Chris Hemsworth's surprise career move after health scare

Chris Hemsworth may be slowing down his career after learning he is at a very high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease later in life.

The Thor actor, 39, is reportedly looking to take a bit of a break, with his schedule looking much less jam-packed than it has been in recent years, according to Page Six.

Chris has four upcoming projects on the calendar, including Extraction 2, Furiosa, Avengers: Secret Wars and the untitled Hulk Hogan biopic, but a source has revealed, "He doesn’t plan to take on many roles because of [learning about his high risk for] Alzheimer’s."

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While the star previously told Vanity Fair he's "not talking about retiring by any means", the Page Six source adds that it looks like he's slowly heading in that direction.

Chris was shooting his National Geographic and Disney+ docuseries Limitless when he discovered he's at high risk of developing the disease.

In the show, Chris finds out his genetic makeup includes two copies of the gene APOE4, one from both his parents, which has been linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. One in four people carry a single copy of the gene, but only two to three per cent of the population will have both, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Chris told Vanity Fair that while it's not a diagnosis, it is cause for concern, "There was an intensity to navigating it. Most of us, we like to avoid speaking about death in the hope that we'll somehow avoid it.

"We all have this belief that we'll figure it out. Then to all of a sudden be told some big indicators are actually pointing to this as the route which is going to happen, the reality of it sinks in. Your own mortality."

He added that the information has made him even more grateful for the life he has and wants to continue living life to the fullest.

"It really triggered something in me to want to take some time off," he said. "And since we finished the show, I've been completing the things I was already contracted to do. Now when I finish this tour this week, I'm going home and I'm going to have a good chunk of time off and just simplify. Be with the kids, be with my wife."

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