Hollywood careers can sometimes look easy. A simple case of landing your big break, and then waiting for the fame and fortune to arrive, while you plan your next blockbuster role. Yet it’s not the opportunities that have defined Chris Hemsworth’s formidable career, but the challenges – and his desire to keep seeing them out.
“It’s all about looking for new challenges, you know?” he says in his warm, instantly-recognisable baritone over the phone from his home in Byron Bay, where he’s been based since relocating from Los Angeles in 2014.
“I’ve been working for 15 years now and there was a period when anything and everything was new and exciting, and the hardest thing was saying ‘no’ because you wanted to keep working,” says the actor.
“Now you want to deepen the approach and think ‘does this feel familiar, is this unique territory for me, have I played this character before, who’s the director, who’s the cast, is this a collaboration that I feel I’m going to learn from?’ Any time it feels too familiar or too comfortable, I find my interest not being piqued.”
It’s this criteria that has become the formula for the actor’s success, adding that when he “didn’t have fear or anxiety as a motivator to dig a little deeper into the script,” he would get too comfortable. “I like looking for projects that scare the hell out of me, things that force you to expand and evolve, work harder, learn more.”
This has given way to Hemsworth’s meteoric success, and allowed him the pleasure of working on a string of career-defining films. Noting Thor, Extraction, Bad Times at the El Royale, Rush, and Escape from Spiderhead – “sorry, I’m just listing all of my films when you asked for one,” he interjects with a laugh – as some of his favourites, it quickly becomes apparent it’s the challenges offered by each of these roles that have cemented their place in his highlight reel.
Unsurprisingly, it’s also the level of anticipation pervading the Sydney-based set of Thor: Love and Thunder, the fourth instalment of the blockbuster Marvel series reimagined by director Taika Waititi, that is currently energising Hemsworth. In addition, of course, to co-star Chris Pratt’s improvisation skills. “The guy is wildly impressive with the spontaneity and the humour and the things he comes up with. It’s both funny, inspiring and intimidating.”
As for stepping back into his recurring role as the hammer-wielding Norse God of Thunder, Hemsworth says it, too, presents its challenges. “There’s that same – if not more – pressure now to do that again,” he says. “So there’s a little bit of exciting nervous energy that is motivating all of us to reach a little further and make sure we’re covering all bases and approaching the scene from every angle.”
And it’s not only professionally that Hemsworth pushes himself, but personally. When quizzed on his humble nature and down-to-earth demeanour, the world-famous movie star credits the influence of his close-knit group of friends and family. “We are a product of our environment mostly, so it’s about the company you keep and I had great parents and role models growing up.”
“I’m always motivated to be better – whether that be a better person or father, husband, friend, work colleague. I think we all have that duty and obligation to never get too comfortable and just [ask] ‘what else can we give and do? What positive effect can we have on things?’ I guess that comes from my parents and my upbringing, but for whatever reason it’s always been there in my centre and I think that’s always kept me in check.”
As someone who’s often celebrated for his uniquely Australian sensibilities, Hemsworth is the first to acknowledge the positive influence relocating back home with his family some seven years ago has had on his outlook. “Bouncing in and out of Hollywood was a really healthy way to do it,” he says. “I was able to step back from it a little bit and not be always focused on the micro of it all – I had a macro view of things. By living here, I could see it from afar and reassess things and look at what was important.”
More recently, in the wake of the global pandemic, a sense of gratitude and guilt has coloured his ability to call Australia home. “I know my or our experience as Australians is pretty different to most people across the globe… But I think the initial hit and the initial handbrake of everything was as unsettling for me as it was for everyone,” shares the actor, who confesses he also found the circumstances served as a much-needed wake-up call.
“It was like ‘wow, look at all the things we’ve taken for granted’,” he says. “The simple things of walking down the street, and going to a restaurant, and not wearing a mask, and how we interact and collectively come together – all of a sudden, we couldn’t do that. I know, again, not to the scale that a lot of countries experienced, but on any level, that’s quite challenging, emotionally and psychologically.”
It was basic human connection that Hemsworth found to be a saving grace amongst the anguish and uncertainty that was 2020. “I think that – for friends of mine that were in for the heavy lockdowns and isolations – it became really unhealthy, and what got them through it was still keeping those friendships and still communicating with people.”
“We trick ourselves into thinking we can do it all alone and it’s just me against the world, and so on. Then you realise, no, we are nothing without each other, and we are nothing without connection and collaboration, and unity and community. I think it hopefully highlighted that for everybody. And so maybe the easier things become, the more normal things become again, we keep that in mind – we appreciate those things, don’t take them for granted.”
“It’s a sickness,” Hemsworth continues, now on a roll. “We all seem to have the idea that it will all last forever and all stay exactly the way [we] want it to stay, and we’re really disappointed and surprised when things change. It’s like well, the only thing you can kind of guarantee is that things are going to change.”
It’s for this reason the actor is not dismayed he now has to share his home with Hollywood – the very place he worked so hard to distance himself from – as the likes of Liam Neeson, Melissa McCarthy, Idris Elba, Matt Damon and Zac Efron flock to Australia to film various projects. Instead, Hemsworth is hopeful.
“I remember when I first left to go to LA 10 years ago, [Australia’s] film industry was really suffering and the cast and crew that I had worked with here were doing the same thing, going overseas to look elsewhere for work,” he recalls. “Every time I’ve been lucky enough to work on a film here in Australia, one of the main things that people are talking about is just how thankful and happy we are that work is here on our shores and at home, we aren’t having to leave our families to do what we love. So I couldn’t be happier that I don’t have to get on a plane every week.”
“Also, in talking to other Australians and hearing how pleased they are that there’s more work occurring now in the industry, I think it’s a great thing,” he adds. “There’s always a part of you that wants to keep it a secret – wouldn’t we all love to do that? But I don’t think it’s a secret we have kept or can keep anyway. The fact is, people all over the world love Australia for the same reason we do. I think it’s a really exciting time to be able to see the film industry flourish like this.”
Hemsworth is also grateful he’s had the opportunity to host his long-time friends Damon and Elba in Byron Bay, where he lives with his wife Elsa Pataky, their eight-year-old daughter India and six-year-old twin sons, Sasha and Tristan. “It’s great,” he says, his voice bright with contentment. “They’re both here in Australia – Matt was working here obviously on Thor, Idris is shooting a movie here.”
“I’ve known those guys for years,” he shares. “Often, you just see each other on the set or at an awards show and don’t get to have normal hang out time. So it’s great, and that’s the case with a lot of the cast at the moment who’ve been on Thor – to be doing this in my backyard and be able to show them around the place is a huge luxury.”
Showing no signs of slowing down, Hemsworth – who was recently announced as Hugo Boss’ first global ambassador, after having fronted the brand’s fragrance line since 2017 – is gearing up to appear alongside Anya Taylor-Joy and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in Furiosa, a prequel to the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road.
“I grew up on those films and to inhabit that space and that universe in any way, shape or form, from a very young age, was a dream,” he says. This new project is yet another the actor signed onto in his quest for a challenge.
“I met with [director] George Miller a number of times about a year ago and read the script and was beyond excited. It really reignited that passion,” he explains. “[I’m] not saying I’ve grown tired of working, but I was feeling comfortable with it all, and then all of a sudden to meet one of my heroes, an iconic Australian film legend, and to have the chance to work with him was sort of ‘holy shit, this is scary and exhilarating and fun’.”
Hemsworth is also incredibly eager for Limitless to make its way to our screens. Exploring “how we can live longer, better, happier, healthier, stronger” lives, this series is one the actor is proud to have worked on with National Geographic.
“That was a real eye opener for me,” he says. “You get a fair few years where you get away with anything – you party, you train, you work, you keep going – then all of a sudden, it all catches up with you. This show is hopefully a real guide for all of us to make the most of life and experience it with 100 per cent or the best opportunity of health and wellness we can.”
And there is no doubt Hemsworth is doing just that. Well aware that challenge breeds opportunity, the actor is seeking out hurdles, soaring over them, and setting himself up for continued success. After everything the last 12 months have thrown at us, it’s an example we might well learn from – even if we can’t all be movie stars.
