Transcript

Chris Hemsworth | SmartLess

From SmartLess · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 1 h · 12,890 words · 343 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Chris Hemsworth | SmartLess", an episode of SmartLess published February 23, 2026 (1 h, about 12,890 words). It mentions 42 people, works and ideas, including SmartLess, Chris Hemsworth, Crime 101, Australia, Sean Hayes.

What this episode is about

A candid conversation with Chris Hemsworth about performance, process, and backstage reflections on opening nights, including contrasts between previews and live shows, storytelling craft, and staying authentic under pressure.

Key takeaways

  • Cold opens demand momentum discipline: countdowns frame energy, but miscounts invite playful distrust and audience investment.
  • Second-night syndrome isn’t vanity—it's reset: nuance between words and action surfaces under pressure, revealing craft gaps.
  • Behind the curtain is the real show: nerves, core-work, and improv fumbles become fuel for authentic performance.
  • Off-script mentoring matters: a front-row reader avoids lines flub, but risks flattening improvisational magic.
  • Origin stories spark curiosity: remote beginnings to global fame illuminate resilience, timing, and the serendipity of auditions.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 10:00: Brad Pitt, Legends of the Fall, SmartLess, Jason Bateman
  2. – 20:00: Crime 101, Australia, Home and Away, New York, New York
  3. – 30:00: Melbourne, Australia, Arnhem Land, Byron Bay
  4. – 40:00: Crime 101, Australia, Avengers
  5. – 50:00: Thor, Avengers, Love and Thunder, Australia
  6. – 1:00:00: snakes, sharks, Chris Hemsworth, Australia
  7. – 1:00:28: SmartLess

Notable quotes from "Chris Hemsworth | SmartLess"

  • 5 4 3 Welcome to the cold open. Welcome to Smartless.
    about SmartLess · at
  • Sean, explain to the audience a little bit because you told me that you and I spoke earlier and you told me that and I said, Well, that's to be expected. And I said that because.
    about Sean Hayes · at
  • Character in Legends of the Fall, but you may know him as Captain Kirk's father. It's the brilliant, charming Chris Hemsworth.
    about Chris Hemsworth · at
  • Hey Will, you know what will it's amazing you and I never partied.
    about Will Arnett · at
  • No, I'm in New York. I'm in a press tour for Crime 101, a film we're promoting.
    about Crime 101 · at
  • And I grew up in Melbourne and then moved to Northern Territory in the outback and lived in a Aboriginal community there. And my dad was mustard cattle and buffalo and so on.
    about Melbourne · at
  • Australia. Yeah. Byron Bay. We live like northern New South Wales now and moved that back there 11 12 years ago. It was kind of like my daughter is 13, my boys are 11. So it.
    about Byron Bay · at
  • This will be the 10th time you've played Thor, which is really cool.
    about Thor · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Chris Hemsworth — Person · Main guest · 3 mentions · first at
    He is interviewed about his upbringing in Australia, acting career (Thor/Avengers), and press for the film 'Crime 101'. He also discusses family life, accents, and experiences with Australian wildlife.
  • Sean Hayes — Person · Host (referenced by first name in transcript) · 2 mentions · first at
    He introduces the guest, steers multiple topic shifts (upbringing, tattoos, accents, kids), and is discussed by the other hosts regarding his stage performances.
  • Will Arnett — Person · Host (referenced by first name in transcript) · 3 mentions · first at
    He participates as a SmartLess host, jokes with the guest, and references his own press appearances and experiences.
  • Jason Bateman — Person · Host (referenced by first name in transcript) · 2 mentions · first at
    He is one of the SmartLess hosts, participates in the interview, and is referenced in stories about past partying and being missed on trips.
    Out there and it was quite a big three-day event and you were missed Jason but we talked about I would have you I God I would have crushed it.
  • Brad Pitt — Person · Referenced celebrity · 4 mentions · first at
    Hemsworth names his son after Brad Pitt's character Tristan from 'Legends of the Fall' and recounts meeting Brad Pitt.
    He named his son after Brad Pitt's character in Legends of the Fall, but you may know him as Captain Kirk's father. It's the brilliant, charming Chris Hemsworth.
  • Margot Robbie — Person · Referenced prior guest · 1 mention · first at
    Hosts reference her prior SmartLess appearance and her comments about an 'Australian mafia' network in Hollywood.
    And when Margot was on, she talked about when she moved to LA that there was like an Australian mafia that helped each other out kind of thing, right? You know what I mean? Were you part of that?
  • Lucy Damon — Person · Referenced celebrity (anecdote) · 1 mention · first at
    Hemsworth tells a story about Matt Damon stepping on a snake shortly after arriving, contrasting with Hemsworth's long experience.
    Squeezers and wait go back wait Matt Damon the first time he was asking me all these questions before they came out that he won't even and he literally right I was like.
  • Halle Berry — Person · Referenced cast member · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as part of the notable ensemble cast of 'Crime 101'.
    Sick cast as well. Yeah. I'll just say one of the greatest re Halib Berry, you go ahead.
  • Barry Keoghan — Person · Referenced cast member · 1 mention · first at
    Listed among the ensemble cast of 'Crime 101'.
    Barry Keegan, Mark Ruffalo, Monica Barbaro, Nick Noly. phenomenal cast, but it's sort of a throwback to the heist films of the 70s, 80s, 90s, but has a contemporary feel to it.
  • Mark Ruffalo — Person · Referenced cast member · 1 mention · first at
    Listed among the ensemble cast of 'Crime 101'.
    Barry Keegan, Mark Ruffalo, Monica Barbaro, Nick Noly. phenomenal cast, but it's sort of a throwback to the heist films of the 70s, 80s, 90s, but has a contemporary feel to it.
  • David Cross — Person · Referenced person (party anecdote) · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in a story about partying with Jason Bateman and reckless behavior (light pole/belt).
    But we were irresponsible in our 20s and there were moments where we had fun I had some fun with David Cross too a couple of times too anyway done that did that free iPhones and cameras and you can kind of.
  • Monica Barbaro — Person · Referenced cast member · 1 mention · first at
    Listed among the ensemble cast of 'Crime 101'.
    Barry Keegan, Mark Ruffalo, Monica Barbaro, Nick Noly. phenomenal cast, but it's sort of a throwback to the heist films of the 70s, 80s, 90s, but has a contemporary feel to it.
  • John Nolte — Person · Referenced cast member · 1 mention · first at
    Listed among the ensemble cast of 'Crime 101'.
    Barry Keegan, Mark Ruffalo, Monica Barbaro, Nick Noly. phenomenal cast, but it's sort of a throwback to the heist films of the 70s, 80s, 90s, but has a contemporary feel to it. but it I'm seeing it this way.

Companies & orgs

  • Fisher and Paykel — Company · Referenced employer (early job) · 1 mention · first at
    Hemsworth describes repairing and cleaning rented breast pumps there as his first job, grounding his pre-fame background.
    Stuff they also make dishwashers and they make breast pumps they make the I didn't know that and they would rent them to differentarmacies and chemists and they would come back to us and I'd have.

Products & tech

  • breast pumps — Product · Anecdotal product (early job) · 2 mentions · first at
    Hemsworth describes repairing and cleaning breast pumps as his first job, including details about rental returns and maintenance.
    From the nearest town. Spent his teenage years searching income and at one point repaired breast pumps in a factory for 10 bucks an hour. He moved to LA to be an actor and was about to quit until one last audition. Flip the script.

Concepts & topics

  • snakes — Concept · Anecdotal topic (Australian hazards) · 4 mentions · first at
    Discussed as common around Hemsworth's home; includes mention of brown snakes and pythons keeping venomous snakes away.
    Exposure to elements and things like that. So down there in Australia, you got the snakes, you got the spiders, you got the sharks. When you're when you're surfing, did you…
  • sharks — Concept · Anecdotal topic (Australian hazards) · 3 mentions · first at
    Hemsworth recounts shark attacks near Byron Bay and describes helicopter/police shark-spotting warnings while surfing.
    Oh, yeah. Yeah. Well, there was a when I first moved to Baron Bay, there was a string of shark attacks, two deaths, and then one guy survived in the space of two weeks. one out the front of my house and one 10 minutes south of me and.
  • Aboriginal community — Concept · Biographical context · 2 mentions · first at
    Hemsworth describes living in an Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory, shaping his early life experiences.
    And so no TV during that time. The second time we had a TV and the there was a truck that would come and deliver food and supplies to the community every, month or so on. And…
  • AFL football — Concept · Biographical topic (sports) · 2 mentions · first at
    Hemsworth played AFL for years and attributes later physical issues to the sport's impacts; hosts remark on athleticism.
    AFL football. Yep. And played for eight or nine years. And then when I was 17, I dislocated my shoulder and tore all the ligaments and it was I'd been surfing a lot at the same time. And.
  • Australian mafia — Concept · Industry concept (informal network) · 1 mention · first at
    Discussed as an informal support network among Australian actors in Hollywood; Hemsworth describes feeling outside it early on.
    Let's be honest. I always felt there was the Australian mafia kind of film industry and then the like the folks that had trained at Naidder and I think Mel.
  • spiders — Concept · Anecdotal topic (Australian hazards) · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned alongside snakes and sharks as part of Australia's perceived dangers; briefly referenced with venomous spider types.
    Exposure to elements and things like that. So down there in Australia, you got the snakes, you got the spiders, you got the sharks. When you're when you're surfing, did you…
  • lightning — Concept · Risk comparison concept · 1 mention · first at
    Used as a statistical comparison to contextualize shark risk (being hit by lightning).
    People It's people still surf. It's again, you It's like all the statistics you hear that get hit by lightning. hit by lightning or driving a car is worse. And I heard one that more people die in America.
  • Vending Machines — Concept · Risk comparison concept · 1 mention
    Mentioned as a (possibly apocryphal) statistic about deaths from shaking vending machines, to downplay shark fear.

Places & events

  • Australia — Place · Core setting (upbringing/home base) · 9 mentions · first at
    The conversation repeatedly contrasts Australia with Los Angeles/New York, covering Hemsworth's upbringing, industry pipeline, and wildlife.
    Don't get me going on core guys someone who has a really good core is my guest today he right he grew up in a remote Australian community 4 hours from the nearest town. Spent…
  • Melbourne — Place · Biographical location · 5 mentions · first at
    Hemsworth describes growing up in Melbourne and later moving to the Northern Territory; hosts also reference visiting Melbourne for AFL.
  • Byron Bay — Place · Home base location · 2 mentions · first at
    Hemsworth describes living in Byron Bay (northern NSW), surfing daily, and experiencing nearby shark attacks.
  • Northern Territory — Place · Biographical location · 1 mention · first at
    Hemsworth describes moving from Melbourne to the Northern Territory outback and living in an Aboriginal community.
    And I grew up in Melbourne and then moved to Northern Territory in the outback and lived in a Aboriginal community there. And my dad was mustard cattle and buffalo and so on.
  • New York, New York — Place · Current location (press tour) · 2 mentions · first at
    Hemsworth states he is in New York for the 'Crime 101' press tour.
    No, I'm in New York. I'm in a press tour for Crime 101, a film we're promoting.
  • Arnhem Land — Place · Biographical region · 2 mentions · first at
    Hemsworth specifies the region (southeast Arnhem Land) where he lived in an Aboriginal community.
    One there was a big shed in this community. There's a lot of separate communities throughout Anamland and they would do deliveries with basic bits and pieces that would go into this what was the shop which was literally.
  • Catherine — Place · Geographic reference point · 1 mention · first at
    Used to locate how remote Hemsworth's childhood community was (4.5 hours outside of Katherine/Catherine).
    Removal from the suburban Melbourne city life. And we were literally, you mentioned before, but 4 and a half hours outside of Catherine southeast Arnhamland and it just a…
  • Palm Springs — Place · Anecdotal location (trip) · 1 mention · first at
    Hemsworth references a large group trip/event in Palm Springs involving mutual friends; Jason Bateman was missed.
    Yeah, they're quite a blur. The last one was at Palm Springs and there was about oh god 50 or 60 people flown out there and it was quite a big three-day event and.
  • Korchville — Place · Travel location (snow trip) · 1 mention · first at
    Hemsworth mentions being in 'Korchville, France' snowboarding with family; likely refers to Courchevel.
    Not summer now. But I was just in Korchville, France last week with my family snowboarding.

Media & podcasts

  • SmartLess — Podcast · Primary show / setting · 3 mentions · first at
    The entire transcript is an episode of SmartLess featuring an interview with Chris Hemsworth and host banter.
  • Crime 101 — Media · Core topic (current project) · 4 mentions · first at
    Hemsworth is on a press tour in New York promoting the film; hosts discuss the director, cast, and the film's tone and release date.
  • Thor — Media · Core topic (career-defining role) · 2 mentions · first at
    Hemsworth discusses playing Thor for ~15 years, his kids seeing the film, and how the character's tone changed across directors.
  • Avengers — Media · Referenced franchise · 5 mentions · first at
    Used to discuss the ensemble cast dynamic, Hemsworth's continued role, and his daughter's involvement in an Avengers production.
    I love that. this the Avengers Doomsday. I was at Anthony Russo's house and we saw the trailer. We were the first people to see the trailer.
  • Legends of the Fall — Media · Referenced film (naming story) · 3 mentions · first at
    Central to the anecdote about naming Hemsworth's son Tristan after Brad Pitt's character.
    He named his son after Brad Pitt's character in Legends of the Fall, but you may know him as Captain Kirk's father. It's the brilliant, charming Chris Hemsworth.
  • Love and Thunder — Media · Referenced film (Thor installment) · 2 mentions · first at
    Hemsworth discusses his daughter appearing in the film and mentions audience backlash about the comedic tone.
    Yeah, they do. My daughter was in Love and Thunder, the last Thor film, and she played Christian Bale's daughter.
  • Home and Away — Media · Referenced TV show (career foundation) · 2 mentions · first at
    Hemsworth describes working on the competing Australian soap opera for three years, emphasizing fast-paced training.
    And I love that style of working. Like I grew up working on a soap opera and it was we'd shoot 20 scenes a day and as you know the scripts were not great but you made them work but just the.
  • Neighbors — Media · Referenced TV show (career pipeline) · 2 mentions · first at
    Discussed as a major Australian soap opera that launched many actors; Hemsworth and his brother Luke Hemsworth worked on it.
    She was on Neighbors. And you were Yeah, I did Neighbors for like an episode and then I did Home and Away, which is the sort of competing one for like three years.
  • Dancing with the Stars — Media · Referenced TV show (career perception) · 1 mention · first at
    Hemsworth mentions doing it as part of why he felt outside the 'cool' Australian acting circle.
    Friends of mine now I always felt I was I did you know I did so proper I did Dancing with the Stars so I wasn't seen as being taken serious everyone was giving you the Brad Pitt handshake.
  • Terminator — Media · Referenced film (early viewing) · 1 mention · first at
    Hemsworth cites 'Terminator one' as an early VHS viewing in a remote community, illustrating early exposure to cinema.
    Dropped us off a couple of VHS tapes and I remember watching as a really young kid, Terminator one, a bunch of other random sort of things which are great for kids at the age of five or six.

Full transcript with timestamps

We're going to go We're going to go cold and we're going to go We're going to go live in five. We're going to go Well, let's Well, let's do a quick quick cold, right?

Let's do a quick cold. Let's do it in five. When I get down to We're going to go cold.

This is the This is the how we count down to the cold open, right? Are you going to say one or you just going to stop at two?

I'm not going to say one. And I'm I'm also not going to say two. Old broadcast, so I'm going to go 5 4 3.

By the way, you're wrong about that. You know, you've you've heard I've heard you say that before. Everyone always says the two. It's just the one that's not is that's not saying.

5 4 3 Welcome to the cold open. Welcome to Smartless. Smart. Smart. Smart. Ah, everything Jay in through the nose, out through the mouth.

Now we start. Hi. Hi. Hey. Thanks for coming today. Hey, you want to know Oh, go ahead.

Oh, no. Sorry. Do you have a story all queued up? I just I just actually thought of this. The um our show opened last Saturday. You know, I saw you on my Instagramish thing

and uh you were saying hi to the audience and I I immediately got a little nervous. I was like, "Oh my god, there he is. He's on stage. He's in front." He did it. So, you did it. You did an initial Are we in previews right now?

Yeah, first preview went great. Second one went terrible. I love all the photos. You look like You look like you're standing on the on the like the bow of a boat cuz you're always like standing there like looking off into the distance, you know?

Simon the king of the world or something. Yeah. He's proud and he's he's he's he's here. Um,

hey. Um, okay. Tell us. Okay, so tell us what was good about the first and bad about the second.

Well, you'll relate. You like this kind of talk. This it's talking shop. You know, when you kind of connect to what you're saying, it's very real and it's authentic right?

And then sometimes when you do a show after a million times, you sometimes there's a little tiny veil between you and the word associate.

Yeah. And so, but you're doing the actions and you're emoting, but it's a little manufactured.

Yeah. And that's how the second show was. That's how the second show was. the audience. I bet I bet it didn't feel good, but I bet it still was good.

Sean, explain to the audience a little bit because you told me that you and I spoke earlier and you told me that

and and I said, "Well, that's to be expected." And and I said that because it's very frightening.

It's kind of a known thing, right? You do your first show and it's great. Yeah. And then there's that sort of soft sophomore slump.

Yeah. I guess I wonder if it's an energy thing like, "Oh man, I'm exhausted." Right. And then maybe that's just I don't know.

And then you kind of build back up again. Yeah. But when you're st Yeah. when you're standing on the stage and you're saying the words and like you your mind goes blank but your mouth keeps talking.

Right. Was it just you going through this or were the other did the other actors have a good time? Would was it a good show for them?

How were they? Sometimes you can just rely on the rest of the team. You know JB JB and I and our crew were coming next week to see you.

And JB I don't know if you know this. This is the best news Sean told me today. You ready?

Mhm. It's an hour 15. Yeah. Oh, it's a tight hour 15. Do I get to sit front row?

We're at dinner before we know it. Do I get to hold the book? Can I hold the book front row?

Yeah. And be the guy you turn to if you forget a line. I would love that. And then I give you the wrong line.

Or or you just you look to me and I just look up at you and I just give you a real polite middle finger.

Yeah. If you gave JB the book, I I would say this is a girl. Just give me a line from 12.

JB JB would be off book in 10 minutes. Yeah. That's the way point is. You would be really good at that.

Ridiculous. Yeah. But when those curtains open and the lights come on, you're like, "Oh, there's I'm have to do this." It's the scariest thing in the world.

How was Scotty? Was Scotty a puddle of nerves? I bet he was. He looks scared. But you know what?

He looked like he doesn't know what to do. I I I went to PT today, physical therapy, because I'm standing so long on stage and rehearsal. And so even right now as I'm talking to you, I have to learn how to do sit-ups. Like, you know, like engage your core. You got to engage your core.

Engage your core. Yeah. PT doctor said the middle's too soft. And you're wearing you're wearing double has, right? You've got custom double has on.

Hey, why don't you get one of those cashier mats? Custom double hookas hooked to them at the bottom of my shoes.

Yeah. Yeah. cut out a couple of uh shoe size uh shoe size cashier mats like snowboards like

what did he So you've got to engage so you're doing sit-ups you're trying to do exercises to engage your core

your core so yeah your back right you guys all know that yeah but I I just kind of haven't been doing that anyway who cares

don't get me going on core guys someone who has a really good core is my guest today he he right he grew up in a remote Australian community 4 hours from the nearest town. Spent his teenage years searching income

and at one point repaired breast pumps in a factory for 10 bucks an hour. He moved to LA to be an actor and was about to quit until one last audition. Flip the script.

The way it always happens. He named his son after Brad Pitt's character in Legends of the Fall, but you may know him as Captain Kirk's father. It's the brilliant, charming Chris Hemsworth.

Hemsworth. Hello. Wow. Hello. How are you? I think you How are you? Chris, guys, this is is Chris knows my wife, okay? And I'll leave it at that. I'll leave it.

Well, we got to start there. You'll leave it at that and I'll pick it up from there.

Chris, wait for Yeah, they've done a little bit of partying together. Oh, yeah. It's getting worse.

Where have you been at all those parties mate? I know. I You weren't involved. I'm kind of jealous. Well, I lost my privileges years ago, and I think it's better for me to stay out of what we call trigger uh environments.

I should probably Wait, wait. What are we alluding to? What happened with They've got some mutual friends and they have fun and they create trips and they go places and

like recently or in the past trips of oaks. Yeah. Yeah, I think recently. Yeah. And then I, you know, I stay home and I I just I work on I work on stuff. I do charity work, you know, and I I uh I fix the house. I take care of the kids.

That's what we call watching TV now, huh? Can you share, Chris? Hi. Nice to meet you, by the way. Thank you for being here.

Can you share share with us one of those vacations or trips? Uh they're hard to recall, aren't they?

Yeah, they're quite quite a blur. The last one was at Palm Springs and there was about oh god 50 or 60 people flown out there and it was quite a big three-day event and um

and you were missed Jason but we talked about I would have you I God I would have crushed it.

You would have crushed me back in the old days. I'd still be there. Hey Will, you know what will it's amazing you and I never partied.

I know we did. We've been through this. We did one night. Jason doesn't Chris uh Jason doesn't remember but before our privileges privileges were sus uh uh suspended years ago Jason and I had a night out and all I don't want to get into the details of

but we were irresponsible in our 20s and there were moments where we had fun I had some fun with David Cross too a couple of times too anyway done that did that

free iPhones and cameras and you can kind of Jason one time took his belt off he tried to cl he tried to climb a light pole once I was with him and David Cross and I only stayed late cuz I was like looking out for their safety cuz they were both acting like dingdongs. And remember I stole your I had your belt for like my belt come off.

What happened just after that? Was I looking to selfisiate? Oh my god. Anyway, Chris, welcome to Smart.

Yes. Thank you so much. I want to start like in the intro like learn I read so much about you coming up to this and I knew none of this. First of all, I just want to in the intro, you named your son after

Brad Pitt's character. Is that true? Tristan. It was from Legend of the Fall. And did you talk about it with your wife?

Yeah. No. So, so we we we liked the name and then we were sitting on the couch one day. Uh we had a few different ideas and that film came on and the scene where he's on the horse and rolls into the into the space across across the field and

couldn't look more legendary. And um me and my wife both were both went, "Ah, this is the coolest character ever, isn't it?" And his name is Tristan. And I was like, "What about Tristan? How about that? That could work." And then off off we went.

How about that? That's pretty cool. And now, has your kid grown into that name? Like, does he look like a Tristan now too?

He does. I mean, he is shorter hair now, but he had for the first kind of he's 11 now. For the first kind of nine, 10 years, he didn't cut his hair. Was long blonde hair. He would really went with the Legends of the Fall.

Well, I didn't know if it was an influence by outdoing or whether there was some sort of uh

It wasn't a Halloween costume. No, but he um Did he look Did he look like Mini Thor?

He He absolutely did. Yeah. And he's incredibly high energy and rides horses and motorbikes and surfs and so he Oh, that's cool. He fits the He fits the name. Did you ever be proud?

Did you ever meet Brad and tell him that? Uh not that particular story. No. I met Pat once and and uh and I'm a big fan obviously and

kind of had this awkward interaction where I went for the handshake or he went for the handshake I went for the hug that kind of in between thing and

oh god it almost turned into a kiss and then I was throwing out of the party and

by god it would slow down too slow for me at that moment I was standing across the room my agent was like he wants to meet you I'm like who he doesn't want to meet me what and then uh eventually An hour later, I was like, "Oh, Brad, you're here." Oh, just trying to act all the door.

Hey, look at you. Failed. One of those. Hey, look at you. You doing? Where are you today? Are you uh Are you down under?

No, I'm in New York. I'm in a press tour for Crime 101, a uh a film we're promoting.

Oh, I can't wait to see that. You know where he is, JB? Look, you can see you can see where he is.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's that's right. Yeah. That light switch right there turns on the fireplace if you if you've been if you've been looking.

That's what that does. Yeah. I never knew where Yeah. And it's going to take a little while. It's going to click for a bit. You won't explode. Um, hey, uh, that Bart Leightton, I love that guy. What a great director he is. I can't wait to see your film.

I just saw it last night. It was fantastic. I loved it. Incredible. Yeah. Ed edge of your seat the whole time.

No notes. A couple locked. They're not locked yet. Always notes. If you want to give us any notes off air, I can uh I won't take them so personally. Chris, don't don't you don't you want don't you want some uh don't you want to do a film next that doesn't take like six months to shoot and all these sort of life-threatening stunts you've got to do and don't you want like a nice calm sort of like a like the equivalent of a sitcom uh in a movie you know that you can just relax.

Yeah. Yeah. this the four five six month shoots are uh tedious and I know you've all experienced this but unnecessary too I feel like at this point you know like the the technology of cameras and lighting and what you do in post-prouction and

everything is still done how we did it 10 20 years ago. Yeah. and um and you have, you know, 20 big trucks there full of equipment sitting there just in case and especially on the bigger the budget, you know,

and um and you just stand around and do nothing. You get then you do a smaller film

and everyone's it's fastpaced. You don't have the luxury to sit around and wonder and you know it it's it's it feels like there's the preparation's almost done in a far more specific way because there's such a limited time frame.

And I love that style of working. Like I grew up working on a soap opera and it was we'd shoot 20 scenes a day and as you know the scripts were not great but you made them work but just the the momentum you get from that and uh the sort of just by having your feet on the ground continuously day after day the um the knowledge you gain from that I think is fantastic. But

yeah learning learning to be good quick right like you've you've got to be good fast on on those on those soap opers. Yeah. Yeah. You What was the soap oper?

Or you going to be Bad Fast, too, which is what most of what I did. But yeah, we just had Margot Robbie on. She said she was on a show.

She was on Neighbors. And you were Yeah, I did Neighbors for like an episode and then I did Home and Away, which is the sort of competing one uh for like three years.

And and when Margot was on, she talked about when she moved to LA that there was like an Australian mafia that helped each other out kind of thing, right? You know what I mean? Were you part of that? There was like a drive.

Let's be honest. I always felt there was the Australian mafia kind of film industry

and and then the like the folks that had trained at Naidder and I think Mel Gibson and Kate Blanchett and you know the big acting schools and and then the theater group and then I was on the soap opera

and I always felt a little outside of that cool mafia bubble and I and I I remember kind of turning up to a few premiieres and

and kind of being on the guest list but not really and having that all those awkward moments and and I I honestly when I came to LA, I didn't know that whole crew of Australian people and and I started working and eventually met them all and and you know Joel Ejan and and uh a few folks at you know good friends of mine now

I always felt I was um I did you know I did so proper I did Dancing with the Stars so I wasn't seen as being taken serious

everyone was giving you the Brad Pitt handshake did you rent a car from the Romanian guy Margot rented a car from a Romanian dude dude who didn't require any ID. Oh god. No.

Good. No. Well, now I imagine you're fully embraced. Uh, and it's all one big. It is. It's such a It is. It because it's um it is such a small it's industry, you know, and and those who have had success in Australia and make the leap overseas and work. Um, there is just such a cool gang of, you know, people and support. Now,

it's remarkable. Again, we we said it with Margo, but it's remarkable how many Australians come off those two shows and come and have huge success in this country

in the film business. It's it's remarkable. It really is. It's the SNL of Australia.

Yeah. You know what I mean? SNL bors so many stars. Um um All right. So, you're in New York and you're doing a bunch of press for um uh for Crime 101. I would imagine you're you're going to do a talk show or two, but are you are you noticing are you doing like some of the the content stuff that is kind of like a part of

most of these press tours now? Like uh Willia, I know you've got a hot wings out there. I still haven't seen but I'm dying to. But like

I saw clips of it. It's really So like every you have you been doing some of that stuff?

Yeah, I did I actually did hot wings for a previous film. A lot of fun but not not on this.

How far did you get? Did you do all 10? I did and I was getting really cocky and kind of just more more more more and this one's not so bad

and will you know by the like the ninth or 10th one it's just a different game and they just stopped recording cuz I was like about to throw up and they got me ice cream and milk and I was

Yeah yeah yeah and we were all supposed to go out for dinner that night and I hadn't eaten all day and I did the and by the time I did the show it was the first thing I put in my stomach was this

hungry bowl of hot sauce and then I just uh went back to the hotel room and I sat there for the next 12 hours hugging the toilet bowl.

Did you sit down? I didn't. I was just on the floor. Nothing was operating properly. Everything wanted to come out.

Why does it It's so I had to take the ice cream and I and I ended up slathering it on my lips like zinc like a like a surfer.

Tell me slow. And then was it dripping down your chin? It was I honestly at one point I was like I wanted to rip like it was spurting so bad and I was just the whole time I was slightly angry.

Yeah. All right. And then you enjoy. You just kept looking at Louis K. By the way, I did I called them out. And by the way, the only reason I went all the way through is cuz they told me, JB, that you had made it all the way through.

Sure, not a problem. Shut up. This mouth can This mouth can take a lot. Hey, but what I only took enjoyable about having it that hot. Anybody wants to have that [ __ ] on their food like

I know. But did you do the Did you eat the whole wing? I just took one bite. No, one bite. One bite.

Yeah. Yeah. That's all. That's all it took. Well, Chris ate the bones. That's why you threw up. Yeah, but I was just on I did Graeme Norton with uh John Bishop.

Oh, you did? Yeah. Oh, nice. Um lovely bloke and and a fantastic film, by the way.

Oh, thanks, man. He's a great dude, isn't he? He's great. He's he's amazing. And he told the whole story and and yeah, just what what a beautiful uh what a beautiful story. The kind of thing you you you can't write, you know what I mean? It's it's real life kind of shows you the the better stories.

But um what would the sequel be on that, Willie? What would be the sequel? What's going on? What's going on? Is this thing still on? Um,

what's John John Bishop? Yeah. What would happen with you and you would you'd go you'd go to the Olympics with Laura right?

By the way, no bad pitches. Keep going. And she'd win the gold. As a coach. She'd win the gold as a coach.

As a coach. Yeah. And then you guys would go on tour doing a standup standup tour. And I'd get cancelled on tour, right? and and then it would be, you know,

let's write it. Yeah, let's write it. Here we go. Write itself. Um Chris, I haven't seen you since we were singing uh um that song in that car on that crazy uh commercial karaoke.

No, what was it? It was for a video game. For a video game. Um some headbanging. Uh

sounds like a payday. Yeah, we got paid. Congrats. and artistic, you know, uh, integrity, expression, all of that.

Yeah. Yeah. That, too. It was a crazy huge production for a video game commercial. Not even It was a mobile game.

Yeah. Yeah. It was It Well, God, what was it called? Was this Chris? Do you play

We had fun though. We loved it. We love it. We loved it so much. Do you play those video games that you need like a headset to play? You know, you're shooting people up. Willie does that.

Well, you don't still do that, do you? I don't. It's been years, actually, to be honest. Yeah. Um, I want to know,

Sean, you're into Sonic, aren't you? Uh, the burgers or No, the immediately food.

We'll be right back. And now back to the show. So, hey Chris, I want to know about growing up and and talk to me how that started and where the first love came from. Like what was the first thing?

Also like also an acting family. Sean, it should be pointed out. For sure. I was getting there. Well,

well, I'm sorry. Yeah. Ne neither neither of my parents were uh were actors. My mom has a more of an artistic flare. You know, she paints a lot and writes, but uh and and was interested in acting and then she got pregnant with my older brother when she was 19 and then uh then had me and then had my younger brother. And so we kind of ruined her dreams in that sense. And then

and there's three. Are there any more than the three brothers? No, it's just the three of us. Yeah,

there's three. Yeah. And I grew up in in Melbourne and then moved to Northern Territory in the outback and lived in a Aboriginal community there. And my dad was uh mustard cattle and buffalo and so on. And

and it was a way Yeah. It was a complete removal from the suburban Melbourne city life. And we were literally, you mentioned before, but 4 and a half hours outside of Catherine um southeast Arnhamland and um it just a different world. Like my most vivid memories and some of the most beautiful memories I've heard from my

How old were you when you when you left there? I was first time I was about 4 to six and then came back to Melbourne for a year and then went back up for another year and a half.

Wow. So you know do you know your way around a farm then with uh with cattle and stuff like that? Could you could you get by?

Uh yeah. I mean I was young, you know. I was just kind of exploring and doing, you know.

Doesn't make you uncomfortable though. No, no, no. I was around it all and and was sort of fascinated.

I think he gets uncomfortable with a lot JB. Let's be honest. Handle himself. Unlike me. Yeah.

He's, you know, he's not he's not skateboarding around Hollywood, you know, going. I know. I'm so soft. Why am I so soft?

Grownup outback. But but what but did you have like this is a dumb question but in the middle of basically nowhere where you grew up like what was the impetus for did you have a TV and you're like oh I want to see that from that person on that TV show or

so the first time we lived there we were in kind of shanty looking shacks and and it and then a tent at one point like it was proper like out in the middle of nowhere on on different cattle stations and um so no TV during that time. The second time we had a TV and the there was a truck that would come and deliver food and supplies to the community every, you know, month or so on. And he dropped us off a couple of VHS tapes and I remember watching um as a really young kid, Terminator one, um a bunch of other random sort of things which are great for kids at the age of five or six.

Sure. and um and and I I I it wasn't that that inspired me, but that was kind of I I don't know the my earliest memories of what cinema was and and that experience. And then um I just love watching movies to and and and not so much to be an actor. It was more of like ah I want to be legalist in Lord of the Rings and I want to go and you know

swing a sword and be in that fantasy world and right and again not escaping what I was in you know in in my own world but it just the sheer adventure of it and then by the time I was 18 and finishing high school um it just became a real obsession like it does and like it needs to be I guess and and

right um and then I did you did the soapy popper and then off to LA and then and then off.

Wait, but I want to get back. So, so the Whole Foods truck just drove right up to the community and they just open up the back and

Yeah, it was it there was there was a one there was a big shed um in this in this community. There's a you know, a lot of separate communities throughout Anamland and um and they would do deliveries with basic sort of, you know, bits and pieces that would go into this what was the shop which was literally just a big shed. I did a documentary actually with my dad

that where we go back to um that that community and it's there's the same shed there from 30 something years ago.

Did it come back to you? Oh my god. The huge like sort of nostalgia and the the the detail to which like these places prompted the vivid memories was was astounding.

Probably surprised you, right? You didn't know it was going to come back. I I I thought it would have changed dramatically and I went, "Oh." And I remember every little corner of the little streets we were living on and I remember what games I was playing at what places and where I was hanging out and and there was this big um freezer in the back of this shed where they kept all the cold food which me and my mate used to just go and sit in and you know eat the chocolate bars and so on cuz it was so hot out there in the in the middle of the outback. Um but it was yeah fascinating and and beautiful place.

And that's still is that still home? Is that still uh main base for you? Australia.

Australia. Yeah. Byron Bay. We live like northern New South Wales now and moved that back there 11 12 years ago. It was kind of like my daughter is 13, my boys are 11. So it was right around the time my boys were born. Um, and it was it was just it we kind of were set up in LA and not enjoying it, you know, like nothing was shooting there. We were filming kind of everywhere else. But

well, you're traveling anyway, so you might as well. I mean, it's a lot longer, but you might as well live where you want to live. Is that the idea?

Yeah, abs. And then we you know we'd come home and paparazzi and all the sort of the trappings of you know living in the sort of that that space

and moved back back to Australia and um in and that just was it's been the greatest decision because it's such a

it's like you know when you you come back from work you want to go on a holiday like coming home for me is feels like a holiday. We have

big farm and horses and motorbikes and surf and that's so cool. And that's how I read that's how you guys you and your brothers grew up too. Just like no helmets riding like no supervision just like it's crazy, right?

Yeah. Yeah. No, not not Yeah. Not cuz my parents didn't care. It was just cuz No, right. I didn't mean that.

Jesus, Sean. Jesus Sean. No, but it was we we we lived uh about 20 minutes from like the main sort of suburban areas in Melbourne up in the up in the hills. Um, and the nearest neighbor was, you know, a kilometer or two away and it was just all bush land and rainforest sort of set up around us. And so we were just spent, you know, outdoors adventures and playing different characters. There's nothing that's to be honest where the sort of intrigue or interest into

that you know transportation into another the magic. So so then so then what how how do you go from that from uh uh and you you have this sort of interest and and what what was the first audition like what was the first thing you go like I'm going to go read for that? Well, I I I had a I did a like a every Wednesday night I used to drive an hour and a half into into the city into Melbourne to do this acting course. It was like a two-hour, you know, session where they they record everything you did and you'd have a little VHS tape and um and and you go home and watch it and you go, "Wow, it doesn't look anything like I thought it would." And so it's kind of shocked to the system and trial by fire and a pretty good sort of wake up and but but you learn quick, you know, and and as opposed to just doing acting classes and not ever being confronted with what you're actually putting on screen.

You learn a lot from watching yourself. I I I I do about what you know, oh [ __ ] don't do that again.

100%. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. M and and all your little sort of tells or habits or things you're repeating, you're like, "Oh, wow. That's that's I thought I was kind of in a completely different space and I'm doing exactly the same thing I did before."

Right. Um Right. Right. But I got an agent and then my first audition was uh I think the first job I got was I think it was called The Saddle Club. Um it was a Canadian Australian show about um the

Sean, you used to run the door at the Saddle Club, didn't you? run the door. I still do. I still do. Just for some extra money.

We take those those easy cheap shots. Uh feel free to jump in anytime you think of one.

It was it was a good show based around horses and and and you know horse club and and I came in as a vet at the age of 18, you know, as a doogie house of the vet world.

Sean would let the bears in too as well as sure. Oh, he was a vet of sorts, I guess, in that way.

Veteran. Yeah. Wait. Um, which which brother got the first job? Uh, my older brother, Luke. He worked on Neighbors actually for for a while as a um

Okay. steroid selling uh football player. Yeah. Quite a role. And then and then and in the intro, I read that one job that because you said you wanted to quit and I mean it always like Jason was saying, it always happens that way. Why don't you like I can't do this anymore. And then the universe, you have to is it the universe or is it this sort of you just surrender to

to the process and you remove some of the desperation that may be coming out. You kind of hit [ __ ] it. You [ __ ] it. Yeah. And people can tell and it's kind of uh it's that sexy indifference, guys. Yeah. Right.

Now, what is that? So, what is that expression? Oh, here. So, here's what it is. It's it's amazing. We We've all know what that means. The exhausted or you you come in and you're hung over or what and all of a sudden it's like

you ju your body just doesn't have the strength to light your you know you're you're you're being up with adrenaline and you just kind of sit in a pocket.

You're not thirsty. You're not looking. You're not desperate. you're just like this is me. This is the way it is. Take it or leave it. And there's something about that people like I like that

which it comes it comes comes through the like excessive sort of the preparation too. You know what I mean? Like and that was what I learned like I was then would try and replicate that by like not caring which of course I did care. So it was like well how can I get to the point where I can let go and then it was just about overpreparation and and and where there was no stone unturned. Then you felt like, well, I've done everything I could. Anytime I would walk into a room and audition and feel like, oh, you could have learned these lines a bit better. Well, you should have done this.

And then that kind of voice takes off and does all sorts of shitty things. You were falling into the trap. I used to fall into this trap of trying to pretend like I didn't care.

So acting acting twice in an audition, it was like the most idiotic, most exhausting [ __ ] thing. Like I'm already sweating, you know, trying to pretend like I I'm not going to sweat.

Yeah. Yeah. Um, wait. So, just a sidebar I was going to say is the day that Cabin in the Woods came out was also the same day my movie Three Stooges came out, but I think you guys beat us. Anyway, moving on.

Let me tell you something about this picture. This idiot. The three stupid Sean. I actually watched 10 minutes of that like not four days ago.

Thank you. What? The Three Stooges. Yeah. Yeah. On the big screen. You gave it You gave it a full 10 minutes. a full 10 here on the TV and then we lost power or something like that and so I couldn't see anymore. But

it literally crashed the power at your house. Jason, you you mentioned before you you know Bot Lighten or you just know

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm a huge fan of his film uh American Animals and um I I just uh I started pursuing him like some crazy fan after that and uh he sat down and had lunch with me and humored me for a bit. Uh but yeah, cannot wait to see this. Uh

he's incredible. This was I think the sort of the best experience I've ever had in a set and I've had some amazing times and and it kind of reminded me to be honest of like Furioso with George Miller felt like this and and Rush many years ago. Um, and it's it's that thing where that there's just this

beautiful um he is just such a such a craftsman, such a master. Attention to detail is is beyond anyone I've ever seen.

Some of those shots are incredible. It's shot the cinematography stunning and he wrote the script. So there's this, you know, deeper sort of understanding of of of every element to it, but then there's just this kind, collaborative, humble human being, which you don't get the two.

I was just going to say that kind Yeah. kind leadership, right? Ron Howard on Rush, Bart on this. It just it it ends up yielding like great input from this entire team.

If somebody at the top is not a monster, you should look into that. Yeah, I'm reading and reading and I just

take note. Yeah, because I've heard a lot of stories from your sacks from a lot of I get a lot of anonymous emails.

A lot of it's true. A lot of it's true. Working on it. Yeah. Real groucher. Me groucher tin is your nickname.

JK. Everybody loves JK. JK. Um, wait. So, so a couple like things I didn't know. Okay.

Are we back off the sidebar or we we're into back? I don't know if we have enough time for the segment. things you don't know.

No, but look, you've got I love Oh, the places you'll go. Right. So, you Right. So, right. So, when I

first of all, talk about your tattoos. I want then I'll get into that. So, you've got tattoos, which I never I didn't know you've had this many tattoos. So, tell us tell us the tattoos you have.

Uh oh, there are a bunch of random kind of um Did you start with the back tat? Starts the back. The Harley-Davidson and the hawk. That's

No, no, no. The one on the tail back. Oh, the bob wire. The bob wire. The one that says just breathe.

Open for business. Oh my god, that's hilarious. It my tattoos. So, I have a Doctor's Who Tattoo. My daughter was I used to read that book to her a lot and um and my mom read it to me uh of the places we go, you'll go and um she just would draw that little character and loved it and so I got that tattoo.

Oh, I love that. Isn't that great? And then a few years later, I was like, I'm kind of sick of it. So, I started getting it taken off. And I did like one laser session.

And then she came home one day and she goes, "It's rubbing off. What happened to it? It's rubbing off." And I was like, "Oh, did you do you still I don't know. Do you I thought you were sick of it." She goes, "No, I love it. I love it." So, it's now kind of half faded, you know, but it's still there. And then I've got another um it's a bunch on my arm actually the little drawings that she did that I was sitting with a tattoo artist um one night and it was like 10:00 and he's designing all these different things and all this sort of sacred geometry and trippy looking stuff. And my daughter walked out and goes, "Dad, I can't sleep. You're making too much noise." I'm like, "Sorry, sorry." and she sits down and starts squiggling and um and drew the three little images here which one of them just and the guy next to us goes that's the wheel of dharma it's the eight steps to enlightenment so it's this she's

drawn that oh really and then the fiveointed star and you know so he looked at me and goes I think they're way cooler than anything we're designing and so took a photo of that and that's that and then um

that's a bunch of other sort of criminals and your Avengers friends, which is cool.

I made I made disparaging remarks about people with uh with um tattoos on a podcast in the UK. Do you know that guy, Rob? He's hilarious. Do you know that dude over in London? Anyway, I made it I made I made a sweeping generalization kind of as a bit and I got a bunch of hate from it.

What was I like? I said that I said there's a direct correspondence between the more tattoos you have, by the way, I don't even believe this. The more tattoos you have, the less interest the more more tattoos you have, the more boring you are. It's all I said was boring.

People freaked out. And I'm like, I'm just [ __ ] around. It's like I I don't have a scientific opinion on this. I'm just [ __ ] around.

Sounds sounds like someone who would who would like a few tattoos. Would you like a couple?

I would like a couple, actually. I thought you get your kids. I don't have one.

All I have are just my kids here in the inside of my arm. Uh, and that's it. But I I feel like I want like a thousand more. I feel like a million friends who are covered in tattoos. That would mean that I hate all my friends.

I thought I just get the problem is I get I get sick of them and so I'm into them for a few weeks.

That's what I'm worried about. I want to just get them all removed and But you're not sick of the kids though. The kids ones that have a bit of something to it, but I've got some other ones that like a weird sort of psycho geometry one which looks like the Illuminati kind of vibe to it. It's It's

I love all those little tiny drawing ones, you know, like like I think like what you were showing on your arm like just like the little doodles.

Yeah, that's what I love that. I want some of those. Yeah, I I love you know there and but then you get a lot. Do you have any of the ones I see people like uh like on their arm it's like stay alert and I'm like do you have to look at it to remind yourself like breathe

and if you're looking at it you're not alert. Just breathe. Just breathe. Oh right [ __ ] any quotes or any

I wanted JB I I always threaten that if the Leafs win the Stanley Cup I'm going to get my whole back of Wendell Clark who's been retired for years but my hockey idol holding the Stanley Cup on my back I think I'm safe for now for a while

yeah we're we're struggling along with you here in Los Angeles Sean you don't have any right you don't have any

No I've always wanted one I always wanted let's do one let's design I'll design one for you and then you design one for me

if you had to put if you had to get a tattoo of a snack food on your body what would it Oh,

you have to. A guns to your head. One snack food on the body. Yeah, it would have to probably

It can't be hot dog. Can it be Can it be a Twinkie? What about a Twink? No, it probably be a Snickers bar.

A Snickers bar. And where would you put that? Uh, what about right on my neck? Just

right on your tummy. Right across your tummy. That's where it ends up. Back. That's the same next to

people cuz that's when people will snicker. Yeah. Yeah. We'll be right back. All right, back to the show.

So, Chris, in Crime 101, this is I mean, we always talk about this on this podcast, but like when people from Australia or the UK or have to do these American accents and they're so good and they're so believable and then you speak in your regular Austral, it's just like I don't know what happens. It's like, w how do you do that? I could never do an Australian accent. That's the hardest one.

Try right now. No, I couldn't do it. Guns to your head. The only I can say one word. Chest is chest. That's all I know.

That sounds more Kiwi. Chist. That sounds What? Think like Kiwi. Sounds like more New Zealand. Chist.

Oh, it does. We We'd say chest. Oh, you would say chest. Say aluminium. Sean. Aluminium.

Aluminium. I can do a British one. I can't do it. But that guy. Let's hear that.

I mean, is it from that guy? It it's we we I think I mean most of our television and film growing up is American so there's a bit of you know we have an ear for it I guess but I've also screwed it up many times as well and you know

how how often will you go back in will you ask like you'll see an early cut of something and you'll ask the director hey could I go in and redo that line or that line

more now like I didn't even know I had the option in the past and I' you know see some review talking about you know not so favorably and then um the worst was a Scottish accent and I did for something and and someone said it's the worst Glaswegian accent we've heard since the fat bastard in Austin Powers

which is one of the greatest all time I was like I did a great job. Yeah. I love these guys on the sidelines throwing bombs like they can do it.

I know. I think you're brilliant at it. And um what about um and then you met didn't you meet Elsa, your wife, through a dialect coach?

We did. Yeah. Yep. Yep. It was a like what for what was she going for? Um the dialect coach or Elsa?

Yeah. I mean, but I meant like why like why were you there at the same time? Oh, no. We just we were both training separately with her and she said, "I think you'd like a you know, someone else I'm working with." And and I said, "Oh, what's her name?" And looked her up and thought, "Oh, she looks lovely. Sure. Give me a phone number." And then we uh

really that was that simple. And then we uh now we went out for dinner and then and then I went and shot a movie and we came back had dinner and then went off shot another movie and so it's like we weren't together but we'd sort of been in contact for kind of eight months and then got together and very quickly had kids in marriage and all that fun stuff.

But that's nice though. That's kind of a nice slow burn though. Like you kind of like ease into it a little bit. Couple dinners here and there and

Yeah. A bit of distance. Kind of long distance. Was that a novel idea to you will? Just a couple of dates before you started.

Hey man. Hey. So wow. So, you took her out to dinner a couple of times, did you?

Um, so Chris, so Chris, your kids are now at the age where they can see how badass dad is and they can appreciate kind of like what a set is like and that that might be a fun sort of uh atypical work environment. Are any of them getting kind of the the bug to do what you do? Any interest there?

Yeah, they do. My my daughter was in uh Love and Thunder, the last Thor film, and uh she played Christian Bale's daughter.

And then she's Did she dig it? She Yeah. But she was like she's I asked her to, you know, I said, "Look, I can do you want to do this role?" And and she goes, "Oh, yeah, cool. What do I have to do?" And and I said, "I'll just read these lines." She goes, "No, I don't want to read the lines." And I was like, "Well, I got to record something to send to Kevin Feige." She's like, "No, I'm not doing it." And I was like, "Okay, well, you can't do it." She goes, "No, but I want to do it." I'm like, "Yeah, but you got this is like an audition.

She won't read." So, she finally finally did it. They were like, "Great." Loved it. And then she did Avengers and and this is 3 four years later. And by this point, she's so much more jaded about it all. She kind of is like doesn't hates the whole scene and everything, but you know, tells me she enjoys acting. We do one take, wide take, mostly sort of in my direction, and she gets up and goes, "Okay, we done." I said, "No, are you serious?" And she goes, "How much longer?" And I'm like, "We're here all week and you we've you've done like one wide shot." And every single time we'd go back to the tent or the trailer and they call us in, she like, "Oh god." And I was like, "In India, you beg, you begged me to do this. You wanted to do it."

And then her brothers are like, "We'll do it. We'll do it. We you're such a sook India." And so they probably have more of my boys probably have more of a

like I don't know. They like the kind of they're a bit more of a showman kind of, you know, they like that space. And

how were the Russos on her? Did the Russos take care of her or was Joe just hammering her with notes?

Yes. Heaps of notes, backstory and incessant on sort of the study and the prep she done. No, not at all. They were fantastic.

Um, great. And and Chris, do your do your kids um I I read that they critique your movies. Do they actually write them or do they just tell you?

No, they'll just blatantly tell me. I mean they're tough. But that whole generation, they're like, "Yeah, visual effects weren't as good in that one, Dad." Or the the action was never remember commenting on any of that as as a kid.

Yeah. My kids never like watching anything that's like five years old. That's the the sick.

My kids my kids came my kids came and saw our mine Bradley the is this thing on? And Abel, my 15-year-old goes a lot better than that one the movie you did with the talking dogs. I go, "Hey, dude."

Yeah. Uh did your braces get paid for? Yeah. How you doing in the house you're living in? Yeah.

Yeah. Pretty comfy. Exactly. Pretty comfy right now. Do your kids Do your kids give it up, Chris? Well, like if you do something great, will they go, you know, they're they're really they're really supportive. They're um they remember the first time when they were sort of realizing what it was that I did. And the first time my son I took him to the cinema to watch um to see Thor

and he was just running up and down the aisle and I was like just got to sit down and he's jumping up and down the chairs and I was just like you know just trying to sit him down holding down holding down

and then I was like [ __ ] this is my movie I'm [ __ ] on the screen and then you know got bit worried about someone's going to yell at us but I thought and then the end he was like having so much fun he's sweating he's sweating and he's like right let's go and then so he left halfway through and he ran up down the hallway and he's like that. He's 10 minutes big. But but he he became obsessed with it and we had a little hammer that he'd run around with and smash things and

I mean I mean I get it. My my my 15-year-old wishes you were his dad, too. It's unbelievable. long long line of kids who

but it's changing like like the 11 13 year old time when you know there's a whole new vernacular and all this sort of new new language they seem to roll with and and everything's got like a a sarcastic sort of twist to it now cuz all the YouTube [ __ ] and so on

and I'll say something they've got cringe I'm like no no no I'm I'm [ __ ] cool right mate I'm not I'm cool with dads right and it's like it's all fading in the distance.

It keeps us honest. I love that. You know, this the Avengers Doomsday. I was at Anthony Russo's house and we saw the trailer. We were the first people to see the trailer.

It was in it was incredible. This will be the I don't know if you know this. This will be the 10th time you've played Thor, which is really cool.

It's wild, isn't it? I know. It's wild. I mean, that's that's really really cool.

Yeah. It's been Oh, really? There's more? Yeah. Oh, that's great. Yeah. But there's it's it's just been the um it's been so much fun and it's what I've really enjoyed is unlike I think a lot of what the other characters that the scripts were given

they have have had to be pretty consistent whereas working with Tika on his films versus Kenneth Braner with those films and then from um even you know with the Russos all quite a different sort of tonal opinion but also let me kind of try different things cuz I I was getting

same with my tattoos. I'd be getting really bored of the same thing and and have a real need to kind of just throw in different directions. And I was talking to Kevin about it and he said, "Ah, it's cool because we've

the audience now expect dramatic turns with the character and um whatever we do next that we've got some ideas to do something pretty unique again and and or hopefully be

Yeah, I was going to say you must have ideas. You guys all must have ideas about where your characters might go because now now you guys I guess for a long time now you guys have been going um there there aren't um uh comic books to to write these scripts off of. You guys have gone past those. And so, um, do you guys is is there

there's also an obligation though, JB, within is isn't there like a not an obligation, but like

because the the fans are so they know these characters so well, so you've got to handle it kind of with care. Like you take chances,

but you've also got to like make sure that they don't get pissed off. No, for sure. because you there I mean you still can pull from

there's so many different stories within the comic books and you pull from ideas and and certain you know directions but and each even even um within the different comic book artists writers they had sort of slightly different takes as well so there's variations but um you do have to be careful because

when we made Ragnarok it was quite a twist you know and with Ker such a great movie

and it was and it was so fun there was a huge kind of like appreciation for the shift and then Love and Thunder we was kind of like a Monty Python sketch and we were sort of took the piss probably a little much and then then there there was some of that backlash you know that there was the sort of the real kind of why is he a goofball and why is it this and

and you know violently offended and we were like we're just you know having fun or trying to try something different and so

it is cool that there's that partnership there though with with the with the audience as well as the film makers that doesn't really exist in other I mean maybe Star Wars there's some of that as well but um it it's I I that part is really cool

just if you can stick around for a couple hours about Star Wars um wait what about like in the intro I didn't know this is total left turn but when you were growing up you repaired breast milk pumps what

yeah I worked for um for Fisher and Pico this uh um good what do you call white goods kind of goods yeah fridges and stuff

they also make dishwashers dishwashers and they make breast pumps they make the the I didn't know that

and they they would rent them to differentarmacies and chemists and um they would come back to us and I'd have to repair them when the like the little belt the motor belt would break but also have to clean all the dried milk that was on them so I'd have a toothbrush and some spray and wipe and

and that that was my first my first job. How about that? How about a lot of time to think about what else I would prefer to be doing?

For sure. Um and and and you're a big surfer and you do snowboarding and it's like, by the way, is it win? Is there snow there in Australia right now?

Not summer now. But I was just in Korchville, France uh last week with with my family snowboarding.

Did you do some skiing? Yeah, I did a lot of skiing. Snowboarding and my kids were all doing back flips.

Did you Did you you must have played a lot of sports growing up. Uh yeah, I did um uh the 110 hurdles. It was my that was my event. I wasn't quite quick enough for the for the 100, but I was tall enough and agile enough for the hurdles, so it was a good combination.

What about footy? Did you play any footy? AFL football. Yep. And uh played for eight or nine years. And then when I was 17, I dislocated my shoulder and tore all the ligaments and and it was I'd been surfing a lot at the same time. And so I had eight weeks of sitting on the couch doing nothing. And I was like, ah, I don't want to risk not surfing anymore. And

and then sort of gave that up. And must be a lot of dislocated uh shoulders in AFL.

Every injury I have now that like back and things that start to play up, I swear from like 9 years of just getting belted on the football field. Like it's

it's intense. And and you your body would shatter if you got hit at that speed now. but running full pelt into each other. You know, I got two concussions when I was like 14, 15.

I remember going to going to Australia, going to Melbourne and seeing if going to an NFL match and just watching and just seeing like the pure athleticism of these guys running, kicking, catching, tackling, all of them just incredible athletes. It's amazing. I'm Yes. Wow.

Hey, um so I'm still still just in awe of your uh just general manhood and exposure to elements and things like that. So down there in Australia, you got the snakes, you got the spiders, you got the sharks. When you're when you're surfing, um, did you ever have you ever seen a dorsal fin? And when you were out back just running around with your motorcycles and pop guns and [ __ ] did you ever see any of the snakes or or spiders or things like that?

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Well, there was a when I first moved to Baron Bay, um, there was a string of shark attacks, two deaths, and then one guy survived in the space of two weeks. one out the front of my house and one 10 minutes south of me and five minutes north and I was like, "Oh, where have I moved to? What have I done? This is crazy." And then so for the next

You're still paddling out. Yeah. When there was a other people in the water so there was your your chances little better. Your odds are a little better. But um no, there was a period when there would just be choppers, helicopters going up and down the coastline and just like shark spotting and then they have a siren on cuz there was for whatever reason just this kind of feeding

frenzy. Oh, that's how they do it. So they they fly above and then if they see one there's a little there's a little siren from the helicopter.

Yeah. Or they tell the police and the police would come down with a big speaker and tell you to get out of the water and and everyone would sort of sit there and I'm not getting out of the water [ __ ] you and as each guy starts paddling and it's like all right fine fine we'll go in.

Right. These aren't sand sharks. The only kind of shark they've got down there are the big daddies, right?

Yeah. The bull shark bull sharks and great whites is the most predominantly No, thanks.

What about the snakes? You saw snakes. Heaps of snakes. Yeah. Yeah. A lot of like king of snakes.

Heaps of snakes. King Brown like the brown snakes, which is, you know, you got kind of 15 minutes if you get the antivenenom in you before you

Yeah. And the brown spider is also like the most uh venom. Well, the the red the red back spider is and then what's the brown spider? Uh

physically pulling a shirt down your I got to hang up. Um but the I mean the we we see a lot of snakes around our house but also a lot of big pythons and the pythons are really territorial and keep the bad ones away

and so you kind of you want those ones around. Python. Python is not bad. What do

you No. No. But they're not cuz they're not venomous, but they're but they're very territorial with with the brown snakes and the red belly black snakes and the ones that are nasty. And so we don't mind having the pythons around.

They're the pythons aren't looking to mess you up. They're not looking to attack.

No. I mean, you can My kids will go and grab them by the tail sometimes. And no way. And how do they how do they do their killing if they don't have the venom? Do they They just They're squeezers.

Yeah, they squeez Yeah. like mice and rats and they'll just they'll just swallow

squeezers squeezers and and wait go back wait Matt Damon the first time he was asking me all these questions before they came out

that he won't even and he he literally right I was like ah you're fine you're fine you're fine the first day he drives down the street gets out of a car and steps straight on a snake

I've been I've been there 42 years and never stepped on a snake and uh And this guy was a dummy. He's a dummy.

What did the angel do? The angel buy himself a pair of boots immediately after right up to the hip.

And a helmet, gloves, a pair of white. Oh my god. Wait, Chris, go back to the go back to the water for a second with the sharks. Do you still go in the water?

Sure he does. Oh, yeah. I surf every day. I mean, people It's people still surf. It's um

again, you It's like all the the statistics you hear that get hit by lightning. hit by lightning or driving a car is worse. And

I heard one that more people die in America shaking a vending machine trying to get chocolate or whatever and it collapsing on them.

Now I don't know if Sean Sean's got a vending machine story. He almost got cut to cut to ribbons with exploding glass door there at Chinchin when they were closed too early. Right.

I I eat I eat a lot of junk food. Chris, um so wait a minute. You know what I love about the Avengers crew? You guys all seem to be having a good time, don't they? Every time I see you guys,

you and Robert and all the the whole crew, you guys are all just l yucking it up and I kind of it's it's kind of fun.

It's a good group. It's a good group and I think you know everyone had come into it expecting kind of nothing and it was right at the beginning of I guess the sort of superhero emergence and each time one of them worked it was a win for the others and their individual films. And then when the Avengers worked, we're like, "Oh, we're gonna make a second one and a third one, the fourth one." And so,

everyone's kind of pinching themselves that we're still here and it's still working.

And just a good group of people. Just such a fun. You deserve it, pal. Great films. Thanks,

Chris Hemsworth. What a pleasure. Thanks for chatting with us today, mister. Thank you.

Tell When does Crime 101 What's the What's the date? It's already out. It's already out.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. It came out when did it come out, Sean? It came out. Wait, I have it.

February 13th or February 12th. February. Yeah, February 13th. February 13th. No, it's great. It's a um it's it's a character-driven crime thriller, you know, and it's a

it has a beautiful sort of suspense, a suspense with through the action, but also through the dram dramatic scenes. And the way Bart's crafted this movie, it's edgy seat, pulse pounding from start to finish.

Sick cast as well. Yeah. I mean, I'll just say one of the greatest re Halib Berry, you go ahead.

Uh Barry Keegan, Mark Ruffalo, Monica Barbaro, Nick Nick Noly. Uh phenomenal cast, but it's sort of a throwback to the heist films of the 70s, 80s, 90s, but has a contemporary feel to it. Um, but it I'm seeing it this way.

But I just have to say now that I've seen it and I'm a big fan of the movie and of course you that um I won't reveal anything but when that one character gets in the car.

Well, that's kind of a That's all I'll say. I mean, that was really cool. No, I mean, well, you don't know where you don't know when part of the movie I'm talking about.

When one that one character gets You know what I'm talking about. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, whoa, that's pretty cool. I was on the edge of my seat. I'm still

Anyway, Chris, thanks so so much for being here. Thanks for having me, guys. Thank you. I'm sure Amanda would say hi if she was here. Um and uh maybe I'll make it to the next one.

Please do, mate. I hope. Thanks, guys. All right, pal. Good to Yeah. Bye, buddy.

Thank you. Peace. Bye, pal. Bye-bye. Splendid. Just splendid. Really good. This is a This is This is a great guy.

I mean, this is this is a great guy. First of all, great guy. I don't know what you guys are talking about. I think

he was great. I don't know why. Big star. Big star. Huge star. Big star. And And yet so grounded as you know. You know him a little bit. I I hung out with him for a couple days.

What a good dude. Humble, kind. Oh my god. Wait, what's 26 minus 11? Boy, that's uh that's going to be something somewhere around 15 years.

Honestly, that actually came out. 15 years. So, he's been playing he's been playing Thor for 15 years.

That's a Okay, that's a lot. I want to go back to the math question because I'm so disappointed.

Is this worthy of recording, Sean? You know, we're on right now. Always. Always.

I'd say I'd say cut it, but I need the world to hear that. Mhm. This is our life, guys. Okay. Welcome to

listener. This is this is, you know, it's free to you, but it costs us a great deal.

I mean, just, you know, time, patience. Yeah. He's uh he's uh Yeah. 15 years as Thor and then doing all this other stuff in between.

How about how about I threw you guys at the beginning when I said it was um uh Kirk's dad.

Yeah, great job, Sean. I mean, it's sick. Sick. What a burn. I was like, [ __ ] What is this? Who could have

this guy? He's unbelievable. Breast pump information. Breast pump information, right? Uh, no. That is that I I I'm uh I'm now I I got to join my wife on uh some of these some of these.

Yeah. By the way, I want to know what what all that is. Um Hey guys, when you have

Yeah. Oh, that's it. You're right into it, huh? Yeah. No more wrap up. Nope. Shnie,

no. I got to go. Wait, Sean, do you have a performance tonight? No, today's our our one night off.

You're dark. Oh, good for you, JB. We're dark. Yeah, we're dark. And then so what do you then what do you end up doing tonight? Where does Scotty get tonight?

I'm not moving. I'm not moving. I'm so exhausted. That's fair to That's fair to Scotty.

Yeah. Um what about this afternoon? Well, we might take him for ice cream. Yes. Or no, but I you know what I've been craving lately is sushi. And now when you guys eat sushi, do you put And you know they come up with a side of ginger

and usually next to it a little pinch mound of green mustard called Well, no. I think a better way to say that is what did the sushi say to the bumblebee?

What's up? I Bye. Boy, that was a stretch. Will is sick, man. Will sick. He just threw up his hot wing.

This is terri. What? That was terrible. Smart less. Smart less. Smartless is 100% organic and artisally handcrafted by Bennett Barbco, Michael Grant, Terry, and Rob Armjarf. Smart less.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Chris Hemsworth | SmartLess"?

Chris Hemsworth (Guest), Sean (Guest), Jason (Guest), Will Arnett (Host).

What is "Chris Hemsworth | SmartLess" about?

A candid conversation with Chris Hemsworth about performance, process, and backstage reflections on opening nights, including contrasts between previews and live shows, storytelling craft, and staying authentic under pressure.

What is mentioned in this SmartLess episode?

42 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including SmartLess, Chris Hemsworth, Crime 101, Australia, Sean Hayes, Thor. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Chris Hemsworth | SmartLess"?

The episode runs 1 h; the transcript is about 12,890 words in 343 timestamped sections.

More from SmartLess

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated October 29, 2026.