Thor Faces Mortality
Author: Stan Guthrie
January 12, 2023
Early in his film career, Chris Hemsworth showed himself to be an up and coming star, with notable roles in the Star Trek reboot, the Red Dawn remake, and Snow White and the Huntsman, a retelling of the classic fairy tale. But the Australian’s notoriety hit Hollywood Valhalla when he was cast as the Norse god and Marvel superhero Thor. Seven Marvel films later, the married father of three could be forgiven if he let all the worldly success go to his head.
But there’s not much chance of that now. It seems real life has been catching up with the super-rich demigod. And so has his mortality.
While bulking up to play the musclebound superhero with the flowing blond locks in Thor: Love and Thunder, the 39-year-old actor noticed Father Time starting to catch up with him. “I used to say it sort of got easier each time,” Hemsworth said in a behind-the-scenes documentary. Not this time. “This was particularly hard,” he admitted.
“It was a really fun exploration, but I don't know that I wanna get that big again," Hemsworth said. “It was just exhausting. I don't know, maybe I’m getting old, but things just started to hurt more.”
While bumps and bruises are common for actors taking on strenuous roles, Hemsworth kept running up against his limits. Just prior to beginning filming for Thor: Love and Thunder, Hemsworth began work on a new television series, ironically called Limitless. The show has him “throwing himself into action-packed stunts, including climbing to the top of a cable car using only a rope while suspended 100 feet in the air, swimming in Arctic waters, and several other experiments designed to test the boundaries of the human body.” But again reality intruded.
The God of Thunder quickly blew out his ankle, and Marvel put a stop to the series until the shooting for the film was completed. They didn’t want their fragile superhero put at risk, saying, in his words, “The show that might kill him, you can do that after our film.”
When Hemsworth finally resumed Limitless, he faced a far more sobering challenge. For an episode during which he underwent several tests of his genetic makeup, the actor learned that he has eight to 10 times the normal risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Though the show’s producers offered to keep the information private, Hemsworth insisted it be included in Limitless.
Hemsworth says he wanted to improve the public’s awareness of the malady. He also seeks to share how to combat and possibly prevent what he calls his “biggest fear” through a combination of sleep management, stress management, nutrition, movement, and fitness.
This unexpected encounter with his own mortality has made Hemsworth more reflective about what’s important in life. So once his current contractual obligations are fulfilled, he plans to disembark from the Hollywood merry-go-round and spend some significant time with his family in Byron Bay, Australia.
"It’s not like I’ve been handed my resignation," Hemsworth said, but he added that the news “really triggered something in me to want to take some time off.” He said his experience with Limitless has made him more reflective: “I want to sit and be in this space with a greater sense of stillness and gratitude.”
Good for Hemsworth, a practicing Catholic who seems like a decent and well-grounded guy. There are far worse choices than spending time with family and focusing on gratitude in the middle of life’s uncertainties. May we learn this lesson, too. As the Word says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
Only God knows the state of Hemsworth’s heart. I pray that this superhero of the Silver Screen finally lays down his mythological hammer and picks up his cross, following the One who “for a little while was made lower than the angels, … so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9).
“Everybody knows they’re going to die, but nobody believes it,” Morrie Albom is quoted as saying. “If we did, we would do things differently.” It’s a precious and painful lesson we all must face. Chris Hemsworth apparently is on the road. May he find something far better at life’s end than a comic book Valhalla.
Photo: By Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81106863. Used with permission.
Stan Guthrie is minister of communications for New Covenant Church.
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