’You feel you’re special on a film set, kids remind you that’s not the case’
Byron Bay’s most recognised celebrity Chris Hemsworth has exposed what he fears, how he’s dealing with COVID isolation and what he did with his cash when he made it big in Hollywood.
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He is only human after all – it is nice to hear Hollywood hunk Chris Hemsworth suffers the same insecurities as the rest of us.
Appearing on the cover of GQ Australia’s May/June issue, the father of three says he too has struggled with work-life balance throughout his career.
“You need to have an obsessive approach just like anything where the odds are stacked against you and it’s a one-in-a-million chance that you’re going to get your foot in the door,” the actor known globally for playing action hero Thor tells the magazine, in stores Monday.
“But once you are on that train, not a day goes by where you don’t think it’s going to be taken away, all of a sudden.
“You still have this fear and anxiety programmed in you that it’s all going to slip away.”
Hemsworth, 36, added: “But I must admit that once I had paid off my parents’ house and taken care of my family, I had a moment where I thought: what now? What’s driving this?
“Every job I’d take, every time I’d go off on these extended trips, it got harder and harder.
“For a little while you don’t think the kids notice and then you realise they do.
“I absolutely want to continue to make films that I’m proud of, but that can also wait. Now what’s more important is my kids are at an age I don’t want to miss.
“And I’d hate to look back in 20 years and go, ‘Right, let’s get to work as a parent’ and I’ve missed it all.”
Coronavirus has come as a forced reset to Hemsworth, like it has to many around the world.
He has relished the time with his wife, actor Elsa Pataky, and their three kids – India Rose, seven, and five-year-old twin boys Sasha and Tristan.
Despite being one of our biggest name acting exports in decades, Hemsworth has to work hard to impress his kids.
“I get a kick out of it when they actually enjoy my movies,” he says.
“But there’s also an equal share of eye-rolls – I couldn’t be less cool in their eyes. It’s nature’s way of telling me the truth.
“You can fall into a false sense of self-importance on a film set, where you feel you’re special, so it’s good to remind yourself that it’s not that case. And kids certainly drive that home.”
Hemsworth got his acting start on TV soap Home and Away, playing Kim Hyde from 2004 to 2007.
He is most famous for playing God of Thunder Thor in the Marvel film franchise and has also starred in big budget flicks Star Trek, Rush, The Huntsman and Men In Black.
“It’s probably the first time in about 10 years that I don’t know what I’m doing for the next six months,” he explained. “I don’t have it all mapped out.
“To some degree, it’s nice not to have a schedule, but the unknown and the uncertainty is intimidating.
“I’ve spent probably 15 years in what felt like a marathon, a constant workload.
“So much of my energy has been geared towards that, and then having kids at the same time, I’ve been constantly trying to find the balance. I’ve really yearned for more stillness and felt a definite need to slow down.
“Not having a schedule in front of me has made me reposition my values and what’s important, and I think most people are having those kinds of thoughts right now.”
Originally published as ’You feel you’re special on a film set, kids remind you that’s not the case’