A year and a half after publicly revealing he has a genetic predisposition for Alzheimer’s disease, Chris Hemsworth has once again shut down claims that he is stepping away from Hollywood to focus on his health.
Gracing the cover of Vanity Fair’s May issue, the Australian actor told the publication that the media’s reaction to his health revelation initially upset him.
“It really kind of pissed me off because it felt like I had been vulnerable with something personal and shared this,” the 40-year-old explained.
“No matter how much I said ‘This is not a death sentence,’ the story became that I have dementia and I’m reconsidering life and retiring and so on,” he continued.
Mr. Hemsworth—whose new film “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” hits theaters later this month—first learned that he had an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s while filming his National Geographic docuseries, “Limitless With Chris Hemsworth.” During the six-part documentary, which aired in November 2022, the actor challenged his mind and body by completing various extreme activities, such as surfing in the frigid waters of the Norwegian Arctic, in a bid for longevity.
After undergoing genetic testing to explore the health of his brain, Mr. Hemsworth discovered that he carries two copies of the APOE4 gene—a set from each parent—making him 8 to 10 times more likely to get the progressive disease when he is older.
At the same time the episode aired, Mr. Hemsworth had coincidentally taken time off from working, leading some media outlets to speculate that his test results had prompted him to take time away from acting.
The APOE4 Gene
According to a 2021 study by the National Institutes of Health, the apolipoprotein E gene, or APOE4 gene, is “one of the most significant genetic risk factors” for Alzheimer’s—a type of dementia that affects memory, thinking, and behavior. However, inheriting the gene does not guarantee that a person will develop the disease.Researchers estimate that a quarter of the population carries only one copy of the APOE4 gene, with only 2–3 percent carrying two copies.
Speaking with Vanity Fair in November 2022, Mr. Hemsworth said learning of his increased risk of Alzheimer’s spurred him to make changes in his life to help reduce his chances of developing the disease.
“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 explained.
“It was a really good catalyst to dive into everything I needed to be doing in either the prevention front or the management front or however you want to classify it.”
Confronting Death
After receiving his results during the National Geographic docuseries, Mr. Hemsworth’s entire family underwent genetic testing. His father, Craig, who also carries the APOE4 gene, is already displaying early signs of Alzheimer’s, per Vanity Fair.Last June, not long after “Limitless With Chris Hemsworth” aired, the actor disclosed during an interview with British GQ that his grandfather, Martin, had recently passed away at the age of 93 following a battle with Alzheimer’s.
“It made me think about my own life,” he said. “And it wasn’t about career or anything. It was about being remembered as someone who was good and kind and contributed something of value.”
Mr. Hemsworth continued: “I certainly don’t think about the films I’m going to leave behind and how people are going to remember me in that sense. I hope that people think of me fondly and that I was a good person. That I was a good bloke. Like my grandpa.”
During the final episode “Acceptance” of his 2022 docuseries, Mr. Hemsworth faces “his most extreme and emotional challenge,” per a synopsis. Instead of trying to delay his body’s natural aging process, the actor confronts his mortality.
“I think that’s my favorite episode,” he told Vanity Fair that same year. “That’s where I worked with the death doula and people who worked in palliative care and end of life care and then spoke to a number of people who were at the end of their days or coming upon them—even younger people that were diagnosed with cancer and didn’t have long to live.
“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,’” he continued.
“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.”
