
Chris Hemsworth recalls 'out of body experience' performing alongside Ed Sheeran
The Thor actor, 41, learned how to play the drums as part of the National Geographic series, Limitless: Live Better Now, and joined the Shape Of You singer on stage to play at a concert filled with 70,000 people in Bucharest, Romania.
Speaking at a Q&A, he said: "(It was) very much a kind of out of body experience and and there's something about being in unison and in time with, not just a band, but a mass group of people.
"And I imagine it was sort of like a universal prayer or whatever, where people got together, and this sort of intention to point towards something positive in the same direction that there would be some interconnected experience.
"And that's what it felt like. I felt like it was kind of beyond me at that point. I was just floating along for the ride."
Hemsworth also reflected on the first series of the show and said: "The first season almost killed me, emotionally and physically. That was by design."
He continued: "We discussed, what, if we're going to do a second season, what would we tackle? What new science is there? What we could expand upon."
The first episode of the series, titled Brain Power, follows Hemsworth as he takes on the challenge of learning to play the drums, which culminates in the surprise live performance with Sheeran.
Hemsworth also climbs a frozen 600-foot wall to see if there is a benefit to breaking out of his comfort zone and and embraces special forces pain training in South Korea.
The movie star and his family attended the series London premiere on 17 July.
The National Geographic show will be coming to Disney+ on Friday 15 August.
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The Irish Sun
24 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Planning Ed Sheeran's surprise gig was like MI6 secret mission – but it was still worst kept secret, says pub boss
THE landlord of a Wexford pub where superstar Ed Sheeran performed a surprise show has said it was planned like an MI6 operation. Bar owner Caolan Barron revealed he had no idea who would be plugging in his boozer, the Sky & The Ground pub on Wexford's South Main Street, when he was first contacted by organisers of the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann. Advertisement 4 Ed played a surprise set at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Wexford Credit: Mark Surrdige 4 Ed performed a number of trad tunes Credit: Mark Surrdige 4 Ed ended up spending three hours in the Sky & The Ground pub on Wexford's South Main Street Credit: google maps Caolan said: 'We were approached in some way a couple of weeks ago to potentially hold an event but we really didn't know what it was and it was all very vague. 'We didn't know what or who. It was very secretive and very hush, hush but we got on quite well with them'. It was only last week, the publican learned his historic boozer was to play host to a set from superstar Ed Sheeran. He said: 'I'd say about four days ago I learned it was Ed Sheeran . I then found myself thrown into organising this massive thing. It's been MI6 level of preparations. Advertisement 'The WhatsApp group I was in was insane with top level Gardai, event management, the people for the Fleadh and Ed Sheeran's security detail. The last thing we wanted was 20,000 people turning up on our doorstep'. The secret WhatsApp group continued right up to the moment Ed appeared in their bar. He said: 'We were getting minute by minute updates like 'currently on the M50, this is our estimated time of arrival'. 'In fairness, everyone put their heads together and made sure we were pretty well prepared when he arrived. Advertisement 'Although no one in our family breathed a word, it was the worst kept secret in town. In fairness I think we benefited from multiple rumours of different bands playing'. The Shape of You star ended up spending three hours in the Wexford pub, recording a podcast in an upstairs room with the 2 Johnnies and doing other chats with radio stations before coming down to perform in the pub. Ed Sheeran shuts down Wexford Fleadh Ceoil with secret gig Hitmaker Ed jammed along with local acts Amble, BIIRD, and Beoga during the session but he also made sure fans who couldn't get make inside the pub didn't miss out, making his way outside to perform an acoustic rendition of his hit single Perfect. Caolan stressed the musician seemed at home in the town. Advertisement He told RTE: 'Ed's father is from Wexford and was born here and Ed spent most of his summers in Wexford, he looks like one of us'. Speaking to Dave Moore on Today FM yesterday, Ed chatted about his connections to Ireland and his most famous celtic theme tune, Galway Girl: 'I've never actually been to this part of Wexford, I've only ever been to Gorey and I've never been to one before (Fleadh Cheoil Na hÉireann), even as a child. TRAD MUSIC 'I think if you've got family that's Irish and you're brought up with that as your culture, who is someone else to tell you what you grew up with. 'And this is the argument I have with people sometimes. Galway Girl is seen in trad head circles as the Anti-Christ but I know that it's been a gateway drug for a lot of kids to pick up instruments and learning trad and discovering new and old trad. Advertisement 'So I think it's a double edged sword. Sometimes I think you need stuff like that and people are always going to have opinions.' Ed indulged his love of Ireland with a string of covers during his Wexford set including Raglan Road and The Parting Glass, and his own song Nancy Mulligan penned about his Irish grandmother who passed away in 2023.


The Irish Sun
7 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
How Gregg Wallace & John Torode's MasterChef friendship was cursed from start with rows over backstage rules & 6am calls
John Torode has revealed the surprising reason they have never been to each other's houses - despite being best man at Wallace's wedding FOOD FOR THOUGHT How Gregg Wallace & John Torode's MasterChef friendship was cursed from start with rows over backstage rules & 6am calls THEY were the larger than life characters who ruled the MasterChef kitchen for 20 years. But as Gregg Wallace and John Torode's reign as judges ended under a murky cloud of accusations of sexist and racist language, the relationship between the two men publicly soured quicker than warm milk. Advertisement 9 John Torode and Gregg Wallace have co-presented MasterChef for 20 years Credit: Twitter/John Torode 9 The duo's reign as judges on the show ended under a murky cloud of accusations of sexist and racist language Credit: PA 9 Despite their on-screen chemistry winning them an army of fans, their relationship behind the scenes seems unconventional to say the least Credit: Shutterstock Editorial They may have known each other for more than 30 years, but their relationship has always been complicated. When accusations of misconduct first surfaced against Wallace, Torode's silence was deafening. Instead of coming out to support his colleague, Torode and his wife Lisa Faulkner stayed quiet, causing furious Wallace to unfollow them both on social media. But those who know Wallace, 60, and Torode, 59, best are unlikely to be surprised that battle lines were drawn. Advertisement Despite their on-screen chemistry winning them an army of fans, their relationship behind the scenes seems unconventional to say the least. As Torode once said bluntly: 'It's funny, we've never been friends.' After moving to the UK in the 1990s, Australian Torode was working at a London restaurant when he first encountered Wallace, who was the owner of George Allan's Greengrocers. And despite their good working relationship as chef and supplier, in 2013 Torode spoke about his doubts about Wallace for MasterChef. Advertisement 'In 2005 I was asked to go to an interview about some cooking show and Karen Ross, the boss at Shine, the production company involved, said, 'I'd love you to do it, but I need to audition people to partner you with.' I had everyone from AA Gill to Oliver Peyton,' he told The Independent. "One day she asked, 'Do you know a guy called Gregg Wallace?' I had misgivings, as Gregg was big, brash and loud. The Gregg Wallace Interview Part Two "Actually, nothing has changed, except no one expected the success the show has had.' And Wallace had a similar view of Torode from their old days, recalling their first meeting: 'It was a hot day and the kitchen door was open into the alleyway and I saw this young brash Aussie chef with his trousers rolled up around his knees, a tartan baseball cap, and a voice that was as loud as his attire.' Advertisement But working together so closely filming MasterChef - which returned today - was always going to take its toll on two big characters. Torode told The Independent: 'Spending 200 days a year filming together, we got a lot closer, but any relationship where you spend that much time together inevitably gets strained. 'We used to fight about stuff, as we're both so opinionated. In the first series it was over [eventual winner] Thomasina Miers, as Gregg had said, 'There's no way I want her.' "Then in the second round he said, 'I want her.' And I said, 'You git, how can you hate someone vehemently one day then like them?'' Advertisement 6am phone calls 9 Torode claimed Gregg used to call him up at 6am Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 9 Torode said the pair used to fight about stuff because they're "both so opinionated" Credit: IAN YATES/FAMOUS Wallace has said there is no-one he is closer to, other than his mum, than Torode and has praised his former co-star for supporting him with his mental health struggles. But it has seemed that it is Torode who has wanted to keep their relationship purely professional, complaining about everything from Wallace's 6am phone calls to his OCD tendencies. Advertisement Speaking to The Times in 2022, Torode said: 'We know each other so well. But that's not to say we don't have our moments. "With Gregg my issue is the 6am phone calls. Last time it happened I wasn't very happy and I said, 'Gregg, mate, it's 6am.' And he said, 'But you're on my list!' "That's the thing with Gregg, he gets up very early and his whole life is diarised and run on lists. Anyway, the next time I saw him face to face I sensed that disturbance in the force — I knew there was something wrong. I said, 'Mate, come on, what's up?' "He said, 'You weren't very nice to me on the phone the other morning.' I said, 'It was 6am!' and he said, 'But I get up at 5am and you were on my list!' Advertisement Best man... but 'not friends' 9 Torode was Wallace's best man at his fourth wedding to Anne-Marie Sterpini But in 2013 Torode was the one who said he would be open to expanding their friendship, but Wallace's OCD made it complicated. He claimed: 'Gregg has rules in the dressing-room that are pretty easy to understand as they are vocalised quite often. "Things like, 'Don't put anything on my table, don't touch my stuff and stay on the left-hand side of the room until lunch.' Advertisement 'I know that, with his OCD, if I went to his house, say, I'd have to sit in a certain place. It's frustrating, as I'm open [to expanding the friendship], but I don't feel Gregg is. "But he's also given me so much: he's taught me the importance of being self-deprecating and he's made me laugh at myself. He's fun and very funny.' In 2016 Wallace asked Torode to be his best man at his fourth wedding to Anne-Marie Sterpini. But it was just a year later that Torode said they weren't even friends. Advertisement 'It's funny, we've never been friends,' he told The Mirror. 'We've not been to each other's houses… He's so OCD, he wouldn't know what to do. He'd build it up in his mind for three days, and probably make himself quite sick, then he'd have an argument with his wife and not turn up. 'If I went to his house, he would feel like he wasn't in control.' Fractured 9 The duo fell out over series one winner Thomasina Miers Credit: Camera Press Advertisement Whatever their relationship was before the MasterChef scandal saw them both out of a job, it seems that it is now fractured beyond repair. The pair were both fired by the BBC last month after a report into the cooking show upheld allegations against them. The report revealed that more than 40 complaints against Wallace had been upheld, including one of unwelcome physical contact and another three of being in a state of undress. He has insisted he was cleared of "the most serious and sensational allegations'. Advertisement The upheld complaint against Torode related to a severely offensive racist term allegedly used on the set of MasterChef in 2018. The presenter said he had "no recollection" of it and that any racist language is "wholly unacceptable'. Despite unfollowing Torode and his wife Lisa on social media, Wallace defended Torode in an interview with The Sun, saying: 'I've known John for 30 years and he is not a racist.' But he added: 'We never really did get on that well. We're two very, very different characters. Advertisement "But we made bloody good telly together for 20 years.' 9 Despite unfollowing Torode and his wife Lisa on social media, Wallace defended him in an interview with The Sun, insisting he is not a racist Credit: PA


Irish Independent
10 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Freakier Friday review: Mean girls Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan run riot, but body-swap sequel lacks magic
Take 2003, for example, when a body-swap family comedy called Freaky Friday did the rounds and this reviewer was seemingly oblivious. It starred Jamie Lee Curtis and pre-meltdown Lindsay Lohan. It took $160m at the box office, and was part of a franchise based on Mary Rodgers's 1972 novel that numbered a raft of variously received films, musicals and TV specials. Bolstered by the advent of Disney+, the 2003 film has discovered a new audience, and since we're in the age where any movie can be exhumed to have a few more dollars shaken out of it, a sequel was put in motion, reuniting the original star duo. (Lohan is said to have got the call in the autumn of 2022 while filming the notorious Irish Wish on these shores.) Nisha Ganatra's film – written by Jordan Weiss – assumes a level of familiarity with events 22 years ago. We're given a multi-generational family that is light on menfolk. When not working as a manager to a popstar, Anna (Lohan) battles with 15-year-old daughter Harper (Julia Butters) as mothers and their daughters tend to. Looking on and ever-ready with a self-help mantra is psychologist grandmother Tess (Curtis), who is trying to break into the podcast therapy game. Harper's life of sun-kissed surfing before high-school classes has one sizeable fly in the ointment. Anna has embarked on a relationship with a handsome restaurateur from UK-land, Eric (Manny Jacinto). This would be fine except that Eric's daughter is the insufferable Lily (Sophia Hammons), an aspiring fashion designer who longs for London and is Harper's arch-nemesis in the school corridor. Some unnameable hocus-pocus is inserted into the story Worse still, Anna and Eric soon become an item and wedding bells loom on the horizon. The only thing the two teenagers can agree on is that this simply won't do. While the adults in the room hope and believe that the bickering will stop in time, the two brats aren't having any of it. Now comes Freakier Friday's narrative hinge, the shazam moment that gives the whole thing its plot device. Some unnameable hocus-pocus is inserted into the story at this point to enact the body-swapping spell, thereby throwing up all kinds of muddles, mishaps and realisations. Bargain-price mystic Madame Jen (good work by Vanessa Bayer) ambushes the ladies at a party and quickly drags Anna and Tess, and then Harper and Lily, into a palm-reading session. A supernatural force invades the tabletop, placing a curse on the four women. (If you think that's lame, it was a magical fortune cookie in Mark Waters's 2003 instalment). When they wake up, everything is wrongways. Tess is Lily and vice versa. Anna and Harper have also traded bodies. Who is who takes a while to bed in with the viewer. Everyone keeps their accents, so we only have behaviour to go by. Are the characters well established enough in the opening act that they beam unmistakably through a different actor? Is said actor able to channel them? Freaky Friday had a simpler task, you quickly appreciate – a straight swap between Anna and Tess, so that each character experienced life in the other's shoes. This time, things are indeed freakier, and the four-way jumble we're asked to get on board with is initially a tough ask. What just about manages to rescue things is the indomitable Curtis, for whom nothing seems too far a task. So as Lily and Harper (now Curtis and Lohan, remember) get over the horror of being stuck in 'decaying' bodies, they decide to use the newfound guises to sabotage the upcoming nuptials. Makeovers occur inevitably, as do frightening realisations about the ageing process, with Curtis mugging and blundering superbly. Anna and Tess, meanwhile, milk their newfound youthfulness, horsing down junk food and getting into trouble at school. All this is perfectly fine tomfoolery that harks back to a different, more innocent era in Hollywood family entertainment (think Tom Hanks in Big, or another Lohan outing, The Parent Trap). Things are funniest when squirts of lemon juice cut through the sugary glitter and the mean girls are let run riot (a school-yard food fight in the opening act is a prime example). Is there enough to ensure a place in the memory 22 years hence? Not this one, anyway. 3 stars