#234 ‒ Chris Hemsworth on Limitless, longevity, and happiness

The Peter Attia Drive

Peter Attia, MD

Health & Fitness, Medicine, Fitness

4.7 • 7.3K Ratings

🗓️ 12 December 2022

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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Chris Hemsworth, best known for his role as Thor in the Marvel movies, joins Peter to discuss his recent work in the docuseries called Limitless. In the docuseries, Chris undertook extreme challenges to explore his physical and emotional limits and gain insights into longevity. In this episode, Chris discusses these many challenges—from fasting to arctic swims to 100-foot rope climbs—as well as the insights that he gained from each. Peter, who also played a role in the docuseries, guides Chris through the science of longevity, including what Chris’s APOE-ε4 genotype means for his risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, Chris describes how his outlook on health, happiness, work-life balance, and more have changed from his experience on Limitless.

We discuss:

Limitless: how Chris got involved and his overall experience filming the docuseries [3:00];
“Fasting” ‒ ep. 3 of Limitless in which Chris attempts a 4-day fast [8:15];
“Shock” ‒ ep. 2 of Limitless in which Chris swims in the Arctic Ocean [12:15];
Cold exposure: the potential physical and mental benefits [19:30];
“Strength” ‒ ep. 4 of Limitless in which Chris explores how muscle can improve longevity [21:15];
The APOE-ε4 genotype and Alzheimer’s disease risk [31:30];
How Chris uses sauna [39:45];
“Acceptance” - ep. 6 of Limitless in which Chris explores the meaning of life by contemplating death [42:15];
Chris’s new perspective on work-life balance [52:00];
“Stress-Proof” - ep. 1 of Limitless in which Chris learns about the impact of stress and how to manage it [54:30];
Chris reflects on his intrinsic motivation driven by both fear and purpose [58:00];
Chris reflects on his career arc and how his presence as an actor has evolved [1:01:15];
How Chris’s outlook has changed since filming Limitless [1:05:00]; and
More.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey everyone, welcome to the Drive Podcast.
0:13.0	I'm your host, Peter Atia.
0:14.8	This podcast, my website, and my weekly newsletter, I'll focus on the goal of translating
0:18.7	the science of longevity into something accessible for everyone.
0:22.4	Our goal is to provide the best content in health and wellness, full stop, and we've
0:26.6	assembled a great team of analysts to make this happen.
0:29.4	If you enjoy this podcast, we've created a membership program that brings you far more
0:33.2	in-depth content if you want to take your knowledge of this space to the next level.
0:37.3	At the end of this episode, I'll explain what those benefits are, or if you want to learn
0:41.1	more now, head over to peteratiamd.com forward slash subscribe.
0:46.3	Now, without further delay, here's today's episode.
0:49.1	I guess this week is Chris Hemsworth.
0:52.8	Many of you need no introduction to Chris, of course, and most of you probably know who
0:56.1	he is through his work as Thor in the Marvel movie series.
0:59.7	You've also likely seen him in no shortage of other movies out there, and of course, my
1:03.5	absolute favorite movie with him is Rush.
1:06.0	I wanted to sit down with Chris to talk specifically about his work in the recent project
1:11.2	through National Geographic called Limitless, which is now available on Disney+.
1:16.6	Prior to the beginning of filming for Limitless, which was in January 2020, I didn't know Chris,
1:21.2	but over the past three years, I've gotten to know Chris very well and consider him a very
1:24.5	close friend.
1:25.5	It was great to sit down with him in New York as we were both there for the premiere to
	...

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