From Thor To War

The Aussie hottie opens up to NW about leaving behind his superhero past for a gun show in the Middle East

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It’s been some time since we’ve seen hunky Aussie export Chris Hemsworth on the big screen without his trusty Mjolnir hammer.

Since 2011, he’s played Marvel superhero Thor in various feature films – and now, after wrapping the final chapter in the Avengers franchise last year, he’s getting familiar with a new kind of weapon and love interest... both of which are a little more, er, close to home.

The actor, 35, steps into the boots of Captain Mitch Nelson in military thriller (and true story!) 12 Strong, which portrays the experience of a US Special Forces troupe dispatched to Afghanistan, where they join forces with local insurgents in the fight against the Taliban. Oh, and did we mention his on-screen wifey Jean is played by his real-life wifey Elsa Pataky!

“It was certainly one of the easiest working relationships I’ve encountered,” Hemsy laughs of working alongside Elsa. “But we’ve had a lot of preparation leading up – seven years of marriage, so we were prepared!”

What our buff babe wasn’t prepared for, though, was the impact the film would have on him. “This story grabbed me by the throat and... held me there in this captive stasis – and the fact that it was a true story, I was floored. I couldn’t believe it,” he says.

We swiped Chris away from Elsa to look at his bulging biceps... We mean, quiz him on leaving Thor (and his kids India Rose, five, and twins Tristan and Sasha, three) behind to head to war.

This is different for you, Chris! We’ve grown used to seeing you wielding a hammer! I’ve done medieval fantasy and period epics but I’ve never really done anything with a real-life heart and real-life “ordinary extraordinariness” before.