Chris Hemsworth Found Out He Carries 2 Copies of a Gene Linked to Alzheimer’s. He’s Called It a Wake-Up Call, Not a Diagnosis

While doing blood work for his 2022 series “Limitless,” Hemsworth learned he’d inherited the APOE4 gene from both his mother and his father. “They both gave me a copy, but they both gave me the worst copy, which is the four,” he said. Carrying 2 copies is associated with a substantially higher lifetime risk of Alzheimer’s, a disease his grandfather lives with.

It isn’t a diagnosis and it isn’t a certainty. Hemsworth stressed the gene is “not pre-deterministic,” and he took the result as a reason to prioritize his health, his family, and how he lives and works.

Hemsworth found out during “Limitless,” the 2022 National Geographic series where he pushed his body through extreme physical challenges. One part of the show involved genetic testing, and that’s where the result surfaced.

Here’s what the gene actually is. Everyone carries some version of the APOE gene, in one of 3 common forms. The e4 variant is the one researchers link to Alzheimer’s. Most people who carry it inherit a single copy. Hemsworth inherited 2 copies, one from each parent, a combination that’s uncommon and associated with a much higher lifetime risk.

Risk is not destiny. 2 copies of e4 raise the odds. It does not schedule the disease. Plenty of people with the genotype never develop Alzheimer’s, and plenty of people without it do. Hemsworth said the finding is “not pre-deterministic,” and the scientists who study the gene agree it points to a probability, not a diagnosis.

When the story first broke, some headlines said Hemsworth was quitting acting. He later said that was blown out of proportion. He didn’t retire. He kept working selectively and used the result as a push toward better sleep, stress management, and time with family, the everyday factors research ties to long-term brain health.

His grandfather is living with Alzheimer’s, which is part of why the result hit the way it did. The gene told Hemsworth what he might be up against. What he does about it is still his to decide.

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