Chris Hemsworth displays comedic chops in ‘Vacation’

Australian actor and “Thor” himself, Chris Hemsworth dips his toes in the comedy pool with New Line Cinema’s adult ribtickler, “Vacation.”

Hemsworth plays Stone Crandall, a popular on-air forecaster who has done very well and is on the cusp of even more success, with the ranch and cattle and man toys to prove it. And as the Griswold’s trip spirals out of control, Rusty (Ed Helms) and his family find themselves on his doorstep.

To find the perfect man that is Stone Crandall, the filmmakers looked to the gods, or at least one of them.

Hemsworth, who has notably saved the world as the popular mythical figure Thor, was excited to come on board. “I grew up on the ‘Vacation’ films like most people my age, so I was all in,” says Hemsworth. “But this was also an opportunity to do something different. I loved the script and the character and the cast involved. It was a no-brainer. I knew it would be a blast.”

Hemsworth describes his character as “a cheesy weatherman, a bit of a douche bag who has some old-fashioned views of the world. He gets away with a lot of the outrageous things he’s saying and doing because he’s charming and you kind of forgive him for it.”

Although Hemsworth is known as a dramatic actor, he was thrown into the comedy deep end with the rest of the veteran cast.

“He was astounding. Just so funny and likeable,” remarks director John Francis Daley. “You know, you wanna hate a guy who’s that handsome but we all developed man crushes and just wanted to hang around him.”

Hemsworth describes Stone’s relationship with his wife, Audrey (Leslie Mann), as “hugely sexual, I believe. It’s probably the only thing that they have in common or agree upon.”

That isn’t all that is huge. Even bigger than his ego are his family jewels. Stone Crandall is distractingly, epicly endowed. Unfortunately, having his brother-in-law’s natural perfection literally in his face only makes things worse for Rusty, who holds his own relationship up to Stone’s as a measuring stick….which leads to one of the film’s most outrageous scenes.

“I don’t have a background in comedy, but everyone on this film couldn’t be more welcoming or more supportive,” shares Hemsworth. “I was nervous coming into it but they’ve all made it a wonderful experience.”

Following in his father’s footsteps and hoping for some much-needed family bonding, a grown-up Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms) surprises his wife, Debbie (Christina Applegate), and their two sons with a cross-country trip back to America’s “favorite family fun park,” Walley World.

“Vacation” is opening across the Philippines August 19.