By Audrey Enjoli
A new documentary from National Geographic sees Australian actor Chris Hemsworth and his father, Craig Hemsworth, embark on an intimate ride down memory lane after the family patriarch’s recent diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
In the powerful one-hour special “Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember,” the duo set out on motorcycles across Australia to visit some of the people and places from their shared past, including their hometown of Melbourne and the vast outback of the Northern Territory.
“The deeply personal documentary follows Chris and his father on a road trip back in time as they explore the scientific impacts behind social connection and reminiscence therapy as methods to stimulate mental activity, evoke memories, and improve well-being—hopeful tools in the fight against memory loss and cognitive decline,” according to a news release.
“Through the stunning, vast landscapes of Australia, Chris and Craig’s journey becomes a funny and moving exploration of a father and son’s bond, proving that love, community and shared experience can be potent medicine.”
“A Road Trip to Remember” will debut on National Geographic on Nov. 23 before streaming on Disney+ and Hulu the next day.
In the film’s trailer, the “Thor” star becomes visibly emotional as he reflects on his relationship with his father.
“I want to do everything I can to help him. Turns out, this experience could help fight the disease,” he says. “Different places instantly bring those memories to life. I just find myself wanting to spend more time with him.”
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, Alzheimer’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by the death of nerve cells in the brain, impairing memory, thinking abilities, and various behaviors.
The disease is the most common form of dementia, a condition that impacted more than 55 million people around the world in 2020. This figure is expected to nearly double every two decades, reaching nearly 80 million by 2030, Alzheimer’s Disease International reports.
The exact cause of Alzheimer’s disease is not yet fully understood. However, researchers have linked the disorder to a variety of causes, such as age, certain genes, and immune system problems, among other factors.
Chris Hemsworth, 42, discovered he had an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s while filming the first season of his National Geographic docuseries, “Limitless.”
Throughout the six-part documentary, which premiered in November 2022, the actor pushed himself to the limit by completing extreme challenges in an effort to discover how to live better for longer.
After undergoing genetic testing to uncover the health of his brain, he learned that he carries two copies of part of the apolipoprotein E gene, called the APOE4 gene—a set from each parent—making him 8 to 10 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s when he is older.
A 2021 study funded by the National Institutes of Health notes that the APOE4 gene is “one of the most significant genetic risk factors” for the progressive disease. However, inheriting the gene does not guarantee that a person will develop it as they age.
Chris Hemsworth—who has three children with his wife of almost 15 years, actress Elsa Pataky—told Vanity Fair in November 2022 that learning of his increased risk spurred him to make changes in his life to reduce his chances of developing the disease.
“The show, which initially was an exploration of longevity and, of course, should be fun, became even more relevant and important for me, even more poignant than I ever thought it would be,” he said.
“It was a really good catalyst to dive into everything I needed to be doing in either the prevention front or the management front or however you want to classify it.”
