Chris Hemsworth is reportedly taking a huge step back from Hollywood film roles after discovering he is genetically predisposed to Alzheimer’s disease.
The Australian actor, 39, isn’t planning on retiring anytime soon, but is slowing down after discovering he is genetically predisposed to Alzheimer’s disease.
Hemsworth currently has four projects in the works including an upcoming Avengers sequel where he returns as his character Thor, and an untitled biopic about wrestling icon Hulk Hogan.
A source told Page Six his schedule is looking clear beyond these films.
‘He doesn’t plan to take on many roles because of [learning about his high risk for] Alzheimer’s,’ an insider told the publication.
The former Home and Away star told Vanity Fair in November he’s ‘not talking about retiring by any means,’ but taking ‘a more curated approach to things’.
In the same interview, Hemsworth disclosed he’s at higher risk of suffering from Alzheimer’s disease after filming a confronting episode about death for his Disney+ docuseries Limitless.
After having bloodwork done for the program, he was informed he is ‘between eight and 10 times’ likelier to develop Alzheimer’s than the general population, because he is one of only two to three percent of people with two copies of the gene APOE4.
‘Yeah, there was an intensity to navigating it,’ he said.
‘Most of us, we like to avoid speaking about death in the hope that we’ll somehow avoid it.’
The former Home and Away star added: ‘We all have this belief that we’ll figure it out. Then to all of a sudden be told some big indicators are actually pointing to this as the route which is going to happen, the reality of it sinks in. Your own mortality.’