'I got very close!' Chris Hemsworth reveals the major Hollywood roles he missed out on that could have taken his career in a very different direction By Katie Storey For Daily Mail Australia Published: 00:25 BST, 5 June 2019 | Updated: 01:27 BST, 5 June 2019 3 Viewcomments He is arguably best known for playing Marvel Universe character Thor. But Chris Hemsworth's career could have taken a different direction, as he auditioned for two major Hollywood roles before being cast as the hammer-wielding superhero. The 35-year-old actor told Variety that he got 'very close' to playing GI Joe, and was also considered for the role of Gambit in the Wolverine movies. Scroll down for video Who knew? Chris Hemsworth says his career could have taken a very different direction if he was cast as GI Joe or Gambit in the Wolverine movies before eventually landing the role of Thor Both opportunities came at a time Chris was struggling to find work in the movie industry and was, by his own admission, 'running out of money'. 'I got very close to GI Joe. I got very close to Gambit in the Wolverine X-Men movies,' he explained. 'At the time I was upset [by the rejection]. But if I played either of those characters, I wouldn't have been able to play Thor.' Tough times: The actor admits he went through a period where has stuck for work and 'running out of money' before auditioning and successfully being cast as Thor (pictured above) Instead, Bruce Willis took on GI Joe, and Gambit has been played by a number of actors, including Channing Tatum and Taylor Kitsch, in the X-Men spin-offs. Chris had the last laugh when he landed the role of Thor, which his younger brother Liam also auditioned for, and is now one of Hollywood's most bankable leading men. He debuted as Thor in 2011 and went on to star in a handful of sequels and various other Avengers superhero movies. Different direction: Chris had auditioned for the role of Gambit in the Wolverine franchise (played by Taylor Kitsch above) as well as GI Joe, but missed out on both Last laugh: Chris' tough period didn't last too long, as he soon landed Thor in 2011 and has since appeared in three Thor movies, along with four Avengers films as part of his contract with Marvel The fourth and final Avengers movie, Endgame, was released in April and was a box office smash, grossing over US$1.2billion during its opening weekend. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chris earned up to US$20million for the final two Avengers films. Despite previously hinting that Avengers: Endgame marked the end of his contract with Marvel, it's rumoured Chris will be appearing in the third Guardians of the Galaxy film. Lucrative deal: The Hollywood Reporter reports Hemsworth earned between $15-20million (USD) for the final two Avengers films where he reprises his role as Thor - it was heavily hinted he is now joining the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Taking a break: Chris has said he doesn't want to shoot anything else this year, so he can be at home with his wife Elsa Pataky and their three children; daughter India, seven, and five-year-old twins Tristan and Sasha Read more: Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility