Latest news with #BrainPower
Sydney Morning Herald
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Oh God, am I getting old?': Marvel's most famous superhero is human after all
It's a relief to learn Chris Hemsworth, universally loved A-list movie star, is like the rest of us. Sure, he may be nearly two metres tall, seemingly sculpted from marble and be worth a reported $200 million, but when filming season two of documentary series Limitless, Hemsworth was plagued by an all-too-familiar fear. 'We were midway through production, everything was sore, I was exhausted, and I thought to myself, 'Oh God, am I getting old?'' he says, laughing. When even Thor feels tired, we should all be concerned. However, there are few subjecting themselves to the gruelling punishment Hemsworth undertakes in Limitless. In season one, the star performed extreme physical and mental challenges such as free diving, fasting, stress training and walking along a crane 275 metres above the ground – all designed to push him to the edge. Filmed over 175 days in 12 countries, Hemsworth counts it among his most significant professional achievements. 'I was really proud of what we'd brought to life – that series was incredibly challenging and almost killed me several times, so when we finished I drew a line under it in my head,' he says. 'But then came the response from people who watched it. I had parents from my kids' school running up in the playground to tell me they'd learned something, or that they had reoriented their journey around health, wellness and life.' While Hemsworth is no stranger to doing the same thing over again (he has played Thor in 13 projects, including video games and the blockbuster movies Avengers: Endgame and Thor: Ragnarok), for round two of Limitless he needed a new challenge. 'At this point in my life, I have a deeper, inquisitive sort of drive around some of the more existential questions as well as questions around adversity, pain management and being removed from your comfort zone,' he says. The result is a more varied series that sees Hemsworth expand how he tests himself. There are still groan-inducing physical challenges, including training with special forces in South Korea and climbing a 183-metre dam in the Swiss Alps, but also plenty of attention paid to less visible muscles. Episode one, titled 'Brain Power', gives Hemsworth the unenviable task of learning the drums in two months so he can perform live with Ed Sheeran in front of 70,000 people. The expected performance anxiety is accompanied by Hemsworth's frustration that his brain won't work as he'd like it to. 'That topic is very personal to me and there was a lot of new, emerging science to tackle and dive into,' he says. The brain is of particular interest to Hemsworth following a revelation in season one that he carries two copies of the APOE4 gene, making him eight to 10 times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, which slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. That news was not only a 'warning sign' to Hemsworth, it also triggered a more existential crisis about the time that remains. 'We're not very good at our relationship to death, especially in Western culture, we tend to keep it out of sight, out of mind,' he says. 'But during [ Limitless ] I thought a lot about getting older, there are more injuries, people are passing away, loved ones are moving on, and things are dramatically shifting and changing.' Loading If Hemsworth sounds like a middle-aged man nursing a morbid curiosity, that's because he is. Having recently turned 42, he admits to indulging in age-appropriate worries, such as how much longer his parents have left and is he spending enough time with his children. Hemsworth lives just outside of Byron Bay with his wife, Elsa Pataky, and their children, 13-year-old daughter India Rose and 11-year-old twin boys Sasha and Tristan. For their entire childhood, Hemsworth has been one of the most famous people on the planet, a role that comes with intense demands. Does he sense a gradual desire to step back from the business? 'Yeah, absolutely, I feel like I'm continually grasping that and losing it,' he says. 'I think it has a lot to do with being in your forties – all of a sudden, you're in the second half of life, then I look at my parents who are getting older now, and you realise the fragility of life.' Hemsworth is in London filming Avengers: Doomsday, due for release next year, and rumours suggest it could be his final outing with the cape and hammer. While Hemsworth won't be drawn on Thor's future, he knows the Marvel journey is closer to the end than the beginning. 'This time around, being with some of the old cast and then a lot of new cast, I accept I'm now one of the elder statesmen,' he says, laughing. 'I don't know what the future holds for Thor, but I am so thankful for what's come before.' To make matters worse, one of his sons has decided to revisit Hemsworth's back catalogue – a sure-fire way to feel older than ever. 'My son, just the other day, was watching the second Thor film, and I was like, 'Oh my God, I look like a teenager'. My skin was so good, I was so fresh-faced,' he says. 'It made me realise I seriously need to get some more sleep.'
The Age
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
‘Oh God, am I getting old?': Marvel's most famous superhero is human after all
It's a relief to learn Chris Hemsworth, universally loved A-list movie star, is like the rest of us. Sure, he may be nearly two metres tall, seemingly sculpted from marble and be worth a reported $200 million, but when filming season two of documentary series Limitless, Hemsworth was plagued by an all-too-familiar fear. 'We were midway through production, everything was sore, I was exhausted, and I thought to myself, 'Oh God, am I getting old?'' he says, laughing. When even Thor feels tired, we should all be concerned. However, there are few subjecting themselves to the gruelling punishment Hemsworth undertakes in Limitless. In season one, the star performed extreme physical and mental challenges such as free diving, fasting, stress training and walking along a crane 275 metres above the ground – all designed to push him to the edge. Filmed over 175 days in 12 countries, Hemsworth counts it among his most significant professional achievements. 'I was really proud of what we'd brought to life – that series was incredibly challenging and almost killed me several times, so when we finished I drew a line under it in my head,' he says. 'But then came the response from people who watched it. I had parents from my kids' school running up in the playground to tell me they'd learned something, or that they had reoriented their journey around health, wellness and life.' While Hemsworth is no stranger to doing the same thing over again (he has played Thor in 13 projects, including video games and the blockbuster movies Avengers: Endgame and Thor: Ragnarok), for round two of Limitless he needed a new challenge. 'At this point in my life, I have a deeper, inquisitive sort of drive around some of the more existential questions as well as questions around adversity, pain management and being removed from your comfort zone,' he says. The result is a more varied series that sees Hemsworth expand how he tests himself. There are still groan-inducing physical challenges, including training with special forces in South Korea and climbing a 183-metre dam in the Swiss Alps, but also plenty of attention paid to less visible muscles. Episode one, titled 'Brain Power', gives Hemsworth the unenviable task of learning the drums in two months so he can perform live with Ed Sheeran in front of 70,000 people. The expected performance anxiety is accompanied by Hemsworth's frustration that his brain won't work as he'd like it to. 'That topic is very personal to me and there was a lot of new, emerging science to tackle and dive into,' he says. The brain is of particular interest to Hemsworth following a revelation in season one that he carries two copies of the APOE4 gene, making him eight to 10 times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, which slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. That news was not only a 'warning sign' to Hemsworth, it also triggered a more existential crisis about the time that remains. 'We're not very good at our relationship to death, especially in Western culture, we tend to keep it out of sight, out of mind,' he says. 'But during [ Limitless ] I thought a lot about getting older, there are more injuries, people are passing away, loved ones are moving on, and things are dramatically shifting and changing.' Loading If Hemsworth sounds like a middle-aged man nursing a morbid curiosity, that's because he is. Having recently turned 42, he admits to indulging in age-appropriate worries, such as how much longer his parents have left and is he spending enough time with his children. Hemsworth lives just outside of Byron Bay with his wife, Elsa Pataky, and their children, 13-year-old daughter India Rose and 11-year-old twin boys Sasha and Tristan. For their entire childhood, Hemsworth has been one of the most famous people on the planet, a role that comes with intense demands. Does he sense a gradual desire to step back from the business? 'Yeah, absolutely, I feel like I'm continually grasping that and losing it,' he says. 'I think it has a lot to do with being in your forties – all of a sudden, you're in the second half of life, then I look at my parents who are getting older now, and you realise the fragility of life.' Hemsworth is in London filming Avengers: Doomsday, due for release next year, and rumours suggest it could be his final outing with the cape and hammer. While Hemsworth won't be drawn on Thor's future, he knows the Marvel journey is closer to the end than the beginning. 'This time around, being with some of the old cast and then a lot of new cast, I accept I'm now one of the elder statesmen,' he says, laughing. 'I don't know what the future holds for Thor, but I am so thankful for what's come before.' To make matters worse, one of his sons has decided to revisit Hemsworth's back catalogue – a sure-fire way to feel older than ever. 'My son, just the other day, was watching the second Thor film, and I was like, 'Oh my God, I look like a teenager'. My skin was so good, I was so fresh-faced,' he says. 'It made me realise I seriously need to get some more sleep.'
7NEWS
a day ago
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
Parkway Drive drummer scores around $10 million for his lavish Byron Bay property
Loading content... Parkway Drive drummer Ben Gordon has crushed his real estate goals, selling a lavish Byron Bay home on the second attempt. The four-bedroom, three-bathroom house had a price guide of $9 million to $9.9 million. Cotality records don't provide the sale price. However, industry sources indicated it was sold for about $10 million. This was confirmed by selling agent, Will Phillips of Sotheby's International Realty Byron Bay. Mr Phillips said the home was sold to a Queensland investor, after "record inquiry for the suburb in the past 12 months". Mr Phillips said Gordon planned to stay in the area, but was seeking an acreage-style property. The drummer has also made other headlines recently. Actor Chris Hemsworth enlisted Gordon to teach him how to play the drums for pop superstar Ed Sheeran. This was captured on camera for the new season of Hemsworth's documentary series, Limitless: Live Better Now. The first of the three-part series, all of which land on Disney+ on August 15, is titled Brain Power. Having decided to learn a new skill, Hemsworth learns how to play the drums in Gordon's home studio. ARIA Award-winning Byron Bay products Parkway Drive are Australia's biggest heavy metal export, headlining major festivals both at home and overseas. In 2020, Parkway Drive were listed at No. 32 in Rolling Stone Australia's 50 Greatest Australian Artists of All Time issue. Set on 660 square metres, the home also features a basement-level gym and a separate home office. According to Cotality records, Gordon bought the home in 2019 for $2.45 million. Records show there were later development applications lodged for an extension/alteration and a swimming pool/spa. Cotality records show the property was previously listed for sale in March 2023 with an asking price of more than $10 million, and spent 43 days on the market. Records also show it was most recently listed for rent at $4000 per week in June 2023. The marketing describes the property as "undoubtedly one of Byron Bay's finest offerings", and it also includes expansive outdoor spaces, entertainment patios, a sunken fire-pit, a magnesium infinity pool and spa. "Positioned on one of Byron Bay's most exclusive and rarely offered ridgelines, this designer masterpiece captures stunning 180-degree views over Arakwal National Park to the azure of the Pacific Ocean and Broken Head and beyond," the property's marketing states. Expressions of Interest for the property closed on July 31. The metalcore act recently announced their own "Park Waves" festival will tour throughout Australia in 2026. The travelling festival, taking in most corners of the Australian mainland throughout February and March, will be headlined by Parkway Drive.
Wales Online
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Chris Hemsworth recalls ‘out of body experience' performing alongside Ed Sheeran
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. Chris Hemsworth was among the names listed in X post (Image: PA Archive/PA Images) Australian movie star Chris Hemsworth has recalled having an "out of body experience" while performing alongside Ed Sheeran during one of his shows. 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. Article continues below 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 July 17. The National Geographic show will be coming to Disney+ on Friday August 15.
RTÉ News
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Chris Hemsworth recalls 'out of body experience' performing alongside Ed Sheeran
Australian movie star Chris Hemsworth has recalled having an "out of body experience" while performing alongside Ed Sheeran during one of his shows. 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.
