A recent episode of a TV show starring Hemsworth revealed that the actor is genetically predisposed to Alzheimer’s disease. He is taking a break from acting to spend time with his family and to ‘simplify’ his life.
Famous Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth is taking a break from the industry because of his health condition. A recent episode of a TV show starring Hemsworth revealed that the actor is genetically predisposed to Alzheimer’s disease.
Chris Hemsworth has opened up about his discovery that he has a higher-than-average chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease, a type of dementia that progressively causes memory loss. Per Vanity Fair, the 39-year-old actor took genetic tests for Limitless, a docuseries that explores how to age slower. The results showed that he has two copies of the gene APOE4, which has been linked to an increased risk of developing the degenerative brain disorder. According to a 2021 study, just 2 to 3% of people have both copies of the gene. “[T]he plan was to on-camera tell me all the results and then talk about how you can improve this and that,” Hemsworth told Vanity Fair. “And Peter Attia, who is the longevity doctor in that episode, and overseeing a lot of the show, called [show 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.’” Hemsworth said he was told that the information meant he was “eight to 10 times” more likely to get the disease.
The Thor: Love and Thunder star, whose grandfather has Alzheimer’s, said the episode forced him to think about his own mortality and the way that he had been “slapping another movie on top of another movie.” “It really triggered something in me to want to take some time off,” he reflected. “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.” According to Deadline, the actor has already finished shooting for his next roles in Extraction 2 and the Mad Max spin-off Furiosa
Still, Hemsworth emphasized that he doesn’t want to “manipulate” or “overdramatize” what he learned, noting that he has received a “cause for concern,” not a hard diagnosis. In fact, he said he decided to leave his health revelation in the episode so that other people could learn — like he did — that there are preventative steps that can be taken to combat Alzheimer’s. “It’s not like I’ve been handed my resignation and this is what it is—and it’s up in a few months,” he said. “It’s not quite that situation, thankfully.”
CHRIS HEMSWORTH TAKING A BREAK FROM THE INDUSTRY
Chris Hemsworth is one of the most popular actors in Hollywood and has a worldwide fandom. He mesmerised his fans time and again with his top-notch acting skills in several movies. He deserves special credit for Thor: Love and Thunder.
In a recent episode of Limitless, he said, “It’s not a pre-deterministic gene, but it is a strong indication. Ten years ago, I think it was more thought of as determinant. It’s not like I’ve been handed my resignation.”
Essentially, he inherited two copies of the APOE4 gene from each parent, one from his mother and one from his father. According to reports, this combination raises the risk of Alzheimer’s.
He continued, “It really triggered something in me to want to take some time off. 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.”
Hemsworth explores the complete potential of the human body in the six-part National Geographic television series Limitless, which is currently streaming on Disney+. The episodes are devoted to the science of longevity.
When Disney offered to cut the sequences where Hemsworth learns of his propensity for Alzheimer’s, the actor declined. He said, “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. 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.”