Taika Waititi praises Taika Waititi’s work as Korg in Thor: Ragnarok

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

THOR: RAGNAROK is shaping up to be one of the most colorful, carefree, adventurous films in the MCU. Everyone in the cast looks to be having the time of their lives, including Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk/Bruce Banner), Cate Blanchett (Hela) and Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie). Taika Waititi probably had a blast directing them all, but above everyone else, there was one actor Waititi had the greatest pleasure working with: himself.

During an interview with the LA Times, Waititi the director spoke about how Waititi the actor was such a joy to work, and that he decided to expand his role a bit because of his genius work. This, of course, led Waititi the actor to praise Waititi the director for being so kind and generous with his time and talent. There is a high chance these two will be working together again soon:
 

You've got to understand that Taika Waititi the actor is an incredible person to work with. When Taika Waititi the director comes across someone like that, it just seems appropriate to give that actor a bit more time to show what they can do. I did that, and my theory was correct. I was, he was that good. As an actor, I highly valued Taika Waititi the director, who was very generous to me in giving me a few more takes than everyone else, and really let me show what I can do.

A match truly made in heaven.

On a more serious note, Waititi the director went on to talk about how the key to making a movie as fun as this was to keep everything loose on set, which required the director to remind everyone the kind of movie they were making:

If we were taking things a little too seriously I would say, "Never forget that we're making a cosmic adventure with a space Viking." That sort of captures it all.

There’s a childhood whimsy to the wondrous set pieces and costumes, and Waititi said that very spirit ran through all their creative decisions:

We've got the Incredible Hulk, and a giant woman with antlers. We've got aliens and spaceships. It's almost like a bunch of kids were asked what they wanted to put into a movie, and then we just did that.

While most of the other MCU movies are all finding ways to connect to their greater universe, THOR 3 seems to be completely content in having a crazy, riotous time and nothing more. The trailers have been hysterical, the action looks epic and visually the whole thing looks like a comic book author’s acid dream. Other than THE LAST JEDI this has to be my most anticipated blockbuster of the fall, and a large part of that is due to Waititi’s involvement. Maybe it’s because of how humble he is…

THOR: RAGNAROK arrives November 3.