Robert Downey Jr. defends Chris Hemsworth's performance as Thor after Marvel ... trends now

Robert Downey Jr. defended Chris Hemsworth's performance as the Marvel superhero, Thor, in response to the Australian actor's criticism of the character. 

Hemsworth, 40 - who has been busy on a press tour for his upcoming film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - notably labeled Thor as 'replaceable' in the Avengers franchise in his recent cover story for Vanity Fair. 

However, the Oppenheimer star, 59 - who also played Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe - had an opposite opinion. 

Robert explained to the outlet, 'First off, Thor as a character was super tricky to adapt - lots of implied limitations - but he and Ken Branagh figured out how to transcend, make him somehow relatable but godlike.' 

'Hemsworth is, in my opinion, the most complex psyche out of all us Avengers,' the Oscar winner continued. 'He's got wit and gravitas, but also such restraint, fire and gentleness.'

Robert also called Hemsworth's work in Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame 'a formidable hat trick.' 

Elsewhere in the interview, Chris got candid about his frustrations with the character of Thor, stating, 'Sometimes I felt like a security guard for the team.' 

'I would read everyone else's lines, and go, "Oh, they got way cooler stuff. They're having more fun. What's my character doing?"' 

'It was always about, "You've got the wig on. You've got the muscles. You've got the costume. Where's the lighting?" Yeah, I'm part of this big thing, but I'm probably pretty replaceable,' the star expressed. 

In regards to the 2022 film, Thor: Love And Thunder, Chris explained that he, 'got caught up in the improv and the wackiness, and I became a parody of myself. I didn't stick the landing.' 

Both Downey Jr. and Hemsworth worked alongside each other over the years in the Avengers franchise from Avengers (2012) to Avengers: Endgame (2019). 

And Robert has previously shared his praise for Chris' performance as Thor, which Hemsworth revealed back in 2019 on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, per IndieWire. 

At the time, the Extraction actor recalled improvising an emotional scene in Endgame. 'And I think it ended with me saying, "I want a Bloody Mary," to Downey, and he said to me, "How do you feel?" I said, "Yeah, I forgot, it's pretty special."'