A pedicab driver turned toy artist from the Philippines earned the admiration of Marvel Avengers actors with his inventiveness and artistry.
Mark Ruffalo and Chris Hemsworth flipped over the Hulk and Thor action figures created out of discarded rubber slippers by Filipino Elmer Padilla.
“Made of foam of flip flops?” Ruffalo asked ABS-CBN reporter Mari Lozano, who handed him the Hulk toy, “That’s amazing. Thank you buddy. It’s really thoughtful.
“I’ll keep it. I wished he’s signed it,” he further said.
Ruffalo also posted a closeup of the toy and another of him hamming it up beside the green action figure on his social media account.
“Believe it or not, this #Hulk doll is made out of recycled tsinemas (that’s Tagalog for flip-flops). @elmerboytsinelas made this for me so I just wanted to give a nice shoutout. Not only is this inventively creative, but is sustainable and just pure awesome! Thank you Elmer!” he wrote on Instagram.
Meanwhile, Hemsworth and “Thor: Ragnarok” director Taika Waititi both expressed admiration upon seeing Padilla’s creation.
“That is fantastic. It looks better than me,” said Hemsworth. “It should be on a poster,” he added.
ABS-CBN reporter Mari Lozano, who was in Sydney, Australia for the “Thor: Ragnarok” press junket, wrote on Instagram that she was the “very willing delivery girl.”
“The best part of my job… Meeting incredible & inspiring people and being a part of making their dreams happen! This is the story behind the photo @markruffalo posted about Filipino Tsinelas action figure artist Elmer Padilla @elmerboytsinelas. He wanted to give his works to his superhero idols. I was a very willing delivery girl!” she said.