Thor actor Christ Hemsworth is taking a break after almost thirteen years of non-stop work in films. Since his film debut in Star Trek, the best Hemsworth has worked on a movie every year since 2009, except for 2014. As one of the faces who helped bring people into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he was one of the remaining foundational pieces left.
This change is because while working on the Disney+ series Limitless, in the fifth episode of the series, Hemsworth meets with a doctor and reveals he has a genetic predisposition for Alzheimer’s. To quote the Vanity Fair report: “His makeup includes two copies of the gene APOE4, one from his mother, the other from his father, which studies have linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.”
As a result, he is making some changes. However, this isn’t done to be dramatic but to address something the audience would have seen. “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,” Hemsworth told VF. “It’s not like I’ve been handed my resignation.”
Hemsworth was asked about the episode and how it made him feel: “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.” He decided to keep it in because it could help other people get tested themselves.
I was offered a version of the episode where we didn’t talk about it, and for the exact reason you are mentioning now, I thought, “No, look, if this is a motivator for people to take better care of themselves and also understand that there are steps you can take—then fantastic.”
We have recently seen Bruce Willis deal with his health issues in public and how he has been taken advantage of by others. He retired in March of this year:
[…] on March 30th, 2022, Willis’ family took to Instagram to share the news that he is retiring from acting. His family revealed that Willis has been suffering from health issues, including a recent diagnosis of aphasia. Due to the disorder impacting his cognitive abilities, Willis has chosen to step away from his acting career.
Yes, actors are privileged, but disability has no limits, and health issues don’t care about your net worth. Hemsworth is a father of three, and he has worked through most of his marriage and has not gotten to sit and enjoy his family life. He has earned this break, and as someone with Alzheimer’s in their family, I know how scary it can be, and learning to enjoy the time you have should always be the priority.
I hope we get more Hemsworth soon, but when he has taken time to enjoy himself and his family.
(via Variety, featured image: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images)
