Chris Hemsworth was in clear air. As Thor, he is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe character to have four standalone films, ahead of Robert Downey’s Iron Man, Chris Evans’ Captain America, and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. If Thor: Love and Thunder really Hemsworth’s last Marvel movie, then he dated hard. She will share the screen with five Academy Award winners: Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Matt Damon, Natalie Portman, and Taika Waititi. Oscar nominees Bradley Cooper and Melissa McCarthy appear. We ranked five Oscar winners in Thor: Love and Thunder based on their Metacritic average score, from worst to best.
5. Natalie Portman
- Metacritical Average: 57
- Oscar wins: Best Actress, black swan
Portman stepped away from Thor movies after 2013 Dark world, but she returns as Jane Foster — and she takes Mjolnir with her. Portman took the opportunity to work with Kenneth Branagh at Thor and to make Hemsworth look bigger than he was, as he once joked.
After winning an Oscar for black swanPortman changes gears when she stars Thor. Portman’s career includes an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress for Closer and best actress for Jackie.
4. Russell Crowe
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- Metacritical Average: 59
- Oscar wins: Best Actor, Slave
Russell Crowe hates it Slave script, but he signed on for the film after meeting director Ridley Scott. The epic film earned her her first Oscar win, which came amid a string of critical successes before she signed up for Thor: Love and Thunder. Crowe’s win for the 2000s Slave came in between his nominations for 1999’s Insider and 2001’s Beautiful thoughts.
Most Crowe films rated by Metacritic received positive reviews (60 and above), but a few clunkers — Mummy, Winter story, Father & Daughter — pull down the average.
3. Christian Bale
- Metacritical Average: 62
- Oscar wins: Best Actor, Fighter
Like Crowe, Bale starred in DC Comics films before appearing in the MCU. Bale, of course, plays Bruce Wayne/Batman in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy. Crowe appears as Jor-El in Man of Steel. They are on opposite ends of the good/bad spectrum in Love and Lightning, though. Crowe plays the god Zeus, while Bale plays the villain Gorr the God Butcher, whom writer and director Waititi derided as one of the best villains in the MCU.
Bale won an Oscar with his first nomination for Fighter in 2011, and he earned three best actor nominations over the next eight years for American Hustle, big shortand ugliness.
2. Matt Damon
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- Metacritical Average: 63
- Oscar wins: best original screenplay, Goodwill Hunt
Damon appears as Actor Loki in an unmentioned cameo in Thor: Ragnorak. He must have known some influential people in Hollywood since he joined the main cast this time. (Font sarcasm in that sentence).
Indeed, Damon Thor the role happened only because Waititi and Hemsworth asked him to do it Ragnorak. Luke Hemsworth (Chris’s brother) returns as Actor Thor in Love and Lightningand Melissa McCarthy as Actor Hela (Cate Blanchett is Hela in Ragnorak).
In addition to his win, Damon earned another Academy Award nomination for best actor for Goodwill Hunt. He then picked up the nomination for Martian (Best actor), Invictus (best supporting actor), and Manchester By the Sea (best picture as a producer in the film).
1. Taika Waititi
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- Metacritical Average: 69
- Oscar wins: best adaptation scenario, Jojo Rabbit
Waititi does a little bit of everything. As a writer, director, producer, and actor with multiple credits in each category (per IMDb), he’s popped up all over the place, especially since Eagle vs Sharkwhich he brought to the big screen in 2007 as a writer, director, and supporting actor.
After directing and playing Korg in Thor: Ragnorak (and lying to Marvel just to get the job done), Waititi filled both roles and also wrote the script for Love and Lightningwhich he said was much deeper than the previous film.
Ragnorak is one of the better rated films on Waititi’s Metacritic page, but Hunting for Wildswhich he wrote, produced, directed, and starred in, has the highest score. Jojo Rabbitincidentally, has one of the lowest scores.
Jojo Rabbit brought Waititi an Academy Award nomination for best picture as a producer. He also earned a nomination for best live-action short film for Two Cars, One Night.
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