A year from now, when you look at me and I'm 60 to 70 pounds lighter than I am right now, you can trace that decision back to the moment I was sitting across from Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans and felt like the most horrifying specimen of manhood of all time.

Look, I get it… these guys are paid to be superheroes.  But nothing will make you question the genetic lottery more than a full day spent talking to the actual physical embodiments of Thor and Captain America.  It would be easier to take if I could report back that they are terrible people, rude and abrasive and totally hung up on the whole movie star thing… only that wouldn't be true.  In actuality, everyone in the cast seems to be really centered and smart and grateful for what they're doing these days.

Hemsworth has come a long way in a few short years, and it's funny to look at him in "Cabin In The Woods," before he had any idea he was going to suit up as the God of Thunder, while Evans seems to have completely left behind any thoughts of the "Fantastic Four" films he was in, embodying a totally different personality as Steve Rogers.

As we get closer to the release of "The Avengers," you'll see my interview with Mark Ruffalo about playing The Hulk, and there is little doubt in my mind that one of the biggest sensations this summer is going to be his work in the movie.  Talking to Evans and Hemsworth about the performance he gave and how it worked on-set, they ended up in tears, laughing, unable to shake the image of Ruffalo in his motion-capture body stocking.

I'm going to be very careful about offering up opinions on "The Avengers" between now and whenever the review embargo is, but I've been able to share a few quick thoughts on Twitter so far, and I think it's safe to say that as much as I was looking forward to this  movie, it exceeded my expectations in every way.

Enjoy this interview, and there's plenty more coming as our "Avengers" coverage continues here on HitFix, counting down to the film's release.

"The Avengers" will save the world on May 4, 2012.