On his new show, Limitless on Disney+, Chris Hemsworth discovered something that shocked him. He finds out in the fifth episode of the show that he has a genetic predisposition for Alzheimer’s disease. His grandfather is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The actor discovered that he is now eight to ten times likely to be diagnosed with the disease.

Vanity Fair reported: “His makeup includes two copies of the gene APOE4, one from his mother, the other from his father, which studies have linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.”

After this diagnosis, Hemsworth met with death doulas and confronting his end of life on the series finale. With these experiences, the actor has decided to take a step back from acting for a bit. He has some movies in post production like Furiosa, a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road and Extraction 2 for Netflix, and he is currently on tour promoting Limitless. Hemsworth does plan to step back after the tour.

He said, “It really triggered something in me to want to take some time off, and since we finished the show, I’ve been completing the things I was already contracted to do. Now when I finish this tour this week, I’m going home and I’m going to have a good chunk of time off and just simplify. Be with the kids, be with my wife.”

Apparently, Disney offered to cut the diagnosis from the final cut of the series, but Chris Hemsworth was unwavering in his decision to keep it in the final edit. He added, “Look, if this is a motivator for people to take better care of themselves and also understand that there are steps you can take—then fantastic. My concern was I just didn’t want to manipulate it and overdramatize it, and make it into some sort of hokey grab at empathy or whatever for entertainment.”

Limitless is now available on Disney+.

We hope Chris Hemsworth gets all the rest and relaxation that he needs.

Source: Variety