Actor Chris Hemsworth is no stranger to genre franchises. He starred as the father of James T. Kirk in the reboot of Star Trek.

But even that couldn’t prepare him for being front and center of the upcoming big-screen version of Thor.

“I did Comic-Con and there were 7000 people,” he tells GQ Australia. “I got a real sense of the fan base that Thor has and the buzz around it. You’re plugging away, you’re auditioning and your fingers are crossed. Then you get the part, sign the contract and start to realise millions of people follow this guy and know more about your character than you do.”

“It’s existed for 50 years or something and all of a sudden it’s like, ‘Oh [frick], there’s a lot of people waiting here to say that’s right, or that’s wrong,'” he added.

Hemsworth said that he quickly got up to speed on the character, thanks to the lavish production and set for the film.

“We were lucky in that they had actually built most of the sets,” he said. “It’s easier having this big fantasy world around you than if there was just a green screen. It was like being a kid playing dress-ups. You do feel like you are this guy — especially with the costume. The first day I put it on, [Anthony] Hopkins looked at me and looked at both of us, and said, ‘No acting required here.’”