Chris Hemsworth shares what dad's Alzheimer's diagnosis changed

Chris Hemsworth has shared how his father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis has fundamentally shifted the way he looks at life, success and time, admitting it has made him far more aware of how fragile everything really is.

Speaking to The Guardian in a profile published on 3 February, the Australian actor said the illness affecting his father, Craig, has forced him to slow down and reassess his priorities. 

“My appetite for racing forward has really been reined in,” 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 isn’t limited to his relationship with his parents. Watching his children grow up has been another emotional marker of time passing. 

“My kids are now 11 and 13. Those nights where they’d fight over sleeping in our bed, suddenly they’re not happening anymore,” he told the paper, reflecting on how quickly those small, everyday moments disappear.

Hemsworth said he is now rethinking what success actually means to him. 

“I used to think maybe if I was nominated for something, I’d feel good about myself. Or maybe if I had the biggest film of all time, or launched another franchise, then I’d feel fulfilled,” he said. 

“It’s absurd. My self-worth doesn’t rest upon all of those exterior things anymore, though I still have to remind myself.” 

His wife, Elsa Pataky, has played a big role in keeping him grounded, with Hemsworth saying he is learning to relax more and make more deliberate, meaningful choices about work and life.

That more reflective side of the actor was on full display in his National Geographic documentary Chris Hemsworth: A Roadtrip to Remember, released in November 2025, which focused on his father’s early-stage Alzheimer’s and the reminiscence therapy they used together.

Hemsworth admitted he initially questioned whether he was exposing too much of himself. 

“I wondered if I was letting people too far in,” 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?”

Ultimately, he said the project became something deeply personal. 

“It was a love letter to my father,” Hemsworth explained, noting how uncomfortable conversations around Alzheimer’s can be. 

“People like to pretend [Alzheimer’s is] not happening, because it’s so uncomfortable for them, so you suffer in silence.” 

He added that people often avoid asking the harder questions, like whether someone is scared or struggling.

Bart Layton, who directed Hemsworth in Crime 101, said the actor’s openness challenged his own assumptions. 

“I was expecting a very different kind of human, who was more classically alpha,” Layton said. 

“And what you find is someone who’s really thoughtful and sensitive and insecure in the way we all are.”

Hemsworth currently stars in the heist thriller Crime 101, co-written by Peter Straughan, alongside Halle Berry, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Nick Nolte.

The film is set to arrive in cinemas on 13 February.