Chris Hemsworth announces his break from acting: Alzheimer's Disease

Chris Hemsworth is a well-known Hollywood actor best known for playing the Norse God Thor. The Avengers series, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, Extraction, Thor: Love and Thunder, and many other movies feature him. He is one of the highest-paid actors in the world.

But now that the Australian actor has learnt that he has a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's, he is in the news. He discovered this while participating in demanding physical tests for the upcoming docu series Limitless, when he pushed the envelope. With his wife Elsa Pataky, the 39-year-old actor has three children: sons Tristan and Sasha, 8, and daughter India, 10.

Hemsworth learned throughout the course of the show's filming that he has an eight to ten times greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease than the normal person. Chris Hemsworth had some genetic testing during the show to determine what his DNA may hold for the future. Then it was discovered that Chris had two copies of the gene APOE4, which is associated with a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. He referred to it as his life's greatest fear.

Chris Hemsworth stated in a chat with Vanity Fair

The Thor actor has since made the decision to take a break from acting in order to concentrate on his health. Chris stated in a chat with Vanity Fair, “My concern was I just didn’t want to manipulate it and over-dramatize it and make it into some sort of hokey grab at empathy, or whatever, for entertainment. It’s not like I’ve been handed my resignation. Most of us, we like to avoid speaking about death in the hope that we’ll somehow avoid it. We all have this belief that we’ll figure it out. Then all of a sudden be told some big indicators are actually pointing to this as the route which is going to happen, and the reality of it sinks in. Your own mortality.”

Chris Hemsworth further stated, “Doing an episode on death and facing your own mortality made me go, “Oh God, I’m not ready to go yet. I want to sit and be in this space with a greater sense of stillness and gratitude. And then you start talking about kids and family…”

Chris Hemsworth continued, “It really triggered something in me to want to take some time off. And since we finished the show, I have 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.”