While his breakout role in Thor certainly made 2011 a year to remember for ex-Home and Away star Chris Hemsworth, it'll be 2012 that truly puts him on the Hollywood map.
The 28-year-old Aussie is reprising his superhero role in The Avengers (or Avengers Assemble as we're begrudgingly forced to call it over here), helping to deconstruct the horror genre in Joss Whedon's Cabin in the Woods and hunting Kristen Stewart in Snow White and the Huntsman.
Aside from his popcorn-centric exploits, he's also taking on the Oscar-courting role of iconic British F1 driver James Hunt in Ron Howard's racing drama Rush. The film follows the exploits of Hunt and his rival Niki Lauda as they battled for F1 supremacy in the 70s.
It's written by Hollywood's biopic go-to man Peter Morgan, who was also behind the scripts for Frost/Nixon, The Queen and The Damned United and co-stars Inglourious Basterds actor Daniel Bruhl as Lauda and Olivia Wilde as Hunt's supermodel wife. James Hunt was known for his luck with the fairer sex and claimed to have bedded over 5,000 women.
The just-released set pics show Hemsworth in full costume, bearing an impressive likeness to Hunt. As is always the case with pretty much any major movie these days, there's an incredibly similar film following closely behind. Alex Pettyfer is set to star in another James Hunt biopic, which is yet to start shooting.
Rush is set to be released later this year.
Check out 50 actors and the real-life subjects they portrayed here.
(Images: Flynet Pictures and Rex Features)
