Chris Hemsworth regularly plays superheroes on screen. Last but not least, the audience knows him as "Thor" from various Marvel films. But in real life he is vulnerable too. Because he has an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's, he is now stepping on the brakes professionally.
"Avengers" star Chris Hemsworth wants to take a break from acting because of his increased risk of Alzheimer's. He felt like he had "been in the sprint for ten years," he told Vanity Fair magazine. He didn't stop and was "overwhelmed by requests and requests and pulled in different directions," the actor said. He couldn't "really enjoy" what was right in front of him.
Now it was revealed to him in an episode of the Disney and National Geographic series "Limitless" that he has a particularly high risk of Alzheimer's. "It made me say, 'Oh God, I'm not ready to go yet.'" His family has become even more of a focus.
The actor has three children with his wife Elsa Pataky. "Before you know it they're 18 and they've moved away from home and I missed the window. It made me want to take some time off," Hemsworth explained. "Since we finished the show, I've finished things that I was already contracted to do. When I finish touring this week, I'm going home and taking a lot of the time off to just gain weight live. Be with the children, be with my wife," announced the 39-year-old. But he also emphasized that he did not want to retire permanently.
In "Limitless," Hemsworth sets out to find ways to fight aging and extend his life. He also underwent medical examinations, which revealed that he had inherited the APOE4 gene from both his mother and father. This increases the possibility of him developing Alzheimer's eight to tenfold.
The makers and Hemsworth themselves had not expected these results. "They took all my blood work and ran a series of tests. The plan was to share the results with me on camera and talk about how we could improve this and that," said Hemsworth. The show's doctor preferred to tell him the results over the phone.
"It was pretty shocking," the Thor actor recalled. He was also offered to do the episode without mentioning the results, which he declined. "If that motivates people to take better care of themselves and understand that there are steps you can take, then so much the better."
Marvel fans were last able to see Hemsworth in "Thor: Love and Thunder", but the thunder god could soon say goodbye to the Marvel cosmos. Speaking of his involvement in a new part, the 'Thor' actor said: "I'm totally open to it if there's something unique, fresh and unexpected to do with the character and the world. I've always loved that experience. I was very grateful that I could do something different each time."
However, he hopes there will be a conclusion for his character as well. "I feel like if I did it again, we'd probably have to finish the book," Hemsworth said. "I have a feeling it would probably be the finale, but that's not based on anything anyone has told me or any plans. There's a hero's birth, a hero's journey, then a hero's death, and I I don't know - am I at that stage? Who knows," said the Hollywood star.
