Chris Hemsworth has shared how his father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis has fundamentally changed the way he looks at life, success and time, admitting it has made him far more aware of how fragile everything really is.
speaks to The Guardian in a profile published on February 3, the Australian actor said that the illness affecting his father, Craig, has forced him to slow down and reassess his priorities.
“My appetite to drive forward has really been curbed,” Hemsworth said, adding that the diagnosis has made him “more aware of the fragility of things”.
“You start thinking, ‘My dad won’t be here forever’.”
The 42-year-old explained that the change is not limited to his relationship with his parents. Watching one’s children grow up has been another emotional marker of the time.
“My children are now 11 and 13. The nights when they would fight to sleep in our bed, suddenly they don’t happen anymore,” he told the newspaper, reflecting on how quickly the small, everyday moments disappear.
Hemsworth said he is now rethinking what success actually means to him.
“I used to think that if I got nominated for something, maybe I’d feel good about myself. Or maybe if I had the biggest movie of all time, or launched another franchise, then I’d feel fulfilled,” he said.
“It’s absurd. My self-esteem doesn’t rest on all those external things anymore, even though I still have to remember myself.”
His wife, Elsa Pataky, has played a big role in keeping him grounded, and Hemsworth says he’s learning to relax more and make more conscious, meaningful choices about work and life.
The more reflective side of the actor was on full display in his National Geographic documentary Chris Hemsworth: A Roadtrip to Rememberreleased in November 2025, which focused on his father’s early-onset Alzheimer’s and the reminiscence therapy they used together.
Hemsworth admitted that he initially questioned whether he was exposing too much of himself.
“I wondered if I was letting people in too far,” he said. “Are they no longer going to believe in the action star or the Marvel character? And do I want people to know my fears and insecurities to this level?”
In the end, he said, the project became something deeply personal.
“It was a love letter to my dad,” Hemsworth explained, noting how uncomfortable conversations around Alzheimer’s can be.
“People like to pretend [Alzheimer’s is] doesn’t happen because it’s so uncomfortable for them, so you suffer in silence.”
He added that people often avoid asking the harder questions, as if someone is scared or struggling.
Bart Layton, who directed Hemsworth Crime 101said actor’s openness challenged his own assumptions.
“I was expecting a very different kind of person, who was more classically alpha,” Layton said.
“And what you find is someone who is really thoughtful and sensitive and insecure in the way that we all are.”
Hemsworth currently stars in the heist thriller Crime 101co-written by Peter Straughan, along with Halle Berry, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Nick Nolte.
The film hits theaters on February 13.
