Exclusive! "I'm lucky to have met someone who keeps me in check," Hemsworth tells us about his wife.
By CL Gaber — Written on Sep 30, 2013
Chris Hemsworth might play tough guy Thor, but when he's around 1-year-old daughter India Rose, this Australian heartthrob melts into the ultimate softie.
"Having a child changes your life," the 30-year-old sex symbol—who wed gorgeous Spanish actress Elsa Pataky in 2010—tells YourTango about becoming a parent. "You realize what's really important in life."
YourTango sat down with Liam Hemsworth's older (and hotter?) brother to discuss life with Elsa and India, as well as his starring role in the recently released Rush, where Hemsworth plays a cocky, womanizing racecar driver named James Hunt.
YourTango: You have such a lovely life with your wife and daughter. How does it work?
Chris Hemsworth: I'm just lucky. My wife is amazing. I'm lucky to have met someone who keeps me in check, and now we have this wonderful family.
YourTango: Are you up all night with the baby?
Chris Hemsworth: She sleeps very well. It's not because of me, but because of my wife.
YourTango: Do you change dirty diapers?
Chris Hemsworth: Of course! You don't change clean ones.
YourTango: You've had such a great year with Rush, and Thor is just around the corner. How is life as a leading man?
Chris Hemsworth: I'm just thrilled to be working. Give me the next great job. I can clearly remember a time not so long ago when I was just banging on doors and trying to land an audition.
YourTango: Tell us a bit about your life growing up.
Chris Hemsworth: I grew up in a few different places in Australia. I always had a love of storytelling and film and finally decided, 'Why not become an actor?' When I want something I have tunnel vision.
YourTango: Your brother Liam stars in The Hunger Games. Any rivalry between the two of you?
Chris Hemsworth: None. We hope for each other's successes. Of course, I can give my brother crap, but no one else dares say a word about him. The truth is we're both thrilled to be doing such great projects and we're very close. We're not racing each other to box office glory.
YourTango: Is it true that you would play Batman and Robin together as kids?
Chris Hemsworth: I was Batman's sidekick Robin. I had my own Robin costume. Why I wanted to be the sidekick, I just don't know. I would run around my yard in a nice pair of green underwear, a yellow T-shirt, and red cape made out of a towel that was previously in the garbage. I thought it was great.
More exciting articles from YourTango:
YourTango: Let's talk about Rush. You play a famous racecar driver. Were you able to talk to people who knew James Hunt?
Chris Hemsworth: I was able to speak with one of his teammates, who was a driver at the time. It was interesting. He said that Hunt could never sit still. He was always tapping his foot or fidgeting or up to something. That little bit of information helped. Everything helps. The pieces fall into place. I think Hunt did things because he was bored.
YourTango: Did you understand his cocky demeanor?
Chris Hemsworth: I think deep down, there was a vulnerable human being there. There was also a darker side to James. It wasn't all glamour and parties. There was something in there that you rarely got a glimpse of. You could see his anxiety in the film. He would throw up before every race. There were some exciting contrasts in this man.
YourTango: What is it about you and hero movies like Thor and The Avengers?
Chris Hemsworth: I love that we can be swept up in these fantasies with larger than life heroes who really do know right from wrong. These heroes still want to save the day in a world where that doesn't happy very often.
YourTango: How do you stay in such great shape?
Chris Hemsworth: Before I did the first Thor, I never really lifted weights to that capacity. You don't have to live in the gym to bulk up, but you do have to eat. I've eaten a lot of chicken breasts in the last few years and mounds of rice, plus many steaks. No sauces. You need to cook them in a way that's plain and boring. The eating is more exhausting than the working out.