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Jeff Goldbum was asked to heavily improvise for his Thor: Ragnarok role as The Grandmaster

May 9, 2017 by Robert Kojder

Currently, the Guardians of the Galaxy are making gangbusters at the global box office, and fans of the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe also have another exciting outing to look forward to this November with the release of the highly-anticipated Thor: Ragnarok.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Jeff Goldblum was asked about his role in the film as the Grandmaster and how he was coached by director Taika Waititi to deliver the performance, revealing that he was encouraged to improvise.

“When we first talked, [Waititi] said, ‘I want you to do your particular version of this character without being comic-y or grandiloquent. I think you should do something that’s in your creative family tree. And also improvise.’ He was very interested in improvisation. We came to all those scenes and riffed enjoyably for the time we had. I don’t know what’s gonna come out in the mix because we gave him a whole bunch of different choices, I’ll tell you that. He’s great. Taika Waititi gets 10 Goldblums out of a possible 10 Goldblums.”

SEE ALSO: Taika Waititi teasing Natalie Portman return in Thor: Ragnarok

The first trailer for Thor: Ragnarok offered a brief glimpse of Goldblum’s Grandmaster, so be sure to let us know in the comments if you’re looking forward to seeing him in the MCU…

In Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Ragnarok,” Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok—the destruction of his homeworld and the end of Asgardian civilization—at the hands of an all-powerful threat, the ruthless Hela. But first he must survive a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger—the Incredible Hulk.

Thor: Ragnarok is being directed by Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows) and features Marvel veterans Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Idris Elba as Heimdall and Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk alongside Cate Blanchett as Hela, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster, Karl Urban as Skurge and Sam Neill in an as-yet-unrevealed role. It is set for release on October 27th in the UK and November 3rd in the States.

Originally published May 9, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.

Filed Under: Movies, News, Robert Kojder Tagged With: Jeff Goldblum, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Taika Waititi, Thor: Ragnarok

About Robert Kojder

Robert Kojder is Chief Film Critic at Flickering Myth. He is a Rotten Tomatoes–approved critic and a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society.

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