Chris Hemsworth says Marvel criticism from his 'heroes' Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese is 'super depressing': 'I guess they're not a fan of me'
- Chris Hemsworth has addressed criticisms of the Marvel Cinematic Universe made by top filmmakers.
- Scorsese has dubbed MCU movies "not cinema" and Tarantino said the actors aren't real movie stars.
Chris Hemsworth addressed the unfavorable comments from Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino about actors in superhero films, describing their criticism as "super depressing."
Speaking in a new GQ interview, the actor, who has starred in nine Marvel movies since 2011's "Thor," was asked about the criticisms of the MCU by filmmakers including Scorsese and Tarantino, the latter of whom has said that Marvel actors aren't real movie stars.
"That's super depressing when I hear that," Hemsworth said. "There goes two of my heroes I won't work with. I guess they're not a fan of me."
The 39-year-old actor, who last played the Mjölnir-wielding hero in 2022's "Thor: Love and Thunder," went on to defend Marvel, saying he was "thankful" to have been "part of something that kept people in cinema."
"Now, whether or not those films were to the detriment of other films, I don't know," he continued. "I don't love when we start scrutinizing each other when there's so much fragility in the business and in this space of the arts as it is."
Hemsworth said that Scorsese and Tarantino are "still my heroes" and added: "In a heartbeat I would leap to work with any of them. But I say it more to the broader opinion around that topic. I don't think any of us have the answer, but we're trying."
During an appearance on the "2 Bears, 1 Cave" podcast in November, Tarantino said that he doesn't believe there are any movie stars in Hollywood anymore and said the MCU was partly to blame.
"Part of the Marvel-ization of Hollywood is… you have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters. But they're not movie stars. Right? Captain America is the star. Or Thor is the star," said the filmmaker.
"I mean, I'm not the first person to say that, I think that's been said a zillion times," the two-time Oscar winner added. "But it's these franchise characters that become a star."
Meanwhile, Scorsese has also been vocal about his distaste for Marvel films, saying in 2019 that to him they are "not cinema."
He told Empire magazine: "Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn't the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being."
The "Goodfellas" and "Taxi Driver" filmmaker later expanded upon his criticism in an article for The New York Times, where he argued that while "many of the elements that define cinema as I know it are there in Marvel pictures," ultimately "what's not there is revelation, mystery or genuine emotional danger."
"Nothing is at risk," he added. "The pictures are made to satisfy a specific set of demands, and they are designed as variations on a finite number of themes."