Chris Hemsworth has announced he’ll be taking a break from acting after learning he has an “increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease”.
The Thor actor made the discovery on his new Disney+ documentary series Limitless, which explores longevity and how to prevent diseases which can take hold in our twilight years.
Hemsworth underwent a stack of genetics tests to see what his future might have waiting for him, and copped a bit of a nasty shock in episode five.
He found out he carries two copies of APOE4, a gene which increases a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s. It’s pretty rare to see a double occurrence of the gene — according to a 2021 study by the National Institute of Health over in the US, only two to three per cent of folks carry two copies of the gene, while one in four people carry one copy of APOE4.
Hemsworth told Vanity Fair it’s definitely not a hard diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, but the fact he carries two copies of APOE4 means he’s eight to 10 times more likely to develop the degenerative brain disorder in the future.
“My concern was I just didn’t want to manipulate it and overdramatise it, and make it into some sort of hokey grab at empathy, or whatever, for entertainment,” he said.
“It’s not like I’ve been handed my resignation.”
He said the OG plan for the episode was that he’d hear his results on-camera for the first time, but after Peter Attia, a doctor on the show, saw the bloodwork the idea went out the window.
According to Hemsworth, Attia called Limitless creator Darren Aronofsky and said: “I don’t want to tell him this on camera. We need to have an off-side conversation and see if he even wants this to be in the show.”
But the actor felt that talking about it on-camera could inspire “people to take better care of themselves” and highlight some of the “preventative steps” that folks can take to prevent Alzheimer’s.
And after being confronted with his morality, it’s spurred Hemsworth to take a step back from acting and spend more time with his family.
“It really triggered something in me to want to take some time off,” he said.
“And since we finished the show, I’ve been completing the things I was already contracted to do.
“Now when I finish this tour this week, I’m going home and I’m going to have a good chunk of time off and just simplify. Be with the kids, be with my wife.”
Chris Hemsworth lives in Byron Bay with his wife Elsa Pataky and their kids India, Sasha and Tristan.
It’s definitely a luxury to be able to take a breather and relax with your family after receiving some concerning health news, but regardless, here’s hoping the bloke can decompress for a bit. God speed, Thor.
