Chris Hemsworth admits Home and Away role didn't earn him respect: 'They're not the greatest scripts'

[Perry]

Chris Hemsworth is currently enjoying a successful career in Hollywood, but has revealed that working on Home and Away didn't come with "a whole lot of respect".

The actor played Summer Bay's Kim Hyde between 2004 and 2007 prior to becoming an international star.

However, Hemsworth has revealed that whilst starring in the Australian soap somewhat prepared him for fame, it didn't necessarily earn him respect in the industry.

Speaking to the Associated Press, Hemsworth said: "I did get the recognition of: 'You're famous'. I wouldn't say it came with a whole lot of respect, though.

"I wasn't considered an artist or actor. But, you know, it's a soap opera. That's kind of the universal opinion people have on that.

"I mean, I have a huge amount of respect for the show. I think it's harder than just about anything. It's 20 scenes a day and they're not the greatest scripts at times."

Hemsworth briefly returned to Home and Away last year for a cameo role.

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/home-and-away/news/a776865/chris-hemsworth-admits-home-and-away-role-didnt-earn-him-respect-theyre-not-the-greatest-scripts/

 

[jodlebirger]

He is pointing out a very important problem with this show. The producers and writers are deciding who they want to be popular and praised and good actors and not. It is not fair on the actors. And people aren't able to divide acting - the actors ability to act a storyline out, from the characters behaviour. 

Sometimes the actors who they want to be good, are good but sometimes not. Still the viewers are praising them because of their storylines. While those who aren't given storylines at all, or storylines that people don't like are called bad actors. 

[Jen]

What I like about this is that Chris isn't just slamming the show that got him his break (as some other actors have done). He's not distancing himself from his beginnings but pointing out things that we have always known, showing he can objectively critique the structure of how most soap operas work. 

21 hours ago, Perry said:

"I mean, I have a huge amount of respect for the show. I think it's harder than just about anything. It's 20 scenes a day and they're not the greatest scripts at times."

This is the entire show in a nutshell. When you are producing that much content, continuously, you can't possibly keep up the quality.Something's got to give. The writer's don't have time to necessarily build intricate storylines or characters, so that's why they tend to fall back to things they know will work. The formula stuff.

But I have mad respect for Chris Hemsworth and the trajectory of his career. He recognises where he got his start, the kind of grounding it gave him, but is now in a fortunate position where he can pick and choose the scripts he wants to work with.

[jodlebirger]

But Chris Hemsworth is so big so he doesn't need to distract himself to the show either. 

He will always be associated with his other work projects in Hollywood. He didn't play the most popular character in H&A, and he is in very commercial movies in Hollywood. These kind of movies do not have the focus on the acting abilities, but the machine around them. 

it is different for actors and actresses who plays in less commercial movies. H&A is big in Australia and gets a lot of attention in its home country/continent. It is very commercial. And that makes it difficult for actors and actresses with a good career, but less commercial, to get accept and focus on their newer work. I have seen interviews with Chris H and with Melissa George for example, and I can see the difference. It is like the Australian media doesn't want her to talk about her newer projects, and let her forget that H&A is her biggest thing. While Chris Hemsworth doesn't always get questions about H&A, and when he does the focus are quickly on something else.

So seen from outside, I understand Melissa Georges reactions, and other actors too. It must be really frustrating when it's almost 20 years since your H&A stint and people are more interested in talking about that, than your newer projects, even if the newer projects are in bigger things than H&A. And when they have experienced this 1000 of times, their reaction isn't always like it should be... And I understand that this is some of the former (and probably current) H&A stars biggest fears. Several actors and actresses have shown that they don't want to be only associated with H&A after their stint on the show. Acting is their job, they need to move on, or they are finished in this business. 

[fangirloverload101]

What he's saying is very true imo. Home and Away is a popular show, but a lot of the time, Soap Opera actors aren't very hugely respected/considered as actors.  It's the same thing with the New Zealand soap opera, Shortland Street. It's really popular in New Zealand, but the actors still aren't really regarded as Artists or Actors/Actresses. 

[dee123]

After a while i felt they didn't know what to do with Kim. Hence the relationship and baby with Rachel.

[Maddyandjosh]

This is very classy of Chris Hemsworth, who a couple of my friends have met and been utterly charmed by. 

He acknowledges the debt he owes the show, but that it has its limitations. It is hard to produce that much and make it all good. 

He's being kind, though: Kim was a truly terrible character. I seem to remember he had a male stalker, then dated that other stalker (Zoe), and somehow impregnated Kit through a sleeping bag, cheating on lovely Rachel who then had to go out with someone about twenty years older than her (Tony). 

Hemsworth is really quite a good actor, but as Kim I used to think he was utterly wooden. That might be about material: you can only do so much.. 

[jodlebirger]

Am I the only one who liked Kim?? I think he was well portrayed of Chris Hemsworth, and I never understood this "the plank" complaints. I think he was able to play emotional scenes, hard hitting scenes and happy scenes in a believable way. The stalker storyline about the male who was obsessed by Rachel was a bit irritating, but still not very bad and it was the stalker who was irritating, and not Kim. I didn't think his storyline with Kit was a bad one either, consider the circumstances. And it was very good that Kim got free from Rachel, because it was the relationship with her was tiring, but he was the good part in it. 

 

I have always thought that this "plank ting" is this usual habit of complaining about the good looking actors. But good looking actors can also be good at acting, but sometimes it seems like people don't think that and blames the actor when the script is bad. Because it was a mistake to make Kim a schoolboy, it was unbelievable. He could still have had father issues in his early twenties, that happens a lot of times in the real world. But I tried to forget about the school thing, because I found his other storylines quite good also at the time he still was at school.