Chris Hemsworth has said his career was “debatable” before he was cast as Thor.
The actor was best known to UK audiences for playing Kim Hyde in Australian soap Home And Away before he landed the role of the God Of Thunder.
The 35-year-old made his debut in the first Thor film, directed by Kenneth Branagh in 2011, and has since starred in a raft of Marvel films, including the forthcoming Avengers: Endgame.
Reflecting on how different his life is because of this part, he told the Press Association: “For sure, my career was debatable and I didn’t know if it was going to continue.
“I was sort of scratching around, little bits and pieces, and this kicked off everything and opened up every door.
“Everything I’ve done outside of this has been in the shadow of this massive enterprise, or whatever you want to call it.
“But it’s also 10 years of my life, and so, whether it was work or not, it’s such a huge chunk of anyone’s existence.”
He added: “We all grew up on this film, kind of like the audiences have.
“I got married, I had kids, it was kind of like going through high school or something, and by this point in particular there is a very nostalgic, bittersweet quality to it because it’s potentially the last time we are all going to gather like this.
“I don’t think we will ever have another experience like this in any of our careers and I’m not sure even in the industry there will be another experience like this.
“Each film had to work in order for the next one to work, in order for this to happen, so I constantly pinch myself and go ‘Oh my god, how did I land this?’ and (think) how special it was.”
Since landing the part, Hemsworth has married Elsa Pataky and had daughter India, six, and five-year-old twin sons Sasha and Tristan.
He said it was witnessing his children meet another superhero star that brought home the impact the films have.
He said: “Watching them also be pretty excited by it all and watching what they relate to but it all really hit home when they met Gal Gadot (who plays Wonder Woman).
“We were shooting in London last year and they are obsessed with Wonder Woman, they have seen the movie 100 times and they met her and were just in awe and were hugging her and would listen and then go and hug her again.
“It kind of hit home for me, it became very personal.
“I went ‘Oh wow, I’ve had kids do that to me’ and I wish it was my own kids but you kind of realise what it means to people, the complete escapism, the fantasy, the adventure, the little lessons that are maybe sprinkled in there too, it’s pretty cool.”
Avengers: Endgame is released in UK cinemas on April 25.