movie after reading it. In 2021, Hopkins elaborated by telling the New Yorker that it is "pointless acting" when you're just sitting in front of a green screen.
In a new interview with the New Yorker, Bassett, who has appeared in three Marvel movies, was asked about Hopkins' comments. She said that, unlike Hopkins, she was able to act in real locations instead of in front of a green screen.
"Well, here's the thing. It was there," she said. "The throne room was there, the floor of red clay, the elevation with the Dora Milaje flanking around, the grand doors that they walk through. So maybe you don't see the world of Wakanda, but we had that."
The 2023 Oscar nominee continued: "When Shuri and I went out into the wild, we had trees and bushes and water for yards and yards and yards, and Namor came up out of the water and flew to us. We had the entire ship, and the attention to detail inside of it was just magnificent. So I had it much better than Anthony Hopkins. I'm sorry for him."
Despite Hopkins' criticism, the actor appeared in three "Thor" movies before his character was killed off in 2017's "Thor: Ragnarok."
Hopkins told the New Yorker in 2021 about his "no acting required" critique: "I try to apply it to everything I do: no acting required. On 'Thor,' you have Chris Hemsworth — who looks like Thor — and a director like Kenneth Branagh, who is so certain of what he wants. They put me in armor; they shoved a beard on me. Sit on the throne; shout a bit."
Hopkins added: "If you're sitting in front of a green screen, it's pointless acting it. Gregory Peck was doing 'Moby Dick,' and one of the props guys found his script on the set. He opened it up and Gregory Peck had written on a certain page, 'N.A.R.'"
Bassett is currently nominated for best supporting actress at the Academy Awards for her performance as Queen Ramonda in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." She is the first actor to receive an Oscar nomination for a Marvel movie.
"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" is available to stream on Disney+.