Chris Hemsworth discovers ‘shocking’ health news in new series Limitless

‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ star pushes himself to the physical limits in new National Geographic show

Chris Hemsworth received a “shocking” health warning in his new series Limitless.

The 39-year-old Australian actor, who is best known for his physically demanding roles, has taken on a new challenge in his six-part docuseries, which was released on Wednesday 16 November on Disney+.

In an attempt to explore different ways humans can live healthier and for longer, Hemsworth faces a series of epic physical challenges, including diving into ice-cold waters or climbing skyscrapers.

However, in the fifth episode, titled “Memory”, the Thor: Love and Thunder star discovered his “biggest fear” after receiving DNA test results.

Warning: possible spoilers below

Speaking to Vanity Fair in a new interview, published on Thursday 17 November, Hemsworth recalled the moment he was given the news that doctors had found two copies of the gene APOE4, which has been linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

“They took all my bloodwork and did a bunch of tests and the plan was to on-camera tell me all the results and then talk about how you can improve this and that,” he said.

Chris Hemsworth ‘Limitless’ (National Geographic for Disney+/Craig Parry)

“And Peter Attia, who is the longevity doctor in that episode, and overseeing a lot of the show, called [show creator] Darren [Aronofsky] and said, ‘I don’t want to tell him this on camera. We need to have an off-side conversation and see if he even wants this to be in the show.’

“It was pretty shocking because he called me up and he told me.”

Hemsworth explained that he had certainly not expected to receive such “intense” news as the show was originally intended to be a “fun” way of exploring “longevity”.

However, he said: “It was a really good catalyst to dive into everything I needed to be doing in either the prevention front or the management front.

“There was an intensity to navigating it. Most of us, we like to avoid speaking about death in the hope that we’ll somehow avoid it.”

And though he said he was “offered a version of the episode where we didn’t talk about”, Hemsworth said he felt obligated to share his experience as a way of motivating “people to take better care of themselves and also understand that there are steps you can take”.

Limitless is available to stream on Disney+.