Chris Hemsworth to play receptionist in female-led reboot of Ghostbusters

By Stephanie Topacio Long June 11, 2015

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Australian actor Chris Hemsworth has been brought on board for the female-led Ghostbusters, and his character isn’t his usual role at all. Instead of playing the hero or warrior as he has in Thor and Snow White and the Huntsman, he’ll be playing the receptionist. The reboot’s director, Paul Feig, shared the news today, tweeting, “Our receptionist. #whoyougonnacall” along with Hemsworth’s photo.

Our receptionist. #whoyougonnacall pic.twitter.com/wGTzs8KdUs

— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) June 10, 2015

Hemsworth was approached early on, Variety reports, but he wasn’t interested in a role that he felt was too small. Apparently Sony really wanted him, because they revised the script to make his role more substantial. He’ll share the screen with several well-known female comedians, including Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon. (The movie will be a Bridesmaids reunion of sorts, given that McCarthy, Wiig, and Feig were all involved in the 2011 hit.)

Though Hemsworth’s role is being called the male version of Janine Melnitz (played by Annie Potts), it’s unclear what — if anything — their characters will have in common. The upcoming film won’t be a remake. Original co-creator and star Dan Akroyd has likened his vision of the reboot to Marvel’s universe. “The whole vehicle of Ghostbusters has to be rebuilt,” he said in late 2014. “That’s the ambitious thinking that’s going on now. Taking on the model of Marvel where we take all of the elements that are in this movie and we put them out there as different ideas.” The film will still take place in New York, though, with some filming done in Boston.

As the project has progressed, Feig has been a fan of sharing major announcements via Twitter. He previously revealed the film’s lead actresses in a Tweet, as well as its release date. The Ghostbusters reboot is still over a year away, hitting theaters on July 22, 2016.

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Stephanie Topacio Long

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Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…

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