Chris Hemsworth has said reports that suggested he's leaving Hollywood following revelations about his genetic predisposition for Alzheimer’s “p***ed” him off.
The Thor actor addressed speculation about his retirement from acting two years after he underwent genetic testing during his National Geographic docuseries, Limitless.
In the series, the 40-year-old discovered he carried two copies of the APOE4 gene. While this doesn't equate to an Alzheimer's diagnosis, it does indicate a heightened risk for the disease.
The release of the episode coincided with Hemsworth’s pre-existing plans for a break and many outlets speculated that the test results had influenced his decision to step away from the limelight.
Now in an interview with Vanity Fair, the Spiderhead star was asked about the headlines surrounding his break from Hollywood.
To which he replied: “It really kind of pissed me off because it felt like I had been vulnerable with something personal and shared this.
“No matter how much I said: ‘This is not a death sentence,’ the story became that I have dementia and I’m reconsidering life and retiring and so on.”
He noted: “I did read a really funny comment at the bottom of one article: ‘I hope Chris forgets he’s retiring and comes back.’”
Last year, Hemsworth addressed the misunderstandings surrounding his announcement on Limitless and explained that he was taking a break from acting because he was “exhausted, and I wanted to be home with my family,”
He told Entertainment Weekly last June: “It was interesting, because those two headlines got coupled together, that I was taking time off because of the genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s.
“That experience and that show [Limitless] made me go: ‘Oh wow, none of us are invincible.’ It kind of slams you into the moment”
“It was a positive in that sense, but it got a little over-dramatised, like I was potentially retiring because of this thing. Which just isn’t the case.”
Later in the interview, the Marvel star revealed that his family underwent genetic testing as the result of his discovery and his father Craig Hemsworth also learned that he was predisposed to Alzheimer’s.
Hemsworth’s candour comes ahead of his big screen return in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the prequel to 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, alongside Anya Taylor-Joy.
