Chris Hemsworth

He is the second of three sons, following Luke (b. 1980) and preceding Liam (b. 1990); both of them are also actors.

His maternal grandfather is a Dutch immigrant and his maternal grandmother is of Irish descent; on his paternal line he is of English, Scottish, and German ancestry.

He was brought up both in Melbourne and in the Outback in Bulman, Northern Territory.

He has said, "My earliest memories were on the cattle stations up in the Outback, and then we moved back to Melbourne and then back out there and then back again. Certainly most of my childhood was in Melbourne but probably my most vivid memories were up there [in Bulman] with crocodiles and buffalo. Very different walks of life."

He attended high school at Heathmont College before his family again returned to the Northern Territory, and then moved a few years later to Phillip Island.

Hemsworth started his career by appearing in several television series.

Christopher Hemsworth (born 11 August 1983) is an Australian actor.

Christopher Hemsworth was born on 11 August 1983 in Melbourne, to Leonie (née van Os), an English teacher, and Craig Hemsworth, a social-services counsellor.

In 2002, Hemsworth starred in two episodes of fantasy television series Guinevere Jones as King Arthur, as well as making an appearance in soap opera series Neighbours and one episode of Marshall Law.

The following year, he appeared in an episode of The Saddle Club.

He rose to prominence playing Kim Hyde in the Australian television series Home and Away (2004–2007) before beginning a film career in Hollywood.

In 2004, Hemsworth auditioned for the role of Robbie Hunter in Australian soap opera Home and Away.

He did not receive the part, but was subsequently recalled for the part of Kim Hyde.

He moved to Sydney to join the cast, appearing in 171 episodes of the series.

The season premiered on 26 September 2006, and after six weeks, Hemsworth was eliminated on 7 November.

Hemsworth's appearance in the franchise almost cost him the role of Thor, as producers of the Marvel film franchise feared fans would be put off.

He left the cast of Home and Away on 3 July 2007.

Hemsworth later remarked that although he became more visible after Home and Away, his work on a soap opera did not earn him respect within the film industry.

Hemsworth was a contestant on the fifth season of Dancing with the Stars Australia, partnered with professional dancer Abbey Ross.

His other film roles include the action films Star Trek (2009), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) and its sequel The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016), Red Dawn (2012), Blackhat (2015), Men in Black: International (2019), Extraction (2020) and its 2023 sequel, the thriller A Perfect Getaway (2009) and the comedy Ghostbusters (2016).

In 2009, Hemsworth played James T. Kirk's father, George Kirk, in the opening scenes of J. J. Abrams' film Star Trek.

The role was initially offered to Matt Damon, who turned it down; Abrams appreciated Hemsworth taking on the role.

Josh Tyler of CinemaBlend was impressed with Hemsworth, describing the actor's scene as the "best five minutes I've spent in a movie theater this year."

The film was a box office success, grossing US$385.7 million.

That same year, Hemsworth played the character Kale Garrity in the thriller A Perfect Getaway.

It was a modest success, grossing US$22 million against a US$14 million budget, and received mixed reviews, but Hemsworth was praised for his "appropriately intimidating" performance of a "thuggish backpacker."

Paul Young of Screen Rant also praised Hemsworth's performance as "solid."

Hemsworth went on to play Sam in 2010's Ca$h alongside English actor Sean Bean, which was the first film he shot when he arrived in the United States.

The film's director, Stephen Milburn Anderson, said Hemsworth had only been in the United States for six weeks when he had auditioned for the role, recalling, "Here's a guy who is young, has the right look, is a very good actor and, let's face it, he's beautiful. So I say, we need to get this guy in. I was very impressed".

In November 2010, The Hollywood Reporter named Hemsworth one of the young male actors who are "pushing – or being pushed" onto the Hollywood "A-List".

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Hemsworth started playing Thor With the 2011 film of the same name and most recently reprised the role in Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), which established him among the world's highest-paid actors.

In 2011, Sony Pictures announced that Hemsworth would star in the thriller Shadow Runner, but the film has yet to go into production.

That same year, Hemsworth was cast as the superhero Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

His first film in the franchise was 2011's Thor.

He and castmate Tom Hiddleston, who ultimately played Loki, had each auditioned for the role, for which Hemsworth said he gained 20 pounds of muscle.

With a worldwide gross of US$449.3 million, Thor was the 15th highest-grossing film of 2011.

The film received positive reviews, and Hemsworth's portrayal of the God of Thunder was praised by Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times.

Hemsworth's most critically acclaimed films include the comedy horror The Cabin in the Woods (2012) and the biographical sports film Rush (2013) in which he portrayed James Hunt.

Hemsworth reprised the role the following year for the film The Avengers (2012) as one of the six superheroes—alongside Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark / Iron Man, Chris Evans' Steve Rogers / Captain America, Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner / Hulk, Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanova / Black Widow, and Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton / Hawkeye—sent to defend Earth from his adopted brother, Loki.

The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing over US$1.5 billion worldwide.