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Canadian wants crack at Thor’s hammer – Metro US

Canadian wants crack at Thor’s hammer

Forget Brad Pitt. Veto Viggo Mortensen. When it comes to who deserves the coveted role of beloved Marvel Comics icon The Mighty Thor, those pampered Hollywood fancy lads barely bang the hammer.

There is one man who thinks he is truly fit to wear the tights of the pulpified Norse God of Thunder — and that’s Canadian actor James Preston Rogers.

Standing over six-foot-five with tree trunk biceps and long blond hair, Rogers (a former bouncer and WWE wrestler) wound his way into a life before the lens three years ago.

Since then he has been slowly making a name for himself in many high-profile pictures including a part in the vikings vs. aliens cross-genre meltdown Outlander.

But it’s his very public campaign to assume the role of Thor in director Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming — and uncast — adaptation that has seen him winning the hearts of counter-culture fans worldwide.

“Every day, this thing gathers more steam,” said Rogers last week during a meet and greet at the Toronto Film College. “I just keep getting tons of e-mails, calls and media support. It’s been pretty surreal.”

When plans to launch a big screen version of the celebrated comic surfaced late last year, Rogers hit the Internet, directing fans to his IMDb page and starting a petition to plead with the powers that be at Marvel to cast him as Thor.

“For years people have said I look like Thor,” says the physically intimidating, but soft-spoken, actor. “I saw this as my chance to show people what I can do.”

Roger’s crusade is the rare case of an actor taking control of his career in the most public way imaginable. But although Rogers is indeed a dead ringer for the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko designed hammer-wielding superhero, with heavy hitters like Pitt, Mortensen and even 300 gladiator Gerard Butler mentioned on the studio wish list, the odds are clearly stacked against him.

“I’m just a Canadian actor, chipping away at a living,” Rogers says. “Of course, if Brad wants it, he’ll take it. But I’m hoping Marvel will want a fresh face and if they do … I’m it.”