Being an on-screen superhero isn't as easy as just standing around in a cool costume and beating up the occasional bad guy. As Chris Hemsworth learned while filming "Thor: The Dark World," sometimes you have to show a little skin to please the boss.

When MTV News spoke with Hemsworth during a press day for the upcoming Marvel movie in London, we had to ask him about a rather gratuitous shirtless scene near the beginning of the film, where Thor reflects on a successful battle with a quick splash of water on his bare torso.

Though it could have been confused as pure fangirl service, the scene was actually the brainchild of Marvel consigliere Joss Whedon, who thought the movie was missing a little something special.

"That [scene] kind of came from Joss actually. He just said that there needed to be something romantic in there," Hemsworth said. "Then he said, 'Chris, get your shirt off.' I said, 'Well, I don't know. What's the why? What are we doing?' The justification was that it was him coming home from battle, washing blood off his hands. It is what it is. How to weigh into that without sounding like an idiot?"

With Hemsworth staying in shape for nearly back-to-back-to-back Marvel movies, he probably didn't mind too much showing off, but if you think that's how the Australian actor looks during his time off, he's got some bad news for you.

"To be honest, I don't really crave anything. I crave not eating when I shoot this and when I play this character," he said. "I basically overfeed on protein and endless amounts of chicken breast and steak and fish and vegetables and brown rice. There's a slight sugar craving there, which is out of the diet, but when I finish shooting it's usually enough."

At least we know that even the god of thunder can snack once in a while.

"Thor: The Dark World" opens in theaters on November 8.