Chris Hemsworth

Christopher Hemsworth (born 11 August 1983) is an Australian actor. Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, and Bulman, Northern Territory, he rose to prominence playing Kim Hyde in the Australian television series ''Home and Away'' (2004–2007) before beginning a film career in Hollywood. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Hemsworth starred as Thor in the 2011 film of the same name and reprised the role in several subsequent installments, which established him among the world's highest-paid actors.

His other film roles include the action films ''Star Trek'' (2009), '' Snow White and the Huntsman'' (2012) and its sequel '' The Huntsman: Winter's War'' (2016), '' Red Dawn'' (2012), '' Blackhat'' (2015), '' Men in Black: International'' (2019), '' Extraction'' (2020) and its 2023 sequel, the thriller '' A Perfect Getaway'' (2009), and the comedy '' Ghostbusters'' (2016). Hemsworth's most critically acclaimed films include the comedy horror '' The Cabin in the Woods'' (2012), the biographical sports film '' Rush'' (2013) in which he portrayed James Hunt, the action film '' Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga'' (2024); the latter earned him a nomination for the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and the voice of Optimus Prime in the animated feature film, '' Transformers One'' (2024).

Early life

Christopher Hemsworth was born on 11 August 1983 in Melbourne, to Leonie (née van Os), an English teacher, and Craig Hemsworth, a social-services counsellor. He is the second of three sons, following Luke (b. 1980) and preceding Liam (b. 1990); both of them are also actors. His maternal grandfather is a Dutch immigrant and his maternal grandmother is of Irish descent; on his paternal line he is of English, Scottish, and German ancestry.

He was brought up both in Melbourne and in the Outback in Bulman, Northern Territory. He has said, "My earliest memories were on the cattle stations up in the Outback, and then we moved back to Melbourne and then back out there and then back again. Certainly most of my childhood was in Melbourne but probably my most vivid memories were up there n Bulmanwith crocodiles and buffalo. Very different walks of life." He attended high school at Heathmont College before his family again returned to the Northern Territory, and then moved a few years later to Phillip Island.

Career

Early work (2002–2010)

Hemsworth started his career by appearing in several television series. In 2002, Hemsworth starred in three episodes of fantasy television series '' Guinevere Jones'' as King Arthur, as well as making an appearance in soap opera series ''Neighbours'' and one episode of ''Marshall Law''. The following year, he appeared in an episode of '' The Saddle Club''. In 2004, Hemsworth auditioned for the role of Robbie Hunter in Australian soap opera ''Home and Away''. He did not receive the part, but was subsequently recalled for the part of Kim Hyde. He moved to Sydney to join the cast, appearing in 171 episodes of the series. He left the cast of ''Home and Away'' on 3 July 2007. Hemsworth later remarked that although he became more visible after ''Home and Away'', his work on a soap opera did not earn him respect within the film industry.

Hemsworth was a contestant on the fifth season of '' Dancing with the Stars Australia'', partnered with professional dancer Abbey Ross. The season premiered on 26 September 2006, and after six weeks, Hemsworth was eliminated on 7 November. Hemsworth's appearance in the franchise almost cost him the role of Thor, as producers of the Marvel film franchise feared fans would be put off.

In 2009, Hemsworth played James T. Kirk's father, George Kirk, in the opening scenes of J. J. Abrams' film ''Star Trek''. The role was initially offered to Matt Damon, who turned it down; Abrams appreciated Hemsworth taking on the role. Josh Tyler of '' CinemaBlend'' was impressed with Hemsworth, describing the actor's scene as the "best five minutes I've spent in a movie theater this year." The film was a box office success, grossing US$385.7 million. That same year, Hemsworth played the character Kale Garrity in the thriller '' A Perfect Getaway''. It received mixed reviews, but Hemsworth was praised for his "appropriately intimidating" performance of a "thuggish backpacker." Paul Young of ''Screen Rant'' also praised Hemsworth's performance as "solid."

Hemsworth went on to play Sam in 2010's '' Ca$h'' alongside English actor Sean Bean, which was the first film he shot when he arrived in the United States. The film's director, Stephen Milburn Anderson, said Hemsworth had only been in the United States for six weeks when he had auditioned for the role, recalling, "Here's a guy who is young, has the right look, is a very good actor and, let's face it, he's beautiful. So I say, we need to get this guy in. I was very impressed". In November 2010, ''The Hollywood Reporter'' named Hemsworth one of the young male actors who are "pushing – or being pushed" onto the Hollywood "A-List".

Thor and worldwide recognition (2011–2015)

In 2011, Sony Pictures announced that Hemsworth would star in the thriller ''Shadow Runner'', but the film was never made. That same year, Hemsworth was cast as the superhero Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His first film in the franchise was 2011's '' Thor''. He and castmate Tom Hiddleston, who ultimately played Loki, had each auditioned for the role, for which Hemsworth said he gained 20 pounds of muscle. With a worldwide gross of US$449.3 million, ''Thor'' was the 15th highest-grossing film of 2011. The film received positive reviews, and Hemsworth's portrayal of the God of Thunder was praised by Kenneth Turan of the ''Los Angeles Times''. Hemsworth reprised the role the following year for the film '' The Avengers'' (2012) as one of the six superheroesalongside Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark / Iron Man, Chris Evans' Steve Rogers / Captain America, Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner / Hulk, Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanova / Black Widow, and Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton / Hawkeyesent to defend Earth from his adopted brother, Loki. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing over US$1.5 billion worldwide. The ensemble cast was praised for their onscreen chemistry by Peter Travers of ''Rolling Stone''.

Hemsworth shot the horror film '' The Cabin in the Woods'' shortly after the release of ''Star Trek'', but it went unreleased until 2012. It garnered positive reviews, and his portrayal of Alpha male jock Curt Vaughan was described by Alison Foreman of Mashable as his "sexiest" role yet. Hemsworth later starred opposite Kristen Stewart in the film '' Snow White and the Huntsman'' (2012) as the Huntsman. Although a commercial success, grossing US$396 million worldwide, it received mixed reviews. Critics were critical of Hemsworth and Stewart's onscreen chemistry, and Angela Watercutter of '' Wired'' felt the characters were "not fully fleshed-out." Hemsworth was cast as Jed Eckert in the 2012 ''Red Dawn'' remake after MGM saw dailies footage of a scene from ''The Cabin in the Woods;'' he was cast as Thor two days after being cast in ''Red Dawn''. The film was a box-office bomb, grossing only US$50 million against a production budget of US$65 million, and received negative reviews.

In 2013, Hemsworth starred in Ron Howard's sports drama film '' Rush'', as Formula 1 World Champion James Hunt. Henry Barnes of ''The Guardian'' was impressed with Hemsworth's performance, praising the actor for delivering the "superb script" with "some mastery." Later that year, Hemsworth reprised the role of Thor for the sequel to ''Thor'' in '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013). Although a commercial success with a worldwide gross of US$644.6 million, the film became the lowest-rated film in the MCU franchise on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes at 66% approval rating. The chemistry between Hemsworth and Hiddleston was praised by critics; Ben Child of ''The Guardian'' wrote, "Thanks to Hiddleston and Hemsworth's impressive collective charisma, ''Thor: The Dark World'' is far from a franchise killer."

In 2015, Hemsworth starred in director Michael Mann's action thriller '' Blackhat'', opposite Viola Davis. The film bombed at the box office and was poorly received. For many critics, a significant issue of the film was the casting of Hemsworth as a hacker; Christy Lemire of the '' Chicago Sun-Times'' remarked, "Anyone who makes heirway in the world sitting in front of a computer screen all day is not going to look as hunky as Hemsworth." Hemsworth himself later admitted to being displeased with his performance: "I didn't enjoy what I did in the film," he commented. "It just felt flat, and it was also an attempt to do what I thought people might have wanted to see. But I don't think I'm good in that space." He reprised his role as Thor for the fourth time in the sequel to ''The Avengers'', '' Avengers: Age of Ultron''. In addition to the film receiving positive reviews and grossing over US$1.4 billion worldwide, Hemsworth also won the People's Choice Awards for Favorite Action Movie Actor. Hemsworth returned to the set of ''Home and Away'' in November 2014 to film a scene as an extra and not as his character Kim Hyde. The episode which he appeared in was broadcast on 19 May 2015.

That same year, he co-starred in the comedy film ''Vacation'', along with Ed Helms, a revival of the film series that originally starred Chevy Chase. He was nominated for the MTV Movie Awards for Best Kiss with Leslie Mann. His last 2015 film was '' In the Heart of the Sea'', based on the book of the same name by Nathaniel Philbrick, with Hemsworth playing first mate Owen Chase. In an interview on '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', he said that to prepare for the role of starving sailors, the cast was put on a diet of 500–600 calories a day to lose weight. ''In the Heart of the Sea'' received mixed reviews from critics, and was a box office disappointment, grossing US$93 million against a US$100 million budget, but Hemsworth received a nomination for Choice Movie Actor: Action at the 18th Teen Choice Awards.

Continued commercial success (2016–present)

In 2016, Hemsworth reprised the role of Eric the Huntsman in '' The Huntsman: Winter's War'', alongside Jessica Chastain, who played his love interest. Writing for IndieWire, Oliver Lyttelton criticised the onscreen chemistry between Hemsworth and Chastain, stating that "they're both struggling uphill against accents they're palpably not comfortable with, displaying zero chemistry, and frankly appearing to be in different films." The film underperformed compared to its predecessor, grossing only US$165 million. Hemsworth later joined the cast of the reboot '' Ghostbusters'' film, playing Kevin the receptionist. The film disappointed critically and commercially, but Hemsworth was praised for "deliver ngthe most fun" by Caroline Westbrook of '' Metro'' and won the Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Movie Actor.

Hemsworth reprised his role as Thor in '' Thor: Ragnarok'', released on 3 November 2017 in the U.S., and again in both the third and fourth ''Avengers'' films, '' Avengers: Infinity War'' and '' Avengers: Endgame'' in 2018 and 2019 respectively. All three films were a critical and commercial success. Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com likened Hemsworth's acting to Cary Grant, stating that "Hemsworth's charisma holds 'Thor: Ragnarok''together whenever it threatens to spin apart". Hemsworth won the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Sci-Fi Movie Actor. Meanwhile, in his review of '' Avengers: Endgame'', Joe Morgenstern of ''The Wall Street Journal'' acknowledged "Hemsworth's Thor, endearing despite some ragged material and the actor's seemingly limited dramatic range" while praising Hemsworth in the MCU Infinity Saga finale "as the graceful, exuberant comic actor he was destined to be, while Thor morphs, alarmingly and charminglyyet still heroicallyinto a beer-bellied apparition who could pass for Jeff Lebowski." In 2017, Hemsworth was the guest narrator at Disney's Candlelight Processional at Disneyland.

Hemsworth was to reprise his role as George Kirk in the fourth film of the rebooted ''Star Trek'' film series, but he left the project in August 2018 after contract negotiations fell through; Hemsworth later said he found the script underwhelming. In 2019, he also starred in a spin-off of the '' Men in Black'' series, titled '' Men in Black: International''. The film grossed US$253 million worldwide and received generally unfavourable reviews from critics, who criticised the "lackluster action and forgettable plot," although the chemistry between Hemsworth and co-star Tessa Thompson was praised.

The following year, Hemsworth starred in the Netflix action thriller '' Extraction'', reuniting him with the Russo brothers, who served as producers. After being watched by 90 million households in its initial month of release, the film broke Netflix's viewership record previously held by '' Bird Box''. Hemsworth reprised the role of Thor in the fourth film, '' Thor: Love and Thunder''. Filming began in February 2021 in Australia, and it was released in 2022.

Hemsworth worked on ''Limitless With Chris Hemsworth'' in 2022, a six-part documentary series, for National Geographic. The show paired Hemsworth with noted filmmaker Darren Aronofsky. The show has Hemsworth appearing in a variety of different ways that humans have sought to increase their health in a variety of different ways. The episodes saw Hemsworth take a plunge in icy Arctic water, fast for long periods of time, and participate in an indigenous Australian ceremony. The last of which resulted in some controversy for the show, as Indigenous groups claimed that filming at the sacred site was disrespectful to the culture. Hemsworth returned as Tyler Rake in Netflix's '' Extraction 2'' (2023), which earned him $20 million.

Hemsworth starred in the '' Mad Max: Fury Road'' spin-off '' Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga'', released in May 2024. ''The Washington Post'' wrote that he had "perhaps created one of the all-time-great screen villains" in his role as the warlord Dementus. Hemsworth voiced a young Optimus Prime in the Transformers prequel film '' Transformers One''. In October 2024, Hemsworth entered talks to play the title character in Paul King's ''Prince Charming'' for Disney. Hemsworth will once again return as Thor in '' Avengers: Doomsday'', scheduled for release in 2026.

Public image

After appearing as Thor in the MCU franchise, Hemsworth's physique gained attention from fans. His exercise routines have been regularly discussed in the media, including ''The Times of India'', '' Men's Health'', MensXP, ''Entertainment Tonight,'' and ''Metro''. He later created the fitness app Centr, which provides paying customers access to nutrition, wellness, and exercise routines. In 2014, he was named the "Sexiest Man Alive" by ''People'' magazine.

Hemsworth is an avid supporter of the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League. He was the star of the AFL's 2014 ''Everything's Possible'' campaign, donating the fees for his involvement to the Australian Children Foundation. Hemsworth was also the star in the AFL's 2017 "I'd Like to See That" commercial.

Wealth

As his career in Hollywood films has developed, Hemsworth has become one of the world's highest-paid actors. He appeared in ''Forbes'' World's Highest Paid Actors list in 2014, 2015, and 2018. Additionally, he ranked 31st in the magazine's list of Highest Paid Celebrities in 2018 and 24th in 2019 with estimated earnings of US$76.4 million.

Charity

In May 2020, Chris and his brother Liam were among the celebrities who read an installment of Roald Dahl's children's fantasy novel '' James and the Giant Peach'' in aid of the global-non profit charity Partners In Health, co-founded by Dahl's daughter Ophelia, which had been fighting COVID-19 in vulnerable areas.

Personal life

Hemsworth began dating Spanish model and actress Elsa Pataky in early 2010, after meeting through their mutual representatives. They married in December 2010. The couple have a daughter, born in May 2012 and twin sons, born in March 2014. In 2015, the family moved from Los Angeles to Byron Bay, New South Wales, in his native Australia. Hemsworth speaks limited Spanish and Indonesian.

Hemsworth's children train Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Thalison Soares, and he has regularly taken them to compete in national tournaments.

Hemsworth was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours.

In episode five of his National Geographic documentary ''Limitless'' (2022), Hemsworth revealed that his maternal grandfather suffered from Alzheimer's disease. It was also revealed that Hemsworth himself has inherited two copies of the APOE4 gene, one from his mother and one from his father, which makes it eight to ten times likelier for him to eventually develop Alzheimer's disease than the general population.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemsworth, Chris
1983 births
Living people
Members of the Order of Australia
21st-century Australian male actors
Australian expatriate male actors in the United States
Australian film producers
Australian male film actors
Australian male soap opera actors
Australian male video game actors
Australian male voice actors
Australian people of Dutch descent
Australian people of English descent
Australian people of German descent
Australian people of Irish descent
Australian people of Scottish descent
Chris
Logie Award winners
Male actors from Melbourne