MAKING MEMORIES: Chris Hemsworth stepping back from acting after tragic Alzheimer's news
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Would Alzheimer’s be the cause of Thor's retirement? If reports are to be believed, ‘Thor’ actor Chris Hemsworth is not taking up many Hollywood projects beyond his four scheduled films. While the Marvel actor has hinted previously that he is willing to slow down, his schedule is awfully clear.
The 39-year-old Australian actor is scheduled to don his character’s gear in an upcoming Avengers sequel where his Thor will make a reappearance. Along with that, Hemsworth is also going to be seen in the biopic of Hulk Hogan, a wrestling legend.
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According to a source that told Page Six, “He doesn’t plan to take on many roles because of [learning about his high risk for] Alzheimer’s.”
Hemsworth’s risk of Alzheimer’s
While filming for episode five, ‘Memory’ of a National Geographic and Disney+ docu-series 'Limitless', Hemsworth came to know about his risk of getting Alzheimer’s. The ‘Extraction’ actor is one of only two to three percent of the population with two copies of the gene APOE4. In an interview given to Vanity Fair, the father-of-three revealed in November 2022, that he is “eight to 10 times more likely” to suffer from the disease in the upcoming future. However, the star also mentioned that, “My concern was I just didn't want to manipulate it and overdramatize it, and make it into some sort of hokey grab at empathy or whatever for entertainment."
On being asked about his plan to do more “epic-sized” movies, he said, “Yeah, I think it's enjoyable when I'm rested and I'm prepared. When I've gone from one to another straight off the back of each one, then it's exhausting and you kind of forget why you're doing it”, before adding, “I'm not talking about retiring by any means, . . . it's a more curated approach to things."
‘The reality of it sinks in’
In the same interview, the ‘Home and Away’ star talked about his reaction to the news also. “Most of us, we like to avoid speaking about death in the hope that we'll somehow avoid it. We all have this belief that we'll figure it out. Then to all of a sudden be told some big indicators are actually pointing to this as the route which is going to happen, the reality of it sinks in. Your own mortality,” said the ‘Ghostbusters’ star.
He also feels thankful for the diagnosis as he said, “For me, the positive of it was like, “Right, if I didn't know this [Alzheimer's] information, I wouldn't have made the changes I made.” I just wasn't aware of any of it, so now I feel thankful that I have in my arsenal the sort of tools to best prepare myself and prevent things happening in that way.”
In the show, he said, “The idea that I won't be able to remember the life I've experienced or my wife, my kids, this is probably my biggest fear.”
“The idea that I won't be able to remember the life I've experienced or my wife, my kids, this is probably my biggest fear.”@chrishemsworth discovers he has a risk of developing Alzheimer’s eight to 10 times higher than the general population while filming his @NatGeo show. pic.twitter.com/GAx3igKjdj
— Good Morning America (@GMA) November 17, 2022
Hemsworth is married to Elsa Pataky with whom he shares a daughter India, 10, and twin sons, Sasha and Tristan, eight.
