Chris Hemsworth has never shied away from talking about real life behind the movie-star image. This time, he’s opening up about something deeply personal: his family’s journey with Alzheimer’s disease—and how it has reshaped his priorities.
In a new documentary, A Road Trip to Remember, the actor takes his father, Craig Hemsworth, on an emotional road trip as his dad faces the progression of Alzheimer’s. The project isn’t just a film—it’s a way for father and son to confront the illness together, raise awareness, and try to understand what the future may hold.
Hemsworth also discussed the experience on On Purpose with Jay Shetty, sharing how the family first began noticing changes. It started with subtle memory slips and small shifts in mood—easy to brush off at first, but impossible to ignore over time. Eventually, those early signs led to a diagnosis that changed everything.
The topic hits close to home for Hemsworth in more ways than one. While filming Limitless with Chris Hemsworth, he learned he carries two copies of the APOE4 gene variant, which is associated with a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s later in life. Both of his parents share the same genetic marker, meaning the risk is something the entire family has had to come to terms with.
Rather than retreat from the reality of it, Hemsworth chose to face it head-on with his father. In the documentary, they travel across Australia by motorcycle, revisiting meaningful places from Craig’s life and taking part in memory-based therapies developed with researchers. The goal isn’t to “fix” what can’t be fixed—but to slow the emotional impact of the disease and create moments of connection while those memories still matter.
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