For many people, Chris Hemsworth is simply one thing: Thor. But now the actor is as much an athlete as he is a thespian, following nearly two years of intense physical training and experiments to see if he could improve his body to the point where it might prolong his life.
This all plays out in new TV series Limitless with Chris Hemsworth, where viewers can watch him undertake some insane measures — from wearing ageing suits to working with a death doula. The upcoming series has spawned headlines for different, though not entirely unrelated reasons, too. Hemsworth revealed he is taking a break from acting, following test results obtained while filming the TV show, which showed that he has 10 times the average risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, due to his genetic makeup.
Hemsworth called this his “biggest fear”, and the irony that this was discovered while filming a show about prolonging his life is not lost on him. “The show, which initially was an exploration of longevity and, of course, should be fun, became even more relevant and important for me, even more poignant than I ever thought it would be,” he told Vanity Fair.