Stuart Townsend - seen here with long-time love Charlize Theron, says creative differences have driven him off the cast of the superhero movie "Thor."

Townsend, 37, who was down to play Fandral, quit the movie just days before the cast was set to start shooting.

It's now known who was the cause of Townsend's "creative differences" but fellow Irish man Kenneth Branagh is down as the director.

Townsend's role will now go to little-known actor Joshua Dallas.

The movie - which is slated for a May 2011 release, will also star Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Natalie Portman, Renee Russo and Anthony Hopkins.

Let's hope Townsend doesn't rue walking off Thor.

He was famously dropped from "Lord of the Rings" by director Peter Jackson who thought he was too young for the role of Aragorn and cast Viggo Mortensen (45) instead.

And we all know how that particular movie fared...