
5 minute read
THOR FATHER
or FATHER
HE IS ONE OF HOLLYWOOD’S HIGHEST GROSSING STARS, AND YET CHRIS HEMSWORTH IS HAPPY TO ADMIT THAT NOTHING COMPARES TO HIS BLISSED-OUT HOMELIFE IN BYRON BAY, WITH WIFE ELSA PATAKY AND THEIR THREE CHILDREN
Over the last decade, or has literally hammered cinema screens across the globe. With this has come fame, glory and for the actor playing the mighty Norse God, Chris Hemsworth, a sizeable fortune. But rather than luxuriate in the inevitable prestige that comes with being a blockbuster superstar in Hollywood, the handsome 36-year-old and his Spanish wife Elsa Pataky decided to embark on a dierent adventure, relocating to Australia’s stunning Byron Bay in 2015.
“e decision to move from Los Angeles to Australia was the best we could have made,” he says. “e lm business just overwhelms you in LA. You’re living and breathing it every day and everyone’s talking about the same thing. It was starting to become oppressive.”
For the Aussie native, the joy of raising his children – daughter India, seven, and twin sons Tristan and Sasha, ve – on the northern New South Wales coast reaches far beyond the need to shield them from the cloistered connes of the entertainment industry, speaking instead to a more primitive desire of heritage and wild, unbridled freedom.
“I wanted my kids to learn about their father’s culture and be able to grow up in a place where you’re much closer to nature and the sea. We live just around the corner from the beach and it’s a totally dierent kind of world,” he explains.
“It’s also nice for the kids to get to know their grandparents, and I hope our children will grow up with the same kind of close spirit that my brothers and I grew up with.
“For me, that’s upbringing wrapped in a feeling of love, support, and with so much attention and interest. ere was security in whatever we did as brothers, and I think when you have that as a child, it gives you the incentive to take more risks when you get older… there’s nothing holding you back.” e actor’s brothers are of course fellow Hollywood heavyweights Luke and Liam Hemsworth, and while their CVs may not quite match up to that of the middle sibling, the love and solidarity between the trio is almost an Australian legend of its own, with each of them taking every opportunity to publicly praise and prop each other up. “We’re denitely competitive in other ways, but not when it comes to work,” he assures. “I think we appreciate the instability of it all, which is why family has to come rst.”
Not surprisingly, great success requires great sacrice, and the lengths Chris has gone to for his career are undeniable, particularly as bouncing between his Marvel commitments and the other more serious roles – Blackhat, In e Heart of e Sea – has required some hefty, fast, physical alterations. In particular, the strict diet and tness regime required to transform from a hammer-wielding hulk of rippling muscle (or) to a 185lb racing legend (James Hunt) in just four months which would make even the toughest of tough guys baulk. Characteristically, Hemsworth takes such challenges in his stride, though he’ll admit to nding the emotional aspect of his jet-set career somewhat harder to navigate.
“e tough part is leaving to do a lm, and each time I have to explain to my daughter the need to go away again and she asks, ‘Can I come?’. at’s heart-breaking,” he says. “I usually just bribe her to make myself feel better saying ‘I’ll bring you a present’, and the tears are gone… that’s what’s called quality parenting!” he jokes. “But seriously, I’m all about the bribes; I don’t know how you parent without them.”
Fortunately for Hemsworth, even when on the other side of the world he’s safe in the knowledge that his children are home with their devoted mother. After being introduced by friends in 2010 he and Elsa Pataky were married inside a year, and within a further two their daughter had arrived. For his “soul mate”, the decision to set aside her own acting career to raise their brood was vital to Chris reprised the role of Thor for the highest-grossing film of all time, Avengers: Endgame
Chris met fellow actor Elsa through friends in 2010


Chris hates having to leave his family behind in Byron Bay when working away
INTERVIEW: VIOLET WILDER. PHOTOGRAPHY: ALAMY/ © WALT DISNEY STUDIOS MOTION PICTURES / © MARVEL STUDIOS / COURTESY EVERETT COLLECTION; REX IMAGES/SHUTTERSTOCK; KATHY HUTCHINS/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; INSTAGRAM.COM/CHRISHEMSWORTH
create a stable, loving home. “I owe Elsa so much. ere’s all the obvious stu of her giving me three beautiful children, but also when I consider how much she has given up or put on hold, I’m so grateful. I’m constantly looking for ways to pay back what she has done for me, but I fear there’s no gesture great enough.”
With heritage being a clear value of the HemsworthPataky household, it comes as no surprise that the Madridborn matriarch converses with the kids in her native tongue, though her husband is a little less forthcoming with his Latin language skills, saying, “Elsa speaks Spanish to our kids and everyone in the house is uent in Spanish except me. I’ve always been meaning to learn the language but have never managed to do it. My kids love speaking Spanish, though, and I’m happy that they’ll grow up able to converse in more than one language – that will stand them in good stead.”
Having recently starred in the highest-grossing lm of all time (Avengers: Endgame) one could forgive Hemsworth for wanting to take a little time for himself. is year he’ll spread his wings behind the scenes, acting as a co-producer for the rst time in upcoming action thriller Out of e Fire, a lm in which he also stars. Yet with the Avengers franchise coming to its natural conclusion, it would make sense for Hemsworth to return to Australia for bonding, surng and mental regrouping. And with the renovation complete on the family’s new mega mansion, it wouldn’t be out of the question for the couple to perhaps want to add to their collection of pictureperfect children.
“At the moment we have no plans to extend as far as family goes,” he smiles. “Raising three young kids is logistically pretty tough. It’s the most beautiful thing in the world to have children, but right now Elsa and I are both very happy with the numbers as they stand!” L