Cate Blanchett experienced a first while gearing up for her villainous role as Hela in Thor: Ragnarok.
On Tuesday night, ET's Kevin Frazier caught up with the 48-year-old actress -- who was wearing a show-stopping gold Gucci dress -- at the Hollywood premiere of the highly anticipated sequel. Blanchett revealed that over the course of her decades-long movie career, she's never had to get in fighting shape like she did for this film.
"I sort of became fit," she said of training for the role. "I got fit for the first time in my life."
Photo: Marvel
Blanchett said she enlisted the trainer of Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth, to get her on a workout regimen, ahead of her having to put on her character's extremely tight costume.
"It doesn't sound like a lot but for 20 minutes a day -- which it sounds like nothing -- but I was exhausted before I even got on set" she recalled. "It was an extraordinary opportunity to, you know, finally get fit."
Blanchett added of working with the Thor stunt team and her co-stars, "I learned so much physically from working with those guys."
As for how her co-stars responded to Blanchett being on set, Hemsworth admitted to ET that she is quite intimidating. "She scares me off screen," he quipped. "The idea of working with Cate Blanchett, it's Cate Blanchett! The idea of having to hold my own and be worthy to what she's bringing to the screen is a little scary."
Hemsworth, 34, noted that Blanchett turned out to be "the warmest, kindest most open person" while making the movie. "[She] made me feel like I maybe had some right to be there you know," the leading man said.
Blanchett also shared with ET the reaction her four children had to their mom portraying such a fierce character in the comic book movie. "I think I've earned a few brownie points," she said. "They haven't yet seen the final thing so I'm still waiting for the all clear."
Thor: Ragnarok hits theaters on Nov. 3.
