David Lindquist
david.lindquist@indystar.com
Published 12:00 p.m. UTC May 28, 2018
Actor Chris Hemsworth doted on Indianapolis 500 fans Sunday morning, signing dozens of autographs and posing for scads of selfies along the red carpet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The actor who’s portrayed Thor in seven Marvel Cinematic Universe films did not, however, grant interviews to reporters assembled near Pagoda Plaza.
His fellow celebrities, however, were willing to talk about their favorite fictional superheroes and wish-list powers.
Attending the race to wave the green flag, Hemsworth made a big impression on Indiana Pacers star Victor Oladipo — who drove the Sunday’s pace car.
“I was actually starstruck a little bit meeting Thor,” Oladipo said.
Given the chance to be a superhero himself, the NBA All-Star said he’d happy to be a running mate of Thor’s.
“I’d definitely want to be a ‘God of Thunder,’ ” Oladipo said. “That’s pretty dope.”
Jim Cornelison, who sang “(Back Home Again in) Indiana” for the second consecutive year, has a different favorite among Marvel superheroes.
“This isn’t intellectual or artistic, but I always loved the Hulk,” Cornelison said. “I’m not sure I want to lose that much intellectual capacity, but I have to say: That was my guy.”
Adam Carolla, the podcast host who attended Sunday’s race to promote a documentary film based on former Indy 500 driver Willy T. Ribbs, offered a comedic analysis of Thor’s signature weapon.
“As a former carpenter, Thor’s hammer is good for driving nails,” Carolla said. “But it has no cat’s paw on the back. I don’t know how you pull a nail. It’s not good for demo. If I were Thor, I’d have a hatchet-handled Vaughan, about 22-ounce with a waffle head on it — not a smooth head, that’s a finish hammer. It’s a waffle head, good for driving sinkers. I’m going to talk to him about hammers.”
On the topic of super powers, two-time Olympic medalist and Indiana native Nick Goepper said reading minds and teleportation aren’t for him.
“I’d rather fly,” the slopestyle skier said. “It’s almost realistic. Humans can engineer themselves to almost fly with our own power. We need engines and wings. But if I could just fly, that would be pretty sweet.”
And TV personality Nick Cannon, who rode as Mario Andretti’s passenger in a custom-made two-seat race car during warm-up laps, said he would accept unlimited access to cash.
“It’s either to be invisible or to control time,” Cannon said, “because then I could just go to the bank at any point.”
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Call IndyStar reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.
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