Sif only

She might wield a sword and dress in extravagant armour, but Jaimie Alexander ain't no warrior princess. The American actress plays Sif, Goddess Of War, in Marvel's new blockbuster Thor, out in cinemas now. The film follows powerful and arrogant warrior Thor (Aussie Chris Hemsworth), who's cast out of the fantastic realm of Asgard and sent to live among humans on Earth, where he becomes a defender of both worlds.

Alexander said director Kenneth Branagh had been busy looking for a real woman - "not a waif''- to play Thor's only female warrior and was struck by Alexander's likeness to the character in the comic books.
``It wasn't necessary to put me in short hot pants, with stilettos and a big fake chest,'' said Alexander.
``He made her really tough, but she has a very feminie quality about her too, which is great.
``I tried to make her my own and did research with the comic books, but I didn't want her to be Xena or Wonder Woman-ish; I wanted her to be really Sif.''

Amidst an industry surrounded by "a lot'' of pressure on body image, Alexander said she wanted the character of Sif to be an example to young girls.
``I want all the little girls who watch this to see that it's you as an individual that's appealing, not having a waifish body and starving yourself,'' she said.

Sif is one of Thor's closest friends in the film and part of a group of Asgardian warriors, each with their own unique weapons talent. After landing the coveted role, Alexander said she jumped straight into three months of intensive training with her male co-stars, including an incredibly buff Hemsworth who put on around 35 kilos to fill out Thor's frame.
``We did stunt training five days a week and running and lifting three days a week in the three months before we started shooting,'' said Alexander.
``I was the only girl, which was awesome because they would tease me all the time and it was like going back to highshool.
``I had the furtherest to go physically and I dropped 20 pounds unintentionally as I was working out so much to get muscle tone.
``And Chris . . .geez man, he was huge.
``His neck was as big as my hips and he had to eat heaps and work out.''

Alexander made her first trip to Australia last weekend for the Thor world premiere in Sydney and said Hemsworth had been busy showing her, Branagh and co-star Tom Hiddleston around the ``Sydney bar scene.''
``He's a true gentleman with a very sick sense of humour, a booming voice and biceps the size of my entire head,'' she said.
``We were able to meet his brother Liam (Hemsworth) and his parents too, and they're just good people.
``I feel like you're all doing something right down there.''

Thor is out in cinemas now. Read my review below.