Chris Hemsworth opens up about 'gear shift' upon learning he is 10 times more likely to develop Alzheimer's
Chris Hemsworth has shared how he experienced a 'gear shift' in his motivations after finding out he was 10 times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than an average person.
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The Marvel actor discovered that he carries two copies of the APOE4 gene, which makes a person eight to ten times more likely to develop the disease, whilst filming season one of Limitless: Live Better Now.
Hemsworth had taken part in the National Geographic show to face new experiences that challenge the body and the mind when he took a genetic test that revealed the news.
Research has shown that nearly all double carriers of the gene showed key early signs of dementia by the age of 55.
He spoke to Sky News about the moment he found out he had two copies: "It was just kind of this point in my life where up until your 40s, you're kind of gathering data and information and it's all reactionary and then you get to a point where you think, oh some of this sort of identity that I've sort of built doesn't hold true anymore.
"There's some inner sort of protest or inner voice that has a deeper need to understand and there's deeper questions and what is the purpose and the why behind what I'm doing ... and what am I seeking, what am I contributing, as opposed to just what I am collecting."
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The news made him shift his focus to living better and spending as much time as possible with loved ones.
Season two of Limitless is set to be released on August 15 and this season Hemsworth took a more proactive role in the production.
He describes it more as an 'experiential journalism' as opposed to him acting as a contestant on a reality tv show. He brought together his interests and areas that were deeply personal to him.
He said: "I was much more committed or invested in the experience.
"And I was a bit more educated on the topics too. I had to research, I had a deeper point of view, I suppose, personally, but also sort of the education I was given prior and I enjoyed that more, to be honest, I didn't like that I felt very uncomfortable in the first season because I was standing around all these experts and I knew nothing about these topics, yet I was kind of asked to speak on them and so I felt like an imposter the entire time."
The second season will stream on Disney+.