‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Director Was Uncomfortable Shooting Hulk’s Butt

Kim Taylor-Foster
Movies Marvel
Movies Marvel

There’s a nude scene in Thor: Ragnarok – and it’s one that makes Thor’s eyes water. Although audiences aren’t subjected to the full-frontal image that Thor gets an eyeful of, we do get to see the reverse view. And it’s definitely memorable.

If the title of this article hadn’t already given it away, it’s the big green guy who drops his towel, exposing his behind to the camera. It’s definitely a sight to behold. FANDOM spoke to director Taika Waititi about that scene, and he told us that shooting it was “horrible”.

“That was unexpected,” he said. “I didn’t think that would actually be in the movie. Just because, you know, you’re not really sure if you want to see Hulk’s butt. When you come up with the idea before shooting it you think, ‘Oh, that would be funny,’ but when it’s happening, ‘I don’t feel comfortable with this’. But then, audiences love it and you think, hey, it was a good idea.”

Is It Mark Ruffalo’s Butt We See?

But was it the actual rear of Mark Ruffalo, who plays both the Hulk and his alter ego Bruce Banner, that made it to the screen? The answer is yes – although of course it was all done using motion capture.

“Pretty much all of the Hulk stuff you see in the film is Mark Ruffalo,” says Waititi before pausing to wipe away a tear. “Sorry, I’m just getting teary reminiscing about shooting Hulk’s butt. Just remembering how incredible the experience was.”

He continued to say that having Mark Ruffalo do all of the motion capture acting himself made a big difference to how the scene plays.

“That’s really how we got that natural feel with the dialogue between him and Thor,” he said. “It’s just so nice having the Hulk, but you’ve got the actor actually there in the mo-cap suit and it made it so much more alive and immediate.”

So did Waititi have to stare at Ruffalo’s naked behind? The answer is no.

“With the magic of film, you don’t actually have to see Mark Ruffalo’s actual behind, you can just sort of create the Hulk [butt] and stick it over the top.”

Thor: Ragnarok hits screens in the UK on October 24 and in the US on November 3.

Kim Taylor-Foster
Kim Taylor-Foster is Entertainment Editor for Fandom in the UK. She was raised on an unsteady diet of video nasties and violent action flicks.