The Thor movie star Chris Hemsworth is taking a break from acting after testing positive for the APOE4 gene attributed to Alzheimer’s disease.
Although the Marvel Cinematic Universe has managed to propel several actors to stardom, Chris Hemsworth is believed to be one of its best poster boys.
Both of Hemsworth’s parents have the APOE4 gene. This gene is known to lead to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease—a disease that affects one’s memory. As a result, Hemsworth has announced a brief break from acting in order to spend time with his wife, Elsa Pataky, and their three children.
Hemsworth said, “It really triggered something in me to want to take some time off.” He added that he has been doing the things he was already contracted to do… “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 previously famous for his role in reboot among others
Hemsworth is best known for playing Kirk’s dad in the opening minutes of Star Trek’s 2009 reboot and for his role in the first Thor movie of 2011, which supercharged his career.
His role propelled him to the point that he’s got a new action franchise in the form of Netflix’s Extraction and the recent Disney+ series Limitless. During the premiere of its fourth episode, Hemsworth learned he has a “strong” genetic pre-disposition to developing Alzheimer’s disease as he ages.
Upon learning of his potential health-related future and despite Disney’s offer to omit those scenes, Hemsworth chose to keep them, noting that “[his] concern was [he] just didn’t want to manipulate it and overdramatize it and make it into some sort of hokey grab at empathy.”
Despite APOE4 gene, Chris Hemsworth anticipates returning to acting
Despite his unexpected break, Hemsworth noted the possibility of returning to Thor in the future, indicating that he would be “open to it” if there is more response and if Thor 5 would be his last one.
He said, “We’d probably have to close the book if I ever did it again…I feel like it’d probably be the finale, but that’s not based on anything anyone’s told me or any sort of plans. You have this birth of a hero, the journey of a hero, then the death of a hero, and I don’t know—am I at that stage? Who knows?”
Hemsworth currently has future roles in George Miller’s Furiosa, a prequel film for the acclaimed Mad Max: Fury Road film, and he retaliated on working with Miller, who he described as “a genius, but not the mad type.” This possibly sheds some light on what he hopes to do for the rest of his acting career.
He indicated that he told his agent that “that’s where [he] want[s] to spend [his] work hours,” namely with “someone who is kind and collaborative and interesting” and is “very aware of how his energy affects others…and chooses for it to be a positive experience.”
Finally, Hemsworth revealed that “the whole crew, everyone is in a better mood.”
“It baffles me that some people in that position don’t understand that,” he asserted.