Chris Hemsworth Talks Stunt Work, Discipline, & His Fitness App, Centr

Jonathan Wells June 3, 2024

In recent years, Chris Hemsworth has assembled a team — but not the one you think. Because, while its members may look like superheroes, the Marvel star’s latest squad is drawn not from the pages of comic books, but rather from different corners of the wellness world. His new Avengers are athletes, skilled in meditation, martial arts, cookery, and cardio — and they appear on smaller screens, via a smartphone app that the Australian actor began developing in 2017. Centr is a virtual coaching platform, a one-stop, fitness-boosting shop, and a venture that leverages Hemsworth’s lasting relationships with the most trusted trainers in the movie business.

The app officially launched in 2019, but Hemsworth, who turned 40 last summer, was a certified fitness fanatic long before Centr snagged its first subscriber (it now has more than a quarter of a million users). His enthusiasm for exercise and conditioning began even before he landed the plum role of Asgardian superhero Thor in 2009, cast as a relative unknown. In fact, it was instilled in him as a child, growing up alongside two brothers (Luke and Liam, also actors) in a family that bounced around Australia, moving between the Outback of the Northern Territory and an island off the coast of Melbourne. And, although these moves gave his childhood a certain volatility, the actor credits his early interest in sport with keeping him on the straight and narrow.

“Sport gave me something positive to focus on, as opposed to letting my mind take me to more dangerous places.”

Chris Hemsworth

“It kept me out of trouble!” laughs Hemsworth, speaking to SHARP from L.A. “Sport gave me something positive to focus on, as opposed to letting my mind take me to more dangerous places. Like any of us, boredom is what gets us into trouble. So, being a kid and having surfing, football, and athletics was just a real gift, you know? But I think that it also set the stage, and paved the way for me to be athletic within the film space as well. And I’m very thankful for that.”

Hemsworth’s early roles kept him close to home in Australia — but few offered him the active element he so eagerly sought. He’d followed his elder brother’s path into acting, securing parts in a handful of children’s television series and the long-running soap opera Home and Away. He even competed in the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars (finishing fifth, he was slain by the salsa in week seven).

By 2008, however, Hollywood had pricked up its ears, and Hemsworth was chosen to play George Kirk, the father of Chris Pine’s protagonist space captain in the rebooted Star Trek franchise. It was a small role, but the first rung on the action hero ladder, and proof that his competitive nature was well-suited to weathering the inconsistency of a young actor’s career.

“I think the sort of discipline that’s required with any sort of sport you commit yourself to is also essential in any line of work,” says Hemsworth, recalling his early days of castings and auditions. “With regards to acting, and the amount of doors that are closed, it’s essential to have a healthy amount of resilience, and persistence, and patience, and commitment. And I do attribute a lot of my work ethic to my athletic background. Even the repetition of lines, or how to lock in a character through continually approaching it again, and again, and again.”

“Look, what goes on between my ears can be pretty noisy and busy. And, when you’re trying to exploit or manipulate some of those inner feelings for a character, it can be pretty hard to switch off at the end of the day. So, depending on how stimulated or heightened of a state I’m in, I can exhaust myself out of that state using exercise and movement. But, at other times, it takes stillness, and a gentler approach through meditation.”

Chris Hemsworth

Once Marvel came knocking, Hemsworth’s aptitude for repetition was really put to the test. In just five years, he starred as Thor in four films (two solo outings and two Avengers movies), and was propelled from new kid on the block to one of the most recognizable faces on the planet. Lesser men may have buckled under such scrutiny and pressure. But Hemsworth, who today champions meditation as a key tenet of Centr (in-app instructors include Vinyasa yoga expert Tahl Rinsky and Hemsworth’s own chef Dan Churchill), learned the value of mindfulness early on in his career.

“Look,” he reasons, “what goes on between my ears can be pretty noisy and busy. And, when you’re trying to exploit or manipulate some of those inner feelings for a character, it can be pretty hard to switch off at the end of the day. So, depending on how stimulated or heightened of a state I’m in, I can exhaust myself out of that state using exercise and movement. But, at other times, it takes stillness, and a gentler approach through meditation.”

Hemsworth was introduced to the art of clear-thinking when he enrolled in a course with Buddhist organization Rigpa. “It all felt very familiar and made sense,” he says of the experience. “And, while I’m not from a religious background, my parents are definitely spiritual people. They’re quite articulate and well-educated about philosophy.”

Family appears to be the foundation of Hemsworth’s life, and has even crossed over into his career. His wife and daughter appeared, albeit briefly, in the latest Thor film, and he has supported his two brothers’ many projects over the years (though he’s never acted alongside either). His most recent role, the straggly-haired warlord Dr. Dementus in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, was even partly inspired by the actor’s grandfather. It sounds strange, especially when Hemsworth’s imposing physique is on show throughout the film, but he says that he developed this particular character using something other than pure physicality.

“What separates all films these days, and what really resonates, is the characters.”

Chris Hemsworth

“The biggest thing for me, as a way in, was the vocal quality of the character,” explains the actor. “I wanted there to be something abrasive and abrupt about it — an ear-piercing nasality. So it was an Australian accent, but not a contemporary Australian accent. And it had different influences, from horse-racing commentary and the musicality of that, to sideshow circus hosts. There was even a bit of my grandfather, who had quite a high level of nasality, and a high pitch.”

A more obscure reference, he adds, was seagulls — “loud, obnoxious animals, but with something that spoke to the character.” And, it was only after Hemsworth strung these disparate influences together that he began work on Dementus’s physicality. “He’s definitely aware of the need to stand out to amass a large group of followers, to be flamboyant and entertaining — but also intimidating. It was a very fun character to build.”

The George Miller–directed film, which is attracting rave reviews at the time of writing, also marks Hemsworth’s first time wearing prosthetics for a role. From nutritionists to bodybuilders, the actor is accustomed to calling on his trusted team — many of whom he recruited to Centr — to help him safely alter his appearance for roles. In 2015, for example, a photograph of his emaciated physique, taken while filming period survival drama In the Heart of the Sea, went viral. But relying on the skills of the makeup and hairstyling team, he says, proved a refreshing way to transform himself.

“It was great!” he laughs. “This was the furthest I’d ever gone in terms of changing my physical features, and it’s quite refreshing to look in the mirror and not see yourself staring back. It’s a much easier jumping-off point into the mind of the character when you don’t recognize yourself. So I loved it.

“I’ve loved playing Thor and heroes over the years,” he continues. “But those roles come with expectations and limitations, whereas a villain is allowed to be a little more boundless and a little more unforgiving. They can be contradictory and unexpected. And that I found a great amount of creative freedom in.”

“The men and women in the stunt world are built differently. The punishment that they’ll put themselves through, day in, day out, and without acknowledgement sometimes, is unique.”

Chris Hemsworth

Following Furiosa, Hemsworth will appear in a new film from Kick-Ass and Kingsman director Matthew Vaughn, which Vaughn has promised will “reinvent the action movie.” Hemsworth has been sworn to Marvel levels of secrecy when discussing the project, but does say that it is “a massive nod of appreciation to the stunt department, and people who work in the space. There’s a good amount of humour in there, too. I can’t say a huge amount, but as far as the things that they were pulling off in that film, with world records being broken? There were numerous.”

“Look, I’m athletic,” he adds, “but the men and women in the stunt world are built differently. The punishment that they’ll put themselves through, day in, day out, and without acknowledgement sometimes, is unique. And, even if you do the majority of your own stunts, they’ve always been prepped by your stunt double. So Bobby would have done mine 100 times all the wrong ways to figure out the safest way for me to do it.”

“Although, I’ve got to say, I do really enjoy it when I get to play a character who isn’t in a fist fight or using a weapon. And not as many of those come my way.”

Chris Hemsworth

“Bobby” is Bobby Holland Hanton, a seasoned stunt performer and perhaps Hemsworth’s most trusted double. He’s also one of Centr’s most established instructors — a mainstay of the training team since the app launched, and an expert in muscle-building, plyometrics, and even certain meditation techniques. Over the years, he’s stepped in for Hemsworth for stunt sequences in Men in Black: International, Bad Times at the El Royale, and Netflix’s newest action hit, the Extraction franchise.

The British stunt performer has also shrugged on the heavy cape and golden tresses of Thor half a dozen times — a role Hemsworth himself has played, including cameos, a startling nine times. That’s more than almost any other superhero, save for Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, who returns to theatres this summer. In preparation for Deadpool & Wolverine, Jackman used the Instagram hashtag #becomingwolverineagain to painstakingly chronicle his return to the role at 55 years of age, honestly depicting the struggles of fiercely training for a role he first played 25 years ago. Does Hemsworth, too, regard the longevity of comic book characters with trepidation, or would he gladly still be #becomingthoragain in another 15 years?

“I really enjoy it, you know?” he reasons. “And it’s another reason to stay fit. The biggest indicators of lifespan, health span, and life expectancy are your VO2 max, your muscle mass, and your strength, right? And I want a long life that’s full of physical activity, so I don’t plan on stopping any of it soon. And it’s the same on the film front — for as long as they’ll have me!

“Although, I’ve got to say, I do really enjoy it when I get to play a character who isn’t in a fist fight or using a weapon. And not as many of those come my way.”

But these scuffles and slugfests, though perhaps repetitive for Hemsworth as an actor, have helped him stay in peak shape for decades, and seen him crowned the combat king of modern cinema (you don’t win Best Fight at the MTV Movie Awards for nothing). His example is likely why martial arts have become such firm favourites of Centr users; the app offers the chance to train under the storied stewardship of industry legends including Toronto-based kickboxing champion Jorge “The Spaniard” Blanco, who uses his own system to help sportsmen such as NHL players sharpen their reflexes. Also on Centr’s fight card is Michael Olajide Jr., a trainer dubbed “The Godfather of Boxing for Fitness” who has helped turn actors including Will Smith and Mickey Rourke into convincing facsimiles of fighters. Such brawny, brawling roles — whether in The Wrestler, The Fighter, Ali, or Raging Bull — always seem to be hotly tipped when awards season rolls around. So, given he is clearly capable of taking on such a role, would Hemsworth ever consider playing a fighter? As, incredibly, he never has.

“I’d love to, you know,” he says. “The first real martial art I did was boxing. I boxed from a very young age. And then, many years later, I did a bit of Muay Thai. And I love it. I love MMA. I watch the UFC religiously.”

“But it’s interesting,” Hemsworth adds. “Because I also surf a lot. And, when you’re close to something, you need to be careful, because I’m so aware of how bad surf films can be. So, from a fight-film point of view, it would need to be about the character and the story. Because there’s nothing really that we could do on screen — insofar as displaying the physical capabilities — that would be unique. What separates all films these days, and what really resonates, is the characters. But hey, yeah, if a Rocky-style film came my way, that would be brilliant!”

Hemsworth’s younger boxing days, he clarifies, were simple sparring sessions with his older brother, and some light pad work. Much closer, he says, to the multi-style CrossFit training that informs many of the workouts offered on Centr. From incorporating jabs into Fusion: BoxHIIT sessions, to having its users kick their way through MMA Intensity Burner classes, Centr’s instructors blend elements of traditional exercises with the intensity of combat sports — without ever putting you in a ring.

“And I never had amateur fights, or anything like that,” says Hemsworth of his early boxing experiences. “It was more that I enjoyed the output and the work that was required. Because, as far as cardiovascular training goes, I’m not great at just steady-state cardio running — whereas boxing kept me physically active, but also kept my mind on something, too.”

And this brings us full circle, back to the “trouble” and “dangerous places” that the young Hemsworth escaped by virtue of his sporting interests. And he hasn’t stopped since, still using boxing, meditation, and training to transform himself into an ever better man. Only now, he’s got more resources, more muscle mass, and more people looking to him to inspire their own fitness journeys. So, whether he does play a big-screen prizefighter, or takes on more cerebral roles, or continues to swing the hammer for Marvel, we can be sure of one thing: he won’t be letting up. Because, while the years roll on for Chris Hemsworth, every aspect of his career, his business, and his heavy-duty workout regime are still going from strength to strength.