Entertainment- Brett Goldstein spoke to The Playlist about how his "Thor: Love and Thunder" cameo came about.
- Goldstein said that he had about two weeks to prepare before filming his end-credits scene as Hercules.
"Ted Lasso" star Brett Goldstein said that he had limited time to get in shape for his end-credits cameo in "Thor: Love and Thunder."
The Emmy-winning actor detailed how he was cast as Hercules in the fourth standalone "Thor" film, directed by Taika Waititi and starring Chris Hemsworth, in a new interview with The Playlist. The actor and writer said that "it was just so surreal" because Marvel Studios' interest came "out of the blue one night" and he was busy with other projects.
When he met with the studio via Zoom, he was unsure about what they wanted to speak to him about.
Goldstein said that Marvel described the end-credits scene to him, which revealed that Russell Crowe's Zeus was actually alive and that he wanted his son, Hercules, to make humans "fear" gods again.
"They turn around and they reveal 'It's Hercules; it's you,'" Goldstein said. "And I went, 'What?' Just like, 'Are you serious? Are you fucking with me? Is this a wind-up?' So yeah, it was as surprising to me as I think it has been to other people."
Similar to other actors who have gotten ripped for their roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the actor said that he had to physically prepare.
"When I spoke to Taika, I said, 'You know I'm basically like a skinny comedian?'" Goldstein recalled. "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."
The end-credits scene of "Thor: Love and Thunder" teased more storytelling possibilities for the titular God of Thunder. The film also concluded with a title card that confirmed that Thor will return, but no follow-up projects have been announced yet.
It's unclear when Goldstein will return as Hercules, but the actor said that he was "surprised and delighted" by the "positive response" from fans regarding his appearance.
"Who knows if anything will come of it, who knows, but it was a fun thing to do and I'm pleased that people seem to have enjoyed it," he said.