Chris Hemsworth tried to be a "bad boy" when he launched his Hollywood career.

Chris Hemsworth

Chris Hemsworth

The Australian actor moved to the US in 2007 and thought the key to becoming a success was to indulge in "reckless" behaviour, though he insists he never did anything particularly wrong.

He recalled: "I remember trying to be Colin Farrell. Thinking, 'People love the bad boy.' Going out and being sort of reckless. But no one cared.

"There wasn't the presence of paparazzi, nor the presence of social media, nor the immediacy of all these platforms.

"[I wasn't doing anything bad], just, like, being drunk."

As well as Colin - who went to rehab for drug addiction in 2005 and was the subject of a leaked sex tape in 2006 - the 'Thor' actor also tried to model himself on 'Gladiator' star Russell Crowe when he first moved to Los Angeles.

He told the new issue of America's GQ magazine: "I came into Hollywood thinking I had to be Russell Crowe. I loved his performances, and because of my physicality and my size, that was the obvious choice. I think I was aware that it could kind of get me in the door. But it wasn't me."

Following several years of success, the 35-year-old star - who relocated back to Australia in 2014 with wife Elsa Pataky and their daughter India, six, and four-year-old twins Tristan and Sasha - couldn't be happier with his life now.

He said: "I really do feel a sense of ease for the first time in years. I don't mean that as an assessment of my achievements. I just mean I'm content with what's going on and relaxed and open about it."