Chris Hemsworth took drum lessons from Parkway Drive star for Ed Sheeran show

The Australian

3 days ago

Chris Hemsworth could have asked anyone to teach him to play drums.
When you're an established Hollywood A-lister and wealthy celebrity familiar to most people alive today through your 14-year Marvel film portrayal of Thor, the Norse god of thunder, surely that's a perk of being famous: when you need to learn to pick up sticks and keep time for the purposes of filming a TV series centred on boosting health and longevity, you can have your pick of the world's best drum teachers.
Or so you'd assume. Yet in a surprising twist, the Australian actor had been pushed beyond his comfort zone by one of the biggest stars in pop music: Ed Sheeran, the mega-selling British singer, songwriter and guitarist who habitually fills stadiums here and abroad.
It was Sheeran who suggested he learn an entirely new musical skill while the actor researched how to boost his brain power by taking it as seriously as he does his physical fitness regimen, which is evident to anyone who's ever glanced at Hemsworth's impressive physique.
It was Sheeran, too, who lit a proverbial fire under Hemsworth by setting a deadline and a goal: for the newbie drummer to become proficient enough to be able to perform a song live with the British star once his stadium tour resumed in Europe.
British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, left, with Chris Hemsworth in Limitless: Live Better Now. Picture: National Geographic/Laura Radford
So far, so unusual. Yet rather than seeking an acclaimed percussion teacher, Hemsworth decided to keep his initial query close to home by asking friend and fellow Byron Bay local Ben Gordon if he happened to be available to take the newcomer under his wing for hourly lessons.
'It was just by virtue of being friends with Chris; we've been friends for about six or seven years now, just because he lives in Byron, and we got introduced by a mutual friend a while ago, and became mates after that,' says Gordon. 'When he got challenged to learn the drums by Ed Sheeran for that episode, he gave me a call.'
Gordon was a surprising candidate for the job, which becomes a crucial part of a new National Geographic TV series, not least because he hasn't recently been teaching drums to anyone.
'When I was a teenager, I had a few students, but I don't think I've taught anyone since I was 20 – so nearly 20 years ago,' he tells The Australian with a shrug.
Instead, he's been a little busy in the past two decades. Teaching drums hasn't been much on Gordon's mind because he's been playing drums in Parkway Drive, Australia's most popular heavy metal band, who last year celebrated their 20th anniversary with a national tour that sold about 65,000 tickets. The man himself has become globally known for a mid-show set piece that involves playing drums while spinning upside down through 360 degrees.
The chart-topping quintet first began playing music together in 2003, in a house on a Byron Bay street named Parkway Drive. All five members still live locally, too, when they're not touring international arenas and headlining music festivals with their highly energetic and ARIA Award-winning style of heavy music. Gordon, then, was the right man for the job.
'There's a really big difference between being good at something and being an educator,' he says. 'I totally admit I am not the best teacher. There are teachers out there who would have been far better at the job. However, I think what Nat Geo liked about me doing it – apart from the fact that Chris and I are friends – was that I have the experience of real-life touring and playing in front of thousands and thousands of people, for many years.
Ben Gordon at the Sydney Opera House with his 'cage of death' drum kit. Picture: Third Eye Visuals
'It wasn't just teaching him the drums; that was one aspect, but it was also the mindset of going out and playing to 70,000 people, which I've done many times.
'Chris Hemsworth is no stranger to pressure; he obviously does these massive films with massive budgets, but it's a very different thing when your audience actually is there in the room, rather than there's just a handful of crew. Seventy-thousand people screaming – you can't really replicate that, and I had to give him a lot of tips that I've learned over the years; how to deal with that pressure and that situation, and stay calm. I think it was necessary to get someone who actually had real experience.'
All of these factors combine in the first episode of Limitless: Live Better Now, a three-part series that serves as the second season of a National Geographic documentary program in which Hemsworth is enlisted as a human guinea pig seeking to better himself in various ways.
Created by neuroscientist Ari Handel and acclaimed filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (The Whale, Black Swan), Limitless premiered in 2022; in its fifth episode, Hemsworth was surprised to discover a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's disease, which has fuelled his ongoing desire to care for his health and longevity.
'He doesn't need to do this series,' says Gordon. 'He's obviously one of the most well-known people in the world; he's obviously very financially secure. But he's diving in and doing this series for his own learning and growth. That's why I have so much admiration for him, because he's basically putting himself out there, with the potential to fail in a dramatic way, in front of millions of people.'
This second series is centred on exploring science-backed ways to improve our health. Other episodes are built around concepts of risk and pain, while in this one, titled Brain Power, the artistic chemistry shared between the actor, singer and heavy metal drummer is delightful, and the dramatic narrative of the countdown to showtime with Sheeran is compelling.
'In this particular episode, he chose something he was not skilled at,' Gordon explains. 'A lot of these other challenges, he could use his strength and bravery to jump in the ice and swim, or climb the rope, or go over the cliff. He's obviously comfortable with that, even though they're very scary experiences. But something like learning the drums, you can't fake; you have to put the time in.'
Ed Sheeran and Chris Hemsworth. Picture: National Geographic/Laura Radford
The project evolved in real time, too, as it became clear the Parkway Drive co-founder was required to be more than just a consultant for his friend.
'I was just going to be his teacher, initially off-camera,' says Gordon. 'Then they started filming it, and halfway through they realised that I was a valuable character in the film.'
It helped that the man himself was demanding his presence, too.
'It was also Chris messaging them, saying, 'I need Ben there when I play live', because he confided in me, as his drum teacher and mentor,' says Gordon. 'And it was really lucky I went, because on the night there was so many different technical things that he would have been lost without me there.'
The night in question was August 24, 2024 at the National Arena in Bucharest, Romania, where about 70,000 of Sheeran's fans had gathered for a sold-out stadium show. This was an extension of his Mathematics tour, which visited our shores in early 2023; The Australian's review of the first Brisbane show described it as 'immaculate showmanship delivered by a singular artist whose love for live performance is unquestionable'.
Chris Hemsworth, left, talks with Ben Gordon during a walk-through before his concert appearance drumming for Ed Sheeran. Picture: National Geographic/Evan Paterakis
Chris Hemsworth (centre) and Ed Sheeran (right) meet in Bucharest before the concert. Picture: National Geographic/Evan Paterakis
None of Sheeran's fans in Bucharest knew they'd be seeing Thor playing drums that night; it was a mid-set surprise, with Hemsworth's cameo arriving 15 songs in, when he joined the British artist for one of his biggest hits, 2014's Thinking Out Loud (3.9 billion plays on YouTube; 2.8 billion on Spotify).
As far as live musical debuts go, they don't really come much bigger.
'I'm so glad I made the trip,' says Gordon. 'Honestly, watching him play live was one of the best moments of my life, which is surprising for me to say that; I felt like a proud dad watching his son perform at the grand final, or something like that. It was just such a big build-up – the months of leading up to it, filming the show – and then when we're walking out – I'm no stranger to walking out in front of thousands of screaming people, but it was a weird feeling for me, because the pressure's not on me. My job's done; I just get to sit and watch, and hope that he performs.'
Chris Hemsworth behind the kit. Picture: National Geographic / Evan Paterakis
And does he perform? The tension, drama and pleasure are in watching it unfold, so you won't find spoilers here.
Gordon is himself a filmmaker, having produced two entertaining documentaries about his band in The DVD (2009) and Home is For the Heartless (2012), which each told the story of Parkway Drive's slow ascent to global notice among metal fans, including their first forays into international touring, naively attempted without a record label, press, promotion or dedicated booking agents.
Ed Sheeran and Chris Hemsworth on stage in Bucharest, Romania. Picture: National Geographic/Evan Paterakis
The quintet have come a long way since those early days of struggle, fuelled by a shared love of heavy music. Having played at the Sydney Opera House with a symphony orchestra in June – which The Australian described as 'milestone moment not only in the band's career but in Australian music history, too' – the band will next month take its 20-year anniversary tour to Europe.
Ben Gordon performing with a symphony orchestra at the Sydney Opera House in June 2025. Picture: Third Eye Visuals
Next year, it will debut its Park Waves heavy music festival across 11 dates that will include a rare hometown show in Byron Bay set for March 14, alongside bands including The Amity Affliction, Northlane and Alpha Wolf.
From his co-starring role in Limitless, Gordon has taken much more than he expected when he first agreed to start teaching his mate to play drums. Aspects of his musical life that had previously been tossed in the 'too hard' basket have since been approached with a growth mindset: it's not that you can't do something, it's that you can't do something yet, like learning to play piano, or how to properly use recording software Pro Tools.
The drummer's 'proud dad' analogy is apt, too, because both men are fathers, and perhaps that's an ulterior motive of this series: to lead by example, and to show the next generation of Hemsworths what they're capable of doing, just like that time their dad was tasked by Ed Sheeran with learning a new skill from scratch.
'Chris is a dedicated father himself; every time I bump into him in Byron, he's always with his kids, teaching them surfing or skating,' says Gordon. 'I think it's a really important and powerful message to teach people in general: if he, at 41 years of age, can learn the drums in two months and perform at the highest level, it's actually really inspiring. I think his kids, and other kids seeing that – it just reiterates that they can do anything they put their mind to.'
Limitless: Live Better Now is available to stream now via Disney+. Parkway Drive's Park Waves festival will begin in Perth (February 14) and end at Sandstone Point, Queensland (March 15).
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