Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Joss Whedon at Thor: The Dark World premiere

Chris Hemsworth is thankful he doesn’t need to take his top off for gratuitous thrills when starring in Thor films.

The hunky Australian actor, 30, may have the body of a god for starring in the Marvel series, but gave a sigh of relief when the film script didn’t have him posing unnecessarily.

‘I’m topless for all of four seconds! Four seconds is fine,’ the blonde star said, revealing there are only a few seconds of bared flesh in Thor: The Dark World.

While the comic sequel sees the Norsk god facing an interstellar threat in the form of Christopher Eccleston’s villainous Malekith the Accursed, who threatens to destroy the nine realms of the universe, Hemsworth is keen to highlight that the film is not as far-fetched as it sounds.

‘We try to make it truthful and ground it in reality otherwise these things drift off into the stratosphere of the fantastic,’ he said on the red carpet of the film’s World Premiere in London’s Leicester Square this evening.

Elsewhere on the red carpet his on-screen love interest Natalie Portman sparkled and was overwhelmed by the support of fans who braved aptly stormy weather to cheer on the cast.

‘It’s incredible. There’s so much enthusiasm and its great to share this with the fans,’ the 32-year-old actress gushed.

‘Chris is great! He’s the loveliest of men both inside and out and it’s a luxury to work with him,’ she went on, praising Hemsworth.

Indeed it was a bit of a love-in for the film’s cast in general with the stars’ hero also praising his co-stars.

‘We support each other and we’re all thankful to be part of it,’ Hemsworth said before rushing into the Odeon cinema to introduce the film.

A surprise on the red carpet came in the form of Avengers Assemble director Joss Whedon who will soon direct Hemsworth again in sequel Avenger: Age Of Ultron.

The next film reunites the Thor star with fellow Marvel heroes Captain America and Iron Man while adding new characters Scarlett Witch, Quicksilver and Ultron – giving Whedon something of a headache to squeeze them all in.

‘It’ll be a six or six and a half movie!’ the director joked.

Thor: The Dark World will be in cinemas from October 30.

[Originally published Metro Guilty Pleasures, Tuesday 22 October 2013]