Chris Hemsworth suffered 'huge amount of anxiety' during career low point after 'Star Trek'
Chris Hemsworth has admitted he suffered from “huge” anxiety when his career stalled after his role in the 2009 reboot of Star Trek.
The 35-year-old Australian star played George Kirk - father of Chris Pine’s Captain James Kirk - in the opening scene of the J. J. Abrams film, but then struggled for career momentum.
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His life turned around when he secured the role of superhero Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting with Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 film Thor.
But before the bright lights of the comic book world beckoned, Hemsworth questioned whether he really stood a chance in the States.
Speaking to Heat, he said: “I got a job pretty quick when I got to Hollywood, so I was very fortunate in that sense. Then I didn’t work for a while and I started to think it might not work out.”
The actor, who moved to the USA after three years as part of Aussie soap Home and Away, said it was “hard” to cope with constant rejection after Stark Trek.
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He said: “I had a huge amount of anxiety when I was auditioning, and that just got worse and worse the more I heard the word ‘no’.
“I did a lot of soul searching on a number of occasions, where I asked myself: ‘Why am I doing this? What’s my motivation to put myself through this?’”
Hemsworth said he kept reminding himself of his family during this period and the importance of being able to care for them.
The actor recently announced he was set to take a break from acting following Marvel blockbuster Avengers: Endgame in order to spend more time with Spanish actor and model Elsa Pataky, as well as their three children.
He recently turned down the chance to return to his Star Trek role.
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Hemsworth has already appeared in Men in Black: International this year, as well as Endgame.
There are several other projects on his slate, including Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob Reboot and action movie Dhaka, written by Avengers co-director Joe Russo.