In a revealing London hotel interview, Chris Hemsworth settles onto a chaise longue and describes the setting as "like a therapy couch." The Australian actor, globally renowned for his decade-spanning portrayal of Marvel's Thor, is ready to dismantle the invulnerable image he has long projected. Behind the God of Thunder's assured exterior, Hemsworth confesses to battling severe performance anxiety and panic attacks.
The Constructed Confidence of a Hollywood Icon
Hemsworth explains that the charismatic, confident figure seen in interviews over his twenty-year career is a deliberate creation. "It's me – but it's a creation too," he admits. "It's what I thought people wanted to see." He details how the physical transformation for Thor—intensive training, a lowered voice, an imposing posture—became a psychological shield. "Playing a god became a safety net," he reveals. "It fooled people into thinking I was that confident, that certain."
A New Role Exposes Vulnerability
This facade is stripped away in his latest project, Crime 101, a neo-noir thriller directed by Bart Layton. Hemsworth plays Mike Davis, a gentleman jewel thief whose inner world is defined by doubt. "I felt quite exposed in this role," the 42-year-old says. "I wasn't able to hide behind a vocal quality or posture the way I could with Thor." Layton, sitting beside him, notes his initial surprise: "I was expecting a very different kind of human, who was more classically alpha. And what you find is someone who's really thoughtful and sensitive and insecure in the way we all are."
Crime 101: A Film About Existential Masks
The film, based on Don Winslow's novella, follows Davis as his planned heist intersects with a disillusioned insurance broker (Halle Berry) and a detective (Mark Ruffalo). Layton describes it as a love letter to cinematic thrillers like Heat and The Thomas Crown Affair, exploring themes of status anxiety and self-worth in Los Angeles. "How much of what we all do is about how others see me?" Layton muses, connecting this to his previous works, The Imposter and American Animals, which dissect fantasy and self-mythology.
In Crime 101, moral absolutes dissolve. Davis ensures his thefts hurt no one and even returns victims' phones. Hemsworth sees the characters as united by ambiguity: "They're all at a point where a transformation needs to occur. They're like, 'I'm done wearing this mask.'" He references Paul Schrader's American Gigolo, a film about visible success masking profound loneliness, as a key influence.
A Personal Reckoning: Success, Family, and Alzheimer's
Hemsworth's own concept of success has radically evolved. "I used to think maybe if I was nominated for something I'd feel good about myself," he says. "It's absurd. My self-worth doesn't rest upon all of those exterior things any more – though I still have to remind myself." This recalibration has been accelerated by a "middle passage" in life, particularly his father Craig's Alzheimer's diagnosis.
The diagnosis has reshaped his priorities, reining in his “appetite for racing forward.” "I've become more aware of the fragility of things," he reflects, thinking of his ageing father and his children, now 11 and 13. Where early career choices were driven by financial security—"I came from nothing. Who am I to turn down that kind of money?"—he now asks, "when enough is enough."
In 2022's Limitless and the 2025 follow-up A Road Trip to Remember, Hemsworth publicly disclosed his genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's and documented his father's journey. Going public was a difficult decision, fraught with fears about undermining his action-hero image. "Are they no longer going to believe in the action star or the Marvel character?" he wondered. Yet, he calls the documentary a "love letter to my father" and one of his most important works, noting how it empowered his father and sparked conversations others avoid.
Bringing Real-Life Heartbreak to the Screen
For Crime 101, Hemsworth drew on his father's career in child protection to understand his character's search for connection. Layton, meanwhile, conducted extensive research, speaking to real jewel thieves. "The stories were more outlandish than fiction," he says. The director aimed to create a propulsive, thoughtful film in the vein of classics they loved. "It's not IP-driven," Layton states. "I think people will come out feeling blown away by what Chris has done."
Crime 101 is released in cinemas in the UK and US on 13 February, and in Australia on 12 February.
