I can hear Thor’s Wig spritzing something near the receiver before I hear his deep, leathery voice (he sort of sounds like Jimmy Tatro in American Vandal). Later, he tells me it’s something called Sachajuan Ocean Mist Spray. I dumbly ask if that’s a hair spray. “No, it’s a salt spray,†he says.
Thor’s Wig and I are participating in a 25-minute phone interview to discuss his exit from Thor: Ragnarok, which was revealed in an interview with Taika Waititi in the New York Times and which he promises was entirely mutual. Thor’s Wig — who has appeared as himself in the previous two Thor movies — is still coming to terms with his exit, but he’s eager to share how happy he is about it. Leaving Thor freed him up to pursue his other hobbies: music videos, stand-up, pottery. He’s not even upset about Thor’s new hair, which he says harkens back to an earlier time: “It’s very 2007 postmodern. It’s a real aesthetic choice.â€
But I can’t help but wonder if Thor’s Wig feels even remotely upset about being cast aside. Will he be the lone detractor of this bubbly, goofy movie, which has been almost universally praised? “Never,†he says solemnly. “I have nothing but love for Marvel, but it was time for me to go. Humans are made to consume content. I’m made to be on top of their heads while they’re making it. I’m needed center stage, so it was time to bow out.â€
Take me back: How did you get involved with Marvel?
I was made for this. I know people say that as kind of a cutesy, tongue-in-cheek thing, but no. I was literally made for this. My mantra is, “Are you not entertained?†That’s from Gladiator. I was made to entertain, but I always knew that Marvel itself would never be my end-all be-all. I know it’s hard for people to understand, but I don’t really care about one-liners or bad guys. I’m an artist.
Can you explain the terms of your departure to me?
It was … [long exhale] It was, like, a mutual parting of the ways. To be honest with you, it felt like a breakup. A mutual breakup. They were sad to see me go. They asked me to stay on longer, but I just couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t be apart of the whole … machine.
But Taika told the Times you were Ragnarok’d. They cut you out.
You know, I’m not really into spin. I’m not a publicist. I just wanted out, and they happened to be entertaining these ideas of a haircut at the same time.
Okay, so … when was a final decision reached?
My agent — she represents me and the dreads that Travolta wears in Battlefield Earth, and that Morgan Freeman wore in Ben-Hur — met with them. “They’ve decided to go in a different direction,†she said. And I said, “Great, because I, too, would like to pursue other things.â€
Did you hear from fans about the decision to give the character short hair? Were they disappointed? Was there backlash?
Oh yeah. Yeaaaaaaah. I don’t know if you saw, but the blogs were all over it. Like … “Where’s Thor’s hair?†“The hair makes the man,†that sort of thing. I mean, they tried to add those little lines on Chris’s scalp, make him look a little rugged, a little more buff. See, I was never there so he could adhere to some traditional masculine fantasy. I’m a lace front. My work is elegant. Delicate. Once I saw they added those little lines to his cut, I knew I wouldn’t come back. Like … I’m not trying to cause drama, dude, but who do you think you are? Kanye?
Wait — sorry — just so I have this correctly, they did or did not ask you back?
They did not make the offer, but they also didn’t not make the offer … You know, look: I might be happy to work with Marvel again, down the line. Maybe I could do some work with Tessa Thompson if she ever gets the spin-off she deserves. But no, I won’t be doing another Thor movie. That was a clean break.
What was it like to work with Chris?
He’s a good guy. If I had my choice of all the Chrises, I’d probably go for Pine — that’s a scalp I’m itching to get on. But Hemsworth is a cool dude, mostly. Super conscientious, very funny. I get the sense that he kind of misses me, that we made a good team.
He told Entertainment Weekly that when he didn’t have the wig on he felt like he could “move and speak and react differently.â€
Right, that’s just bros exchanging some jokes.
But then he told Kimmel that he didn’t like spending two hours in the chair, getting you on and off.
I thought this was Vulture — I wasn’t told you were going to twist my words. Look, we didn’t have a contrarian relationship.
[Thor’s Wig asks to go off the record]
So what about Loki’s Wig?
Some people you just don’t get along with, you know? We have a big brother–little brother relationship. We do great work together, but yeah, I guess there’s a little animosity there. But I don’t let it affect me. I had a great job for a lot of years that I decided to step away from because art isn’t just big budgets, VFX. What we do, as lace fronts … it’s like Kristen Stewart says: “It’s worldwide.â€
Ok.
But yeah, anyway, he’s a total weirdo. He’ll never confirm this, but I know for a fact that he put himself on tape to audition for Beyoncé between Dark World and Ragnarok. He wanted in on Lemonade real bad. First of all, everyone knows Beyoncé’s wigs are on private retainer. They work for her exclusively.
But you are in the first few Ragnarok scenes. What was it like shooting those New York scenes?
I love New York. I love working with Odin’s Wig, too. Now that guy’s a class act. When we get together, whoo boy. You’ve heard of the Pussy Posse? We’re like the Mane Mob. That’s what we call ourselves: Me, the Odin wig, Nicole Kidman’s Lion wig, a couple of locks from Johnny Depp’s Pirates wigs. We have a good time.
Now that your time with Marvel is over, what’s next for you? Who do you want to work with?
I did some work with the porgs on Last Jedi. I’m trying to get in on the Girls Trip sequel. I’d love to do some work with some of the lady lace fronts I really look up to: the hair pieces Brad Pitt wore in Troy, De Niro’s Taxi Driver wig. And this is gonna sound crazy, but: Yorgos Lanthimos. Oh, and Annette Bening, absolutely. I caught a couple minutes of The Women on HBO recently. She looks great in a bob. I think we could work well together. Imagine all three of us together. Now that’d be something.