Chris Hemsworth’s schedule is ‘clear’ after taking a step back from acting following his shock predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease.
Chris Hemsworth is a good bloke in every sense of the word.
According to new reports, the 39-year-old is choosing family over fame and fortune as he takes a step back from his Hollywood career indefinitely, to make memories with those he holds dearest, following the discovery of his genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease.
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Page Six reported that once the father-of-three wraps his four upcoming projects, his schedule “clear in the not-too-distant future”. A source told the publication, “he doesn’t plan to take on many roles because of [learning about his high risk for] Alzheimer’s.”
Chris, who lives in the Byron Bay region with his wife, actress Elsa Pataky, daughter India, 10m and nine-year-old twin boys Sasha and Tristan, first learned of his genetic risk factors while filming his 2022 Disney+ docuseries Limitless With Chris Hemsworth.
After extensive testing for the series, which is all about testing the body’s limits for longevity, he was told he had two copies of the risk factor gene, APOE4, which increases his risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias later in life.
“Most of us, we like to avoid speaking about death,” Chris told Vanity Fair. “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.”
The detection of two copies of the APOE4 gene in his genetic framework indicates that he has inherited the gene from both of his parents. One in every four people are likely to carry a single copy of the gene, but having two copies is a scenario which affects only two to three per cent of the entire population, according to a 2021 study by the National Institutes of Health.
With two copies of the gene, Chris is “eight to 10 times more likely” to be diagnosed with the dementia disease and to battle progressive mental deterioration later in life.
In the series and interview with Vanity Fair, Chris said without hesitation that his priority now is being with family, not shooting blockbuster films. He’s also doing all he can to preserve his mind and body, and fight his genetic predisposition head-on.
“For me, the positive of it was like, ‘Right, if I didn’t know this [Alzheimer’s] information, I wouldn’t have made the changes I made.’ I just wasn’t aware of any of it, so now I feel thankful that I have in my arsenal the sort of tools to best prepare myself and prevent things happening in that way,” he said.
“When you have predisposition to…anything – it’s all about sleep management, stress management, nutrition, movement fitness,” he continued. “It’s all kind of the same tools that need to be applied in a consistent way.”
While we’re sad Chris is taking a hiatus from our screens, his decision to prioritise his loved ones and health above all else just makes us love him more.
And we’ll always have Thor…