Grey's Anatomy star Kevin McKidd almost played Thor over Chris Hemsworth

It's hard to imagine anyone other than Chris Hemsworth playing Thor, the God of Thunder.

As it turns out, an unlikely star was in early talks for the role — one that Grey's Anatomy fans will recognise.

Kevin McKidd, who plays Owen Hunt in the popular series, was considered to pick up Thor's magical hammer before Hemsworth was cast for the role.

The co-founder of Marvel Studios' visual development department, Charlie Wen, shared the Hollywood tidbit in an Instagram post showing early concept art for Thor.

Kevin McKidd as Owen Hunt in Grey's Anatomy. Photo / Supplied

In it, Kevin McKidd is the star in the superhero costume.

"Thought you might enjoy another very early Thor concept done even before pre-production started," Wen wrote.

"I was trying out different actors to base #Thor on since @chrishemsworth didn't have the role yet at the time. This was based on @therealkmckidd," he said.

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#happysaturday , everyone. Thought you might enjoy another very early Thor concept done even before preproduction started. I was trying out different actors to base #Thor on since @chrishemsworth didn’t have the role yet at the time. This was based on @therealkmckidd . ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ *⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ *⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ *⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ *⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ *⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #marvel #marvelstudiios #earlyconcept #conceptdesign #conceptart #visualdevelopment #mcu #imcharliewen

A post shared by Charlie Wen (@imcharliewen) on Jun 27, 2020 at 11:00am PDT

It comes after an earlier image, shared on June 25, showed how Wen imagined the character long before the film was made.

"Here's a throwback to the very first #thor I had done," Wen wrote in the caption.

Chris Hemsworth as Thor in Thor 2. Photo / Supplied

"It was at Marvel Studio's infancy, directly after Iron Man 1 — I had a meeting the next morning with Kevin Feige to talk about designing a Marvel Cinematic Universe. I was so nerve-racked, I decided to paint my first Thor (which I included in the meeting;)."

He continued, "You can see how this very first Thor image still had bits left over from spending 6 years developing the fantasy look of the #godofwar games. but even then, I really thought the Celtic knotting and interweaving shapes were working well, so I was super happy to be able to work those elements into the final #thor #designs for the films," he said of the initial style he presented.

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#throwbackthursday ...is that a thing? Well, either way, here’s a throwback to the very first #thor I had done. It was at Marvel Studio’s infancy, directly after Iron Man 1 -- I had a meeting the next morning with Kevin Feige to talk about designing a Marvel Cinematic Universe. I was so nerve-racked, I decided to paint my first Thor (which I included in the meeting;). You can see how this very first Thor image still had bits left over from spending 6 years developing the fantasy look of the #godofwar games. but even then, I really thought the Celtic knotting and interweaving shapes were working well, so I was super happy to be able to work those elements into the final #thor #designs for the films:) * * * * #thor #marvel #marvelstudios #hammer #superhero #comicbookmovie # #celtic #design

A post shared by Charlie Wen (@imcharliewen) on Jun 25, 2020 at 9:00am PDT

In 2007, McKidd himself actually addressed rumours surrounding his involvement with Marvel's Thor.

"It's semi-true," The Rome actor told IGN of the whispers at the time.

"I actually didn't know anything about it until I heard the rumours and called my agent and he said, 'Yeah, we're talking to them.' They want to go for someone younger for the role, a 19 or 20-year-old."

A year later, McKidd updated the same publication on his potential role, sharing he was in early talks to play the lead, but there was "a lot of back and forth" in regards to the project.

Thor of course went to Hemsworth in the end, who was 26 when he scored the gig, with McKidd taking on the part of Owen on Grey's Anatomy in 2008.