Chris Hemsworth is one of today's quintessential leading men — mid-30s, handsome, with a smoldering sexuality, even (or perhaps particularly) when he's portraying the god of thunder in Marvel's Thor and Avengers movies. He's an updated version of Brad Pitt, who, when he was Hemsworth's age, hit his stride in critically lauded and audience-pleasing films like Fight Club and Seven. One of Pitt's contemporaries, George Clooney, was likewise making a name for himself in leading-man roles in films like Out of Sight and Three Kings in his mid-30s.
When Pullman was Hemsworth's age, he, too, had a popular leading role ... in Mel Brooks' Star Wars spoof, Spaceballs. A memorable performance, to be sure (he played the Han Solo-ish Lone Starr, roaming the galaxy with his half-man, half-dog sidekick, Barf, played by John Candy), but not the kind of role that's going to get him on the cover of People's "Sexiest Man Alive" issue, which Hemsworth, Pitt, and Clooney, have all graced (Clooney and Pitt twice!). He's not a swashbuckling action star, nor is he instant box office gold, and he's not the kind of actor around whom studios can build franchises. He's a sturdy performer and a fine actor in his own right, but he isn't the quintessential Hollywood leading man, one whose mere presence will bring flocks of fans to theaters — which doubtless contributes to his absence from most big-budget Hollywood movies.
