See Chris Hemsworth As Hulk Hogan
Chris Hemsworth is playing famous wrestler/actor Hulk Hogan in a new movie,
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Hulk Hogan was a character creation of Terry Bollea who created the look and persona to worldwide appeal inside the wrestling ring starting in the 1980s. That Bollea ended up fully embracing the character so much that he basically became the guy makes is weird on its own. It’s all that much weirder that now a different actor will play the character who was originally created as a character. Follow all of that? It’s quite meta. But that’s exactly what’s happening with Chris Hemsworth set to star as the blond-haired, Fu Manchu-ed, bandanaed, tanktop ripper.
We have our first glimpse of what Hemsworth could look like as Hulk Hogan, courtesy of BossLogic. Check it out from these recent social media posts.
Hemsworth, in preparation to portray Hulk Hogan, looks absolutely jacked in these pictures. If one thought he had taken the physical and muscular transformation to new ends when he played Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, think again. Hemsworth is ripped in these workout pics and looks like he’s even bulked up in order to enter the wrestling ring.
For what it’s worth too, Hulk Hogan (the real guy) weighed in with his own thoughts on the actor’s transformation. Hogan took to Twitter to give his voice of approval for what Hemsworth did to, ahem, embody the role. Hogan, in answering the question no one asked, said Hemsworth was “already there” in looking the part.
It was announced last year that Netflix would be making a Hulk Hogan biopic and that they had tapped Chris Hemsworth to star in the titular role. Hogan himself is on as executive producer which does beg the question around just how into the weeds they want to get into his story. Sure, this guy was part of the zeitgeist when he first hit wrestling rings, spurring the worldwide phenomenon of Hulkamania. But there’s been controversy along the way. For starters, Hogan has admitted to longtime steroids use in making his body ring-worthy while working for the WWF.
Additionally, there was the sex tape that leaked years ago leading to a highly publicized lawsuit that effectively put the media company, Gawker, out of business. Considering Hemsworth’s age and look in these pictures, it sure looks like the biopic will focus on Hulk Hogan’s earlier years. Let’s hope that the actor didn’t mirror the steroid use to get a similar body.
There doesn’t appear any clear timeline on a release date for the Hulk Hogan biopic and from these recent pictures, it looks like they needed all of that time just to make sure Hemsworth looked the part. But we can likely expect at least an entertaining story. For starters, much of the script of Hogan’s life feels like it could write itself. The super-stardom and infectious personality were a spectacle all their own. Add on to that we have Todd Phillips in the director’s chair in his first work since Joker which is heading for a sequel.
Hulk Hogan was a character in and among himself and an onscreen treatment should very much deliver. It’s good to see Chris Hemsworth has embraced the look and should play well in the ring.
