Exclusive: Kieron L. Dyer Talks Playing an Original MCU Character and Improving with Chris Hemsworth in Thor: Love and Thunder

In Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love and Thunder, directed by Taika Waititi, Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) journey of self-discovery is interrupted when a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) seeks to murder all gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Waititi), and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who can wield Mjolnir – to Thor’s surprise (but hardly anyone else’s) – as Mighty Thor. Together, Thor and New Asgard’s heroes embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before he can kill Jesus (oh wait, that was a deleted scene), as well as New Asgard’s tween population.

Marvel Cinematic Thors-niverse fans also meet the next generation of New Asgard’s heroes, like Axl, played by 13-year-old Kieron L. Dyer in Thor 4. Born to Heimdall (Idris Elba) and Grace and given the name “Astrid” at birth, when the tween Asgardian arrived in New Asgard on Earth, he became a super fan of hair metal band Guns N’ Roses, decorating his room with “a ton of Guns N’ Roses posters,” getting “an electric guitar,” and re-naming himself after the band’s lead singer, Axl Rose… All of this is much to Thor’s surprise, of course.

Upholding Heimdall’s Legacy

Axl has several hero moments in Thor 4 where he demonstrates classic Asgardian bravery along with his father’s unique selflessness and leadership ability. When Axl and the other New Asgardian children are kidnaped by Gorr and taken to the Shadow Realm to bait Thor so that the God Butcher can obtain Stormbreaker, Heimdall Jr. steps up even when “all the kids are scared” to try and save everyone. “He inherited his father’s ability to see across the Nine Realms and to project people to where he is and stuff like that,” Dyer explained, adding “[playing Heimdall’s son] was quite a big legacy to uphold.”

Although Heimdall has a long history in Marvel Comics, first appearing in 1962’s Journey into Mystery #85 by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby, Axl is not a character who originated on the page, a fact upon which Dyer commented on more than once, saying that it was “really exciting” to play an original MCU character. “I got to make it my own. Since Axl is not a character in the comics, I had to read up on Heimdall and his abilities,” said Dyer at one point during the interview. “What you can see in Thor, Thor: The Dark World, and Thor: Ragnarok is that he’s brave, determined, and has leadership qualities. He’s always thinking about what’s best for Asgard and its people. I wanted to take that on.”

When Dyer discovered that he was playing Heimdall’s son Axl, he assumed he wouldn’t meet Elba “because he is dead,” the actor explained. But he did get to meet him. “It’s a funny story,” Dyer said. “I was doing my schoolwork. My dad went out to take a call. When he returned, he said that Idris Elba was on the set and wants to you, which was unexpected. He was such a cool guy. We talked a bit about Heimdall, my character, and what’s it been like playing my character. I’m really glad that I got to meet him.”

Working with Chris Hemsworth and Taika Waititi

While in the Shadow Realm, Axl maintains communication with Thor via powers he inherited from Heimdall. At first, Axl can only project himself as a floating head (the VFX scene you’ve read about a million times), but Thor eventually teaches him how to establish a link that allows the God of Thunder to see where the children are being kept. A cool scene, although, unfortunately, most of the online discussions surrounding it have focused on the VFX rather than on Dyer’s work as a young actor. To change the conversation, he offered some insight into Waititi’s directorial style and use of improvisation on set.

“I definitely learned a lot from doing improvisation because I hadn’t done any of that before. In my last movie, I didn’t do much improvisation,” Dyer said of working with the director. “On this one, because Taika’s very creative and loves to play around with lines, so we did quite a bit. Mostly when I did a scene with Chris Hemsworth when we were in the cage, we kind of played around with lines then. We went back and forth with the whole you’re in a cage, but it’s okay because if you die, you’ll go Valhalla, like, ‘Oh, my god, shut up’ bit. We played around a lot with that, which was so much fun. It was so much fun to do it with Chris Hemsworth. I mean, it’s Chris Hemsworth. I am such a big fan of his, so I was so glad I got to do that.”

Dyer continued, “I also got to do quite a bit of improv with Christian Bale as well, again in the cage, and that was fun as well, so I’m really glad that I got to do it. I will take that with me on other projects as well.”

Favorite BTS Memories from Thor: Love and Thunder

Dyer, born into a family of MCU fans, says he always grew up watching Marvel (and his favorite characters are Black Widow and Captain America). “We love watching Marvel movies: my sister, mom, and dad. We watch them over and over again. I am pretty sure we watched Endgame like ten times. When I auditioned for [Thor: Love and Thunder], I knew it was Marvel and was so excited. So when I got the part, it was crazy. It was unreal. I was so excited.”

When asked about a favorite memory on set as an MCU fan, Dyer commented, “One of my favorite memories was filming the end battle scene. I’ll never forget that because it was so much fun and exciting to film. While reading the script, I kept screaming at every moment, ‘Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!'” Then, after thinking about it a little more, he added, “I think one of my favorite memories is holding Stormbreaker. It’s quite heavy. I think they made a lot of different versions of it, as well. There was the normal one. I am pretty sure there is a metal one and the rubber one that I had. Then, we filmed it with this white metal one [for VFX].”

As to Axl’s future? “I’m not sure,” Dyer said. However, the young Asgardian is taught by Sif (Heimdall’s sister in Marvel Comics) how to wield a sword near the film’s end. Hmmm… Were fans just introduced to another Young Avengers? After all, Marvel Studios likes to have fun with its team rosters.

Marvel Studios’ God of Thunder’s fourth big-screen adventure, Thor: Love and Thunder, arrived on Disney+ and other digital platforms on September 8th and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on September 27th, 2022. Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Thors-niverse — Thor and Mighty Thor, King Valkyrie, Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder, Korg, and New Asgard’s up-and-coming heroes like Axl — can now add Thor 4 to their collection. The Thor: Love and Thunder 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD includes exclusive bonus content, including deleted scenes, a gag reel, and audio commentary by legendary filmmaker and director Waititi, and is available today.