Chris Hemsworth was so well cast as Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that he was seemingly born into the role. However, he faced some stiff competition for a chance to play the beloved god of thunder.

The actor began playing the Norse god in 2011′s Thor and has suited up multiple times since then. The last time he yielded his iconic hammer was in 2022′s Thor: Love and Thunder, which saw him reunite with original franchise star Natalie Portman.

While he quite simple is Thor now, he actually competed with 9 other actors to land the role.

Interestingly, one of them even wound up making his own MCU debut alongside Chris in Thor. Others have recalled suiting up for auditions. Chris himself admitted that he thought he knew was going to get the part at one time, and it was not himself.

Scroll through the slideshow to see who else could have played Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe…