Luke’s Kiwi connection

Cool hand Luke

The wildwest hunk’s hard road to fame

Los Angeles, New York, Sydney … Whakatane? When you think of the handsome Hemsworth brothers, the bright lights of Hollywood are more likely to come to mind than the Bay of Plenty. But eldest sibling Luke has a not-so-secret link to the New Zealand seaside town.

“My wife’s from Whakatane!” says the LA-based, Australianborn star of Westworld before mocking our Kiwi accent while chatting to Woman’sDay over Bloody Marys in Beverly Hills.

“We spent 10 days there last year. She’s got a big family so it was two nights here, two nights there and two nights somewhere else. It was exhausting, but it’s such an amazing place. I do love it down there.”

Luke met Samantha when the PR executive moved to Melbourne more than a decade ago. The actor laughs, “We just met out one night with me

drunkenly slobbering on her!”

The pair hit it off, tied the knot in 2007 and have since had four children, daughters Holly, seven, Ella, six, and Harper, four, plus son Alexandre, three. “She’s a stay-at-home mother now,” says Luke, 36, of his wife. “She’s been a mother for what pretty much feels like forever.”

While today it’s Thor star Chris, 33, and The Hunger

Games hunk Liam, 27, who are widely recognised for their film and TV roles, it was Luke who first pursued showbiz, studying at the acclaimed National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney. Then the role of steroid-abusing sportsman Nathan Tyson on Neighbours followed. He says he was petrified on his first day on the soap, but it was the “best learning tool” for his acting career. Regardless, it wasn’t long before he left the show and launched a flooring business to help secure his financial future.

Calling it quits

After meeting Samantha and starting a family, Luke’s focus shifted away from the stage and screen, but when he saw Chris’ success with Thor, he gave acting another go, with the family relocating to the US.

He landed the lead on a TV series, but was fired after one day due to his accent. “I was by myself that night, walking the streets and I was like, ‘F***! This is horrible. I might as well go home. I’m done.’”

But Chris’ agent sent him an email saying, “Don’t worry. This happens to a lot of great actors. You can use it or you can let it destroy you.”

Heartened, Luke used the setback as “ammunition” to work harder towards his acting dreams and it paid off when he went on to land the role of Ashley Stubbs, the head of security at an adult theme park, in Neon’s hit series Westworld. The show sees him working alongside Thandie Newton and acting legend Sir Anthony Hopkins. Luke recalls, “When we met on the show, he came up and hugged me. I was like, ‘Wow!’ Every time we meet now, he asks, ‘How’s Chris?’”

The actor recently wrapped filming on a western flick and is prepping for a second series of Westworld while enjoying life in Malibu with Samantha and their kids. Their home has a gym dubbed the “Hemsworth Iron Temple” , frequented by all three brothers, as well as buddy Orlando Bloom. Liam often comes over to surf, while his girlfriend Miley Cyrus is a regular at Luke and Samantha’s dress-up parties.

But it’s simple barbecues Luke relishes most, with the actor cooking up meat-free treats for his wife. “She’s a vegetarian, so I can whip up a good salad, a vege steak or a tofu burger, which is very LA!”

And while he maintains a strict exercise and diet regime to maintain those signature Hemsworth abs, Luke says his Kiwi friends are responsible for a lot of cheat days.

“I’m a sucker for chocolate. I love the New Zealand stuff,” he confesses. “My friends brought me some Peanut Slabs back last time they came over and I don’t think my wife even got to eat any. It’s my one weakness!