Local Hero - Chris Hemsworth

From world-smashing god Thor to ‘face of ’ some of the world’s most famous brands and Byron Bay dad of-three, Chris Hemsworth would appear to have all parts of his life in perfect harmony right now.

Perhaps Chris Hemsworth should be done with it and just add the God of Thunder as his middle name, so often is the word “Thor” inserted within his name in stories.

On October 26, Australia’s biggest male star will appear for the fifth time as the Norse god in cinematic form, this time in Thor: Ragnarok. Hemsworth himself nearly brought Brisbane to a standstill when the movie was partly filmed there last year. He’ll play Thor yet again in Avengers: Infinity War, planned to release next year.

And while it’s oft remarked that it is the role he was born to play – the intense blue eyes, the mesomorphic physique, the deep, sonorous, stentorian voice – Hemsworth may eventually want to be remembered for more than owning a comic-book hero on screen. But his success at playing the athletic, ‘age-appropriate’ role – he’s just turned 34 – undoubtedly transformed him from Home And Away staple to Hollywood A-lister in just a few short years. Made him so successful, in fact, he doesn’t even need to live in Los Angeles now, moving his actress wife Elsa Pataky and three young children back to Australia and the beachy life of Byron Bay on the NSW north coast in 2015.